My Coding Agent Shouldn't Have a Boss
Claude Code is one of the best products I use. That is exactly why realizing how little of it I controlled became uncomfortable.
·6 min read
Read essayOwn Your Tech
If you didn't build it and you can't replace it, you don't own your business.
$0
Vendor Lock-in
100%
Your Data
0
Permission Needed
How many tools could shut down your business with a pricing change?
How much of your customer data lives on someone else's server?
How many API keys stand between you and a total outage?
Every SaaS subscription is a bet that the company behind it won't change the price, kill the feature, or lock you out. Most people don't think about this until the email arrives: “We're updating our pricing.” By then you're trapped. Your data is in their format. Your workflows are built on their API. Your team knows their UI, not the alternative.
I've been on both sides. I've built SaaS products and I've been locked into them. The math is simple: if you can't export it, migrate it, or replace it in a weekend — you don't own it. It owns you.
This is where I write about what I self-host, what I don't, and the real cost of each decision. Not ideology. Math.
Your Monthly Invoice
A typical SaaS stack. Recognize any of these?
Monthly Statement
Your SaaS Dependencies
Due: Every month, forever
AI API (GPT/Claude)
Local LLM
$200/mo
$0
Analytics Platform
Plausible (self-hosted)
$50/mo
$0
Email Marketing
Listmonk + SMTP
$99/mo
$5/mo
CMS / Website Builder
Next.js + MDX
$79/mo
$0
Cloud Hosting (per app)
VPS / own hardware
$120/mo
$20/mo
Project Management
Plane (self-hosted)
$30/mo
$0
File Storage
MinIO / local NAS
$25/mo
$0
Monitoring & Logs
Grafana + Loki
$45/mo
$0
You're paying
$648/mo
You could pay
$25/mo
That's $7,476/year back in your pocket. Over 5 years: $37,380.
Real numbers from a real stack migration. Your costs will vary.
The Weekend Test
For every tool you depend on, ask one question:
“If this disappeared tomorrow, could I replace it by Monday?”
Your AI provider raises prices 5x
Run Llama/Mistral locally in an afternoon
Your analytics platform gets acquired and sunsets
Plausible deploys in 10 minutes
Your email platform suspends your account
Can you export your list? Do you own your sending domain?
Your CMS company pivots and kills your plan
Markdown files + Git = forever portable
Your cloud provider has a 48-hour outage
Is your data in one region? One provider? One account?
Your payment processor freezes your funds
Do you have a backup processor already connected?
Your project management tool shuts down
Export to CSV, spin up an alternative, keep moving
Your domain registrar locks your domain
Do you control the DNS? Is the registrar transfer-friendly?
Every is a single point of failure. Start there.
What I Actually Run
George's real infrastructure. Not theoretical — in production right now.
george@sovereign ~ / infrastructure
$ status --all
AI (Local LLMs)RUNNING
Llama 3, Mistral, CodeLlama on Mac Studio
~$200/mo vs API
WebsiteRUNNING
Next.js on Cloud Run, self-managed
~$79/mo vs Webflow
Blog & CMSRUNNING
Ghost (self-hosted) + MDX
~$50/mo vs managed Ghost
EmailRUNNING
SendGrid SMTP, own domain, exportable list
~$80/mo vs Mailchimp
AnalyticsRUNNING
Plausible CE, self-hosted
~$50/mo vs GA360
DatabaseRUNNING
PostgreSQL on managed instance, daily backups
Full data ownership
Code & CI/CDRUNNING
GitHub + GitHub Actions
Portable, git-based
File StorageRUNNING
GCS buckets, own encryption keys
~$25/mo vs Dropbox Business
$ uptime
All systems operational. 0 vendor dependencies critical path.
This isn't about being anti-SaaS. It's about choosing which dependencies are worth it — and owning the ones that aren't.
Part of the Same Thesis
Tech sovereignty is one layer. These are the others.
Get Essays on Owning Your Stack
Self-hosting, AI infrastructure, and the real cost of every tool decision. No hype. Just math.
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