# Build brief — a focused alternative to Netlify

> **Verdict:** Partly, if you narrow it · **Buildability:** 58/100 · **Category:** Hosting
> **Source:** https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/netlify
> Independent editorial assessment from Can It Be Vibe Coded? Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or derived from Netlify. Verify current pricing and capabilities before acting.

## Context

**Netlify** — Web hosting platform for static sites, functions, forms, and deploy previews. It currently costs $20/mo.

Static hosting and functions are easy to assemble, but Netlify's value is Git-based deploys, previews, forms, redirects, edge functions, and managed platform reliability.

This brief describes a focused, single-operator replacement for the part of Netlify that is genuinely reproducible. It is deliberately narrower than the product it replaces, and it says so in writing. Build the useful core; do not pretend to have rebuilt the rest.

## What you are building

Deploy static builds from git, serve via CDN/reverse proxy, add forms/functions, and create preview URLs.

- Build a focused single-user workflow with real persistence, search, and export.
- A responsive interface with real empty, loading, success, and error states.

## Requirements

### Functional

- VPS or cloud static hosting.
- CI/CD.
- Domain/DNS.
- SSL.
- Serverless or container functions.
- Monitoring.

### Non-functional

- Accessibility: semantic markup, labelled controls, visible focus, and reduced-motion support.
- Security: server-side secrets, validated input, and no credentials in the client bundle.
- Reliability: retries with backoff on external calls, and a clear failure state when a provider is down.
- Portability: the operator can export their data and leave without losing it.

## Implementation brief

Build me a personal static-site deploy pipeline to replace Netlify, running on my own
VPS. Requirements:

- A small deploy service: Node + Express receiving a GitHub webhook on localhost, with
  Caddy in front serving the built sites over HTTPS.
- On push to main: pull the repo into /srv/sites/<repo>/, run the build command from a
  per-site config (sites.json: repo, branch, buildCmd, outputDir), and atomically swap a
  `current` symlink to the new build.
- Keep the last 5 builds per site on disk so rollback is `deployctl rollback <site>`, a
  one-line CLI.
- Branch previews: pushes to other branches deploy to <branch>.<site>.mydomain.com via a
  Caddy wildcard route.
- Build logs go to /srv/sites/<repo>/logs/<timestamp>.log; `deployctl status` lists
  sites, last deploy time, and pass/fail.
- Webhook secret and tokens in .env. The service binds to localhost behind Caddy; no
  accounts, no telemetry.
- Out of scope: CDN/edge functions, form handling, and team features. This is one VPS,
  not a global network. Skip the dashboard UI, the CLI is enough.
- README: the Caddy config snippet, GitHub webhook setup, and the wildcard DNS record
  previews need.

## Delivery standard

- Inspect the repository first, then write a short implementation plan before writing code.
- Deliver the smallest complete end-to-end workflow first; every primary control must work against persisted data.
- Use real validation and storage; never substitute fake dashboards, decorative controls, hard-coded success states, or mock integrations.
- Include responsive layouts plus genuine empty, loading, success, validation, and failure states.
- Keep secrets server-side in environment variables, provide .env.example, and never commit credentials or user data.
- Add structured logs around every external call and return actionable errors without leaking sensitive details.
- Write unit tests for the core logic and one automated test of the main user journey.
- Finish with a README covering setup, architecture, data location, backups, tests, deployment, and known limitations.

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] A clean install starts the app using only the README and .env.example.
- [ ] The primary journey works from first visit through saved result, reload, edit, export, and deletion where applicable.
- [ ] Invalid input, missing configuration, provider failure, and an empty database each have a usable state.
- [ ] The interface works at 390px and 1440px, is keyboard navigable, and shows visible focus on every control.
- [ ] Tests, type checking, linting, and a production build all pass with no ignored failures.
- [ ] No part of the interface implies a live integration, security guarantee, or scale capability that was not actually built and verified.

## Non-goals

Do not build these, and do not claim to have replaced them:

- Deploy previews.
- CDN/edge functions.
- Forms.
- Rollbacks.
- Reliability at the vendor's scale is an operations problem, not a prompt.
- The last 20 percent is sync, migration fidelity, speed, and edge cases.

## What you still own after launch

- Run migrations, backups, restores, and dependency updates.
- Test the critical journey after every model, API, or hosting change.
- Monitor failures and fix the edge cases a first prompt will miss.

## Risk

**Operational risk.** The code is achievable; dependable data, integrations, and ongoing operations are the real cost.

Editorial confidence in this assessment: high. No independent one-shot implementation is linked yet.

## Prior art

Working open-source software you can read, fork, or borrow from before starting:

- [Coolify](https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify) — Open-source self-hosted deployment platform for apps, databases, and static sites

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