How We Build Systems

We keep coming back to the same principles: reliability, reproducibility, and replaceability.

Reliable systems work quietly. They don’t need constant attention, and when something fails, it fails in predictable ways. You should be able to trust the system to behave the same today as it did yesterday.

Reproducibility accepts that systems will break. Hardware fails, configurations drift, and people move on. When that happens, rebuilding should be routine. If a system can’t be rebuilt from documentation and backups, it’s fragile by default.

Replaceability avoids lock-in. We favor open source and simple architectures so parts can be swapped without redesigning everything. Data should always be exportable. Even moving away from the system should be possible if that’s the right call.

These principles naturally lead us toward self-hosted, cost-conscious systems designed to be understood and maintained over time.

We avoid abrupt change. We start with what already exists, improve one weak spot at a time, and let the system take shape gradually. The result isn’t flashy, but it holds together.

We’re not interested in building impressive systems. We’re interested in building systems that last.