Ship real data apps with AI —
in days, not months.
The exact workflow I used to ship six live data apps in a few weeks of evenings — mostly by talking to my editor. Idea → vetted data → lazy build → deployed on your own box → shipped. No bootcamp, no boilerplate maze.
One-time payment · lifetime updates · instant access · already bought?
You have the ideas. Shipping is the wall 😬
AI can write the code now. So why is there still nothing live? Because the gap was never the code — it's everything around it.
❌ The usual way it dies
- ❌ Pick an idea, find the data doesn't actually exist or is unusable
- ❌ AI builds you a 12-service monster you can't deploy or afford
- ❌ "Just deploy it" turns into a week of YAML, DNS, and 502s
- ❌ Vercel/Render bills creep; your side project costs more than it makes
- ❌ Months later: a localhost demo nobody can open
✅ The playbook way
- ✅ Vet the data first — build only ideas that can actually exist
- ✅ "Laziest thing that works" — static-first, the smallest stack that ships
- ✅ One box, one reverse proxy: add an app in minutes, not a migration
- ✅ Your own VPS — flat ~$7/mo hosts the whole fleet, not per-app bills
- ✅ A real URL other people can open — in days of evenings
I'm not a 10× engineer. I'm a data guy who got tired of dashboards dying on localhost. This is the system that finally got them out the door.
The whole loop, end to end
Same five moves every time. Once it's muscle memory, an idea becomes a live URL in an evening or two.
Vet the idea + data
Confirm the data is real, open, and usable before you write a line. Kill bad ideas in 20 minutes.
Build the lazy version
Talk to Claude Code in your editor. Static-first, the smallest stack that works. Ship the lazy version, question the rest.
Deploy on your own box
One VPS, one reverse proxy, one DNS record. The whole fleet behind one Caddy. Then add accounts + Stripe when it's worth it.
What's inside the playbook 📦
Six modules — the exact path the whole fleet was built on. No filler, no 4-hour intro video. Lifetime updates as the workflow evolves.
1 · Find an idea & vet the data
How I find app ideas hiding in public datasets, and the 20-minute check that proves the data is real, open, and usable before you commit. Where the good free data lives (gov APIs, ArcGIS, open-meteo, assessor records) and how to spot a dataset that'll betray you later.
2 · The "laziest thing that works" method
How I drive Claude Code in VS Code to build the smallest thing that ships — and the plugin setup that keeps it from over-engineering. The ladder: does it need to exist? does the platform already do it? can it be one line? Ship the lazy version, then question it.
3 · Build static-first
Why almost every app starts as one static HTML file — and how far that actually gets you (maps, search, charts, even a whole SRS trainer). When to add a tiny backend and when you absolutely don't need one. Proxying third-party APIs through your reverse proxy so the static page stays static.
4 · Deploy to your own box behind one reverse proxy
The pattern the whole fleet runs on: one cheap VPS, one shared Caddy reverse proxy, a static container per app, automatic HTTPS, and a DNS record via API. Add a new app to your live fleet in minutes — no per-app hosting bill, no platform lock-in.
5 · Add accounts + Stripe billing
When (and only when) it's worth charging: a central accounts store, server-verified entitlements, Stripe Checkout + the hosted billing portal, and webhook signatures done right. The boundary that stays un-lazy — secrets server-side, never fake-unlock. (This very page runs on it.)
6 · Ship in public
How I launch each app, link them so the fleet compounds, and keep momentum without a marketing team. The boring-but-honest version of building in public that actually gets the next thing shipped.
➕ Lifetime updates
The workflow keeps evolving as the tools do. Buy once, get every update to the playbook — free, forever.
The stack you'll actually use 🧰
No mystery tooling. The same boring, cheap, durable pieces behind every app in the fleet.
🖥️ VS Code + Claude Code
Your editor, talking. Where the building actually happens.
🦥 The lazy plugin
Keeps the AI honest: laziest thing that works, no bloat.
🌐 Your own VPS
One cheap box hosts the whole fleet. ~$7/mo, not per-app.
🔁 Caddy reverse proxy
One shared ingress, automatic HTTPS, a block per app.
📇 DNS via API
New subdomain in one call — no clicking around a panel.
💳 Stripe Checkout
Hosted payments + portal when it's time to charge.
The proof is live. Go open it 👇
Not a screenshot of a localhost demo. Six real apps, on real domains, built with the exact workflow in this playbook.
🗺️ travelmap live
Community travel pins over Nomad-List-style city data.
🏥 healthcare prices live
Hospital cash prices + Medicare benchmarks + a negotiation script.
🌪️ habooby live
A windy.com-style live map of Phoenix dust storms & air quality.
🏠 who owns phoenix live
The corporate & shell-LLC landlords behind Phoenix homes.
🚦 ticket heat live
Where & when Phoenix writes tickets — plus crashes & DUIs.
🗣️ acento live
Argentine-Spanish accent trainer: native voices, record-and-score, SRS.
…and the fleet keeps growing. See them all at traqqit.com.
What buyers say
★★★★★
[PLACEHOLDER — replace with a real testimonial once you have one. Do not invent quotes.]
— real name & @handle here
★★★★★
[PLACEHOLDER — real testimonial]
— real name & @handle here
★★★★★
[PLACEHOLDER — real testimonial]
— real name & @handle here
Early honest note: this playbook is new. The only proof I'll show you is the apps above — they're real and you can open every one.
Alex Halloran
Data Hound · maker of the traqqit fleet
"I'm a data person, not a rock-star engineer. For years my projects died on localhost — cool dashboard, never shipped. Then I started treating my editor like a pair I talk to, kept the stack stupidly lazy, and put everything on one cheap box behind one reverse proxy. Suddenly I had six live apps in a few weeks of evenings. This playbook is just that loop, written down — the data-vetting, the laziness, the deploy pattern — so you can skip the year it took me to figure out. If the apps above don't convince you it works, nothing I say will."
— building in the open at traqqit.com · datahoundtech.com
One payment. Yours forever.
No subscription. Buy it once, get every future update free.
The Playbook
LAUNCH PRICEOne-time payment · lifetime updates
Instant access · no subscription · secure checkout by Stripe
- ✓ All 6 modules — idea & data vetting → ship in public
- ✓ The exact deploy pattern the whole fleet runs on
- ✓ The lazy method + plugin setup that stops AI over-building
- ✓ Accounts + Stripe billing, the un-lazy boundary done right
- ✓ Lifetime updates — buy once, every future version free
🔒 Secure checkout by Stripe · instant access after payment
Already bought it? Open the playbook →
Questions, answered
Do I need to be a strong coder? ⌄
No. I'm a data person, not a software engineer. The whole point is letting Claude Code write the code while you steer — vetting the data, keeping it lazy, and deploying. If you can read and you're stubborn, you can ship.
What do I actually get? ⌄
A written playbook — six modules covering the exact workflow behind the apps above: idea & data vetting, the lazy build method, static-first, the one-box deploy pattern, accounts + Stripe, and shipping in public. You unlock the members area the moment you pay, and lifetime updates land there as the workflow evolves.
Is this just "use AI to code"? ⌄
No. Everyone can prompt an AI now — and still nothing ships. The value here is everything around the code: proving the data exists, keeping the stack small enough to actually deploy, and the boring infra pattern that gets a real URL live and cheap. That's the part nobody hands you.
What will it cost me to run my apps? ⌄
One small VPS — roughly $5–7/month — hosts your whole fleet, not one bill per app. You'll need an editor with Claude Code and a Stripe account if you decide to charge. That's it. No platform lock-in, no surprise serverless bills.
Is it a subscription? ⌄
No — one-time payment. You own it, and every future update to the playbook is free. The launch price is intentionally low and will go up.
Is my payment safe? ⌄
Card details go straight to Stripe's hosted checkout — they never touch this site. Access is verified against your real Stripe payment server-side, so your purchase keeps working even on a new device.
Stop demoing on localhost.
Ship something live.
The exact loop behind six live apps — written down so you can skip the year it took me.
One-time · lifetime updates · instant access