Fractera Light
Self-Hosted Backend-as-a-Service — Your Private Vercel + Supabase + Clerk + S3
Stop paying the Vercel tax. Deploy a complete backend (auth, database, storage, custom domain, HTTPS) on your own VPS from $1/mo in 10 minutes. Open source, no vendor lock-in.
What you get
The Brand-Ready Self-Hosted Backend Stack
Pre-configured: role-based auth, database, file storage, custom domain, Cloudflare SSL, landing + dashboard with protected routing. Git-sync between local and production — out of the box.
Local AI Development Stays Traditional
Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI run on your machine the way you are used to. No changes to your dev workflow. AI generates code locally — production knows nothing about AI.
Git Sync Between Local and Production — Out of the Box
The cloud project is wired to a git repo. Your local machine connects to the same. Push → automatic deploy to production. The pattern proven in the main Fractera project.
Pre-Configured Auth: Roles, Guest Access, Any OAuth Provider
User roles, guest access, protected routing — ready out of the box. Attach any OAuth provider (Google, GitHub, Yandex, custom SSO) — your choice.
SQLite / Postgres Database + File Storage on Your VPS
SQLite (WAL) or Postgres + local file storage with media proxy. No Neon, no Supabase, no AWS S3, zero egress fees. Full data ownership.
Custom Domain + Automatic HTTPS via Cloudflare
Cloudflare issues the SSL certificates. DDoS protection and CDN included. One DNS record — the rest just works.
Default Landing Page You Can Edit — Brand-Ready Out-of-Box
Included: public landing + protected dashboard with role-based routing in place. Edit the brand — the structure is ready.
How it works
From Empty VPS to Production Backend in 10 Minutes
Eight steps from a clean server to an automatic workflow with AI on your local machine.
- 1
Get any Ubuntu 24.04 VPS
Any VPS provider starting from $1/month — your choice. Enough for all Light features.
- 2
Run bootstrap-light.sh
One command. We configure Nginx, Cloudflare SSL, database, role-based auth, storage, and the landing + dashboard.
- 3
Connect git locally and remotely
The cloud project is already wired to a git repo. Connect your local machine to the same repo — dev/prod are now synced.
- 4
Sync your GitHub and clone the project locally
Auth and DB wiring are added automatically. Your local project connects to the remote backend out of the box.
- 5
Use AI (Claude Code CLI) to generate your site
See changes with hot reload, test in the browser. All updates land automatically on the database and object storage on your server.
- 6
Use the Settings tab quick-setup
A ready configuration template — your project is set up in seconds.
- 7
SEO is already configured — you do not need to think about it
Just build your project as usual. The starter template is rich — AI burns fewer tokens because the foundation is already there.
- 8
Backups and a copy from GitHub
Take data backups when needed, or deploy a clean copy of your project from your GitHub repo — without data. Your choice.
Need more
Need advanced AI right on the server?
If you need automatic interaction with modern AI agents on the remote server itself — that is the main Fractera. Hermes orchestrator, LightRAG memory, 5 coding platforms. Open source.
Who it is for
Who Fractera Light Is For
This demands more skill than no-code platforms. A full traditional dev infrastructure — more powerful, but more demanding.
Good fit
- ✓Developers comfortable with git (push/pull, branches, merges)
- ✓Teams that understand the dev/production split
- ✓Developers with basic Linux/VPS knowledge (SSH, files, processes)
- ✓Those who want to use AI coding locally without cloud-API subscriptions
- ✓Teams that need GDPR/NIS2 compliance or geographic data sovereignty
Not for
- ×No-code / low-code builders — this is a full dev environment
- ×Anyone looking for an AI agent that deploys everything without human input
- ×Teams who need visual UI editing without touching code
Why they leave
The Hidden Costs of Managed Backend Platforms
Predictable bills, full control, no vendor lock-in. Here is what you escape.
Bandwidth Markup: Vercel Charges $0.15/GB, Hetzner Charges $0.01/GB
A 15× markup. The viral Cara case hit a $95K Vercel bill overnight after a growth surge. Self-hosting on Hetzner = same bandwidth, 1/15 the cost.
Vendor Lock-In: Migrating Off Supabase Is a Multi-Week Project
Managed BaaS providers tie your runtime to their stack. Exporting data is one thing; rewriting auth, real-time, storage glue is another.
Compliance Friction: GDPR + NIS2 + Data Residency on Foreign Clouds
The CLOUD Act vs GDPR conflict is real. EU AI Act compliance pushes data sovereignty harder every quarter.
Surprise Bills: $20/month Plans That Become $700 Overnight
Heroku entered "sustaining engineering mode" in February 2026. Railway, Vercel, and Render price hikes keep coming. Owning the bill = owning the predictability.
Comparison
Fractera Light vs Vercel + Supabase + Coolify + PocketBase
How self-hosted Fractera Light stacks up against managed clouds and other self-hosted backends.
| Fractera Light | Vercel | Supabase | Coolify | PocketBase | Appwrite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted on your own VPS | ✓ | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source · free forever | ✓ | — | partial | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auth + DB + storage out of the box | ✓ | hosting only | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Landing + dashboard with role-based routing | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Git sync between local and production | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | setup needed | — | setup needed |
| AI runs locally (no AI on prod) | ✓ | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| GDPR / NIS2 friendly defaults | ✓ | on EU VPS | on EU VPS | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vendor lock-in | none | high | high | low | low | low |
| Price | VPS from $1 | from $20/mo | from $25/mo | VPS from $1 | VPS from $1 | VPS from $1 |
Deploy
Deploy Self-Hosted Backend: Free Forever, Open Source
You pay only for your VPS — from $1/mo at any provider. No per-seat fees, no hidden bills, no vendor lock-in.
Any Ubuntu 24.04 VPS with 2+ cores and 2+ GB RAM works. Pick a provider yourself — the market is wide open.
Deploy your backend
Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04 · root access required · ~10 min install
FAQ
Fractera Light Frequently Asked Questions
Get started
Exit the Cloud in 10 Minutes — Free Open-Source Forever
Local AI development + git sync + your private backend. No surprise bills, no vendor lock-in, no cloud anchoring your stack.
Deploy Fractera Light