moatless.io · build your own anything

Own your
stack.

Every subscription you pay has an open-source replacement you can run yourself. Moatless is a live index of them — 36 build directions ranked daily from GitHub — plus the day's build-it-yourself news and the training to actually do it.

Popular:Adobe → open creative suiteFirebase → Supabase, PocketBaseAuth0 → your own loginRun models locallyWebflow → build your own
36build directions
liveranked from GitHub
3+stories in the last 3 days
10training tracks · 37 sessions
Today in build-it-yourself

The news that frees you.

Stories from Hacker News and Lobsters that clear an engagement floor and carry a real signal — open-sourced, self-hosted, a replacement for something you pay for.

All stories →
live from source · hn.algolia.com · lobste.rs
The index

36 ways to build your own.

Curated at the level of the move — build your own database, identity provider, creative suite — then populated by GitHub, ranked by a rule you can read.

Browse the index →

Deep substrate

The machine under the machine — languages, runtimes, kernels, the tools that build the tools.

Build your own programming language

Programming language

e.g. rust, zig, gleamBuild your own OS or distro

Operating system

e.g. linux, nixpkgs, serenityBuild your own compiler toolchain

Compiler toolchain

e.g. llvm-project, binaryen, tinygoBuild your own runtime

Runtime

e.g. node, deno, bun+4 more

See all deep substrate →

Persistence & retrieval

Where data lives and how you get it back — databases, search, vectors, pipelines.

Build your own database

Database

instead of Proprietary managed databasesBuild your own search engine

Search engine

instead of Algolia, hosted searchBuild your own vector store

Vector store

instead of PineconeBuild your own retrieval system

RAG substrate

e.g. llama_index, haystack, ragflow+2 more

See all persistence & retrieval →

Self-host the SaaS

Every monthly subscription has an open-source replacement you can run yourself.

Build your own website builder

Website builder

instead of Webflow, Squarespace, WixBuild your own identity provider

Identity provider

instead of Auth0, OktaBuild your own backend platform

Backend-as-a-service

instead of FirebaseBuild your own CMS

CMS

instead of Contentful, hosted CMSs+7 more

See all self-host the saas →

Authoring & generation

Making things — sites, documents, images, games, notebooks, charts.

Build your own static site generator

Static site generator

e.g. astro, hugo, eleventyBuild your own document engine

Document & PDF engine

instead of InDesign for documents, WordBuild your own spreadsheet

Spreadsheet & data grid

instead of Airtable, ExcelBuild your own notebook environment

Notebooks

e.g. jupyterlab, marimo, notebook+3 more

See all authoring & generation →

AI-native frontier

Agents, workflows, and models you run on your own terms.

Run your own models

Local AI

instead of Hosted-only model APIsBuild your own agents

Agent framework

e.g. langgraph, autogen, crewAIMake your tools agent-callable

MCP servers

e.g. servers, typescript-sdk, python-sdkBuild your own automation engine

Workflow engine

instead of Zapier
Training · members

Learn the foundations.

Recorded sessions on the open tools underneath everything — terminal to Postgres to local AI. The self-hosting track alone replaces more than the membership costs.

The library →
01

The terminal

Where ownership starts

bash · PowerShell 7 · zsh02

Git & GitHub

History you own

git · GitHub · Gitea03

Postgres

Your own database

PostgreSQL · Supabase · psql04

Self-hosting

Cancel your first subscription

Docker · Caddy · Coolify · a $5 VPS05

Local AI

AI as a swappable layer

Ollama · llama.cpp · open-weight models06

MCP

Make your tools agent-callable

Model Context Protocol · TypeScript SDK · Python SDK07

Data on your own terms

Analysis without the platform

DuckDB · Python · marimo · Jupyter08

The open creative suite

The Adobe exit

Krita · Inkscape · darktable · Blender09

Open GIS

Maps you own

QGIS · PostGIS · GDAL · MapLibre10

Own your login

Identity, self-hosted

Authentik · Keycloak · OIDC
The moatless principles

Build so nobody can fence you in.

/ 01

Substrate first

Deterministic, inspectable foundations. Code you can read beats intelligence you have to trust.

/ 02

AI as a finishing layer

Models are swappable. Nothing here breaks if you change — or remove — the model.

/ 03

No lock-in, including ours

Every tool we point to runs on your hardware. You can leave us, too.

/ 04

Portability you can test

Exports that actually import. Claims of openness should be falsifiable.

/ 05

Provenance on everything

Every ranking shows its rule; every story links to its source.

Membership

Less than one of the subscriptions it replaces.

The index and the news stay free, forever — that's the point. Membership funds the work and gets you the weekly recap and the full training library.

$9.99 / MONTH
  • The weekly recap — the week's best build-it-yourself stories and fastest-climbing projects, in your inbox
  • Every recorded training session, all 10 tracks
  • The recap archive
  • Cancel anytime, in one click
Become a member →