Managing TLS certificates often means chasing expiry dates, setting reminders, and manually rotating certs—a process that’s fragile and prone to outages. To prove there’s a better way, I built a prototype combining n8n and HashiCorp Vault that demonstrates the power of automation, and had the opportunity to present this work as a talk at Mumbai FOSS 2025. The Prototype in Action

The workflow I showcased was simple yet powerful:

Monitoring expiry with early alerts

Triggering automatic renewals via Vault’s PKI engine

Deploying renewed certificates without manual steps

Validating results in Vault for full transparency

This wasn’t a slide deck—it was about demonstrating the ability such a system can provide: hands-off certificate lifecycle management, built entirely on open-source tools.

Why n8n + Vault?

n8n brings the flexibility of a visual automation platform—easy to extend, no coding required for most steps.

Vault provides a battle-tested PKI engine with strong security guarantees.

Together, they eliminate vendor lock-in, subscription costs, and opaque “black box” processes.

Beyond the Demo

While I shared this prototype in a lightning talk at Mumbai FOSS 2025, the real takeaway is that any team can replicate it today. Whether managing a handful of certs or rolling this out across multiple environments, the approach scales with your needs.

As a bonus, this same session was also wait-listed for the Open Source Summit India 2025, highlighting the growing interest in practical, open-source security automation.

I recently had an opportunity to give a technical talk at GitTogether Mumbai. This is a small blog post based on my experience of giving a talk and a little behind-the-scenes turmoil written as a blog post.

How Do You Secure a Speaking Slot?

This was the big question! It took me countless applications, several rejections, and a sprinkle of luck. The trick? Pitch a talk that fits what the audience and organizers are looking for—it’s all about relevance.

What happens after my talk was selected?

The talk has been selected ……so now what? The Panic strikes through!! But so does the cycle of preparation……

Will They Find It Interesting?

Creating a talk is one thing, delivering it in a way that keeps the audience engaged is another. Once the panic and excitement strikes through so does the preparation. Preparing the contents for a talk is very different from presenting it. The information you INTEND to convey has to reach the audience in a way they perceive it and it has to be relatable and interesting for them to continue to listen!

Feedback Feedback Feedback and Continuous Feedback!

Ah yes, feedback—every speaker’s best friend (and occasional frenemy). It’s the secret sauce to leveling up your presentation, and trust me, you’ll need lots of it! I took every nugget of constructive criticism and tweaked my talk like a codebase on release day.

Now, let’s talk demos. The ultimate double-edged sword. Engineers love them but for presenters? A living nightmare! And guess what? I willingly walked into that nightmare. Yep, I gave a demo!

Why? Well, demos are like live-action thrillers—great for the audience but full of nerve-wracking moments for the speaker. Something is bound to go wrong (and spoiler: it did). Cue the sweaty palms and heart palpitations as things start to go wrong! But hey, the key is to stay calm, crack a joke or two, and power through the glitches.

In hindsight, the demo could’ve been smoother, but for my first big talk, it wasn’t a complete disaster. Want to witness the chaos? Here’s the link to the demo fail Link I’m open to feedback (and maybe a little sympathy)!

Final Thoughts

Every developer should experience the thrill of presenting their work to an appreciative public audience. It’s more than just sharing your knowledge—it’s a chance to push your limits, boost your confidence, and ignite a deeper passion for learning. Stepping onto that stage changes the way you see yourself as a developer, fueling your drive to grow and evolve. Plus, there’s nothing quite like the energy of connecting with others and realizing how far you’ve come on your journey!

Do checkout my presentation link and feel free to provide any feedback via email or on Linkedin!