About Me

Hey there! I’m Mohamad Kholid Bughowi, but feel free to call me Ghowi. I’m a software engineer with a passion for turning complex problems into elegant solutions. I believe in the power of technology to create meaningful impact, and I’m constantly exploring new ways to push the boundaries of what’s possible in software development.

My Journey

I studied Computer Science, and from that foundation I’ve never stopped learning. From early days writing simple applications to now working on production-grade systems, every challenge has been a stepping stone. I believe that growing as an engineer goes beyond learning new technologies. How you think about problems matters just as much as the tools you use to solve them.

What I Do

I’m currently working as a Frontend Developer at Astra International, but my passion for software engineering goes far beyond the frontend. I actively explore and build across backend development, DevOps, infrastructure, and software architecture. A lot of that curiosity spills into my writing, and I think my blog reflects that better than anything else I could say here.

One of the things I’ve been most excited about lately is getting hands-on with infrastructure. I wrote about setting up a self-hosted VPS from scratch using Dokploy, walking through the entire process from hardening SSH and configuring Cloudflare DNS to deploying multiple applications with proper SSL. What started as curiosity quickly turned into a fully self-hosted personal infrastructure running several services I now use daily. It’s the kind of work that made me realize how much I enjoy thinking beyond the application layer and understanding the systems underneath.

Then there’s a more personal piece I wrote about how stepping outside of frontend work reignited my love for programming. It’s honest about the feeling of monotony that can creep in when you’re confined to a single domain, and how exploring other areas like backend, tooling, and systems gave me back that spark. If you’ve ever felt stuck in a lane and wondered whether there’s more out there, that post is for you.

And if you want to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes, there’s my journey of abandoning VSCode for Neovim. What started as mild curiosity turned into learning Lua, building an entire editor config from scratch, and eventually becoming the kind of person who genuinely enjoys crafting their own development environment. It sounds like a small thing, but it says a lot about how I approach the craft. I’d rather deeply understand my tools than just use them.

My Engineering Philosophy

I’m not attached to any specific tech stack. I see tools — languages, frameworks, platforms — as exactly that: tools. What matters far more is the ability to understand the problem deeply and reason through multiple possible solutions using whatever is best suited for the job at hand.

The right stack depends on context, constraints, and trade-offs. I’d rather pick the right tool for the problem than be loyal to a particular ecosystem.

Let’s Connect

I’m always open to collaborating on interesting projects, discussing ideas, or just geeking out about software. If you have something in mind or just want to say hi, reach out! I’d love to hear from you.