Bulletproof Automation Lab
A secure self-hosted automation stack a small team can actually run without a platform vendor.
Edge
Orchestrate
Services
Host
The problem
Teams adopting automation usually rent it. That is fast until cost, data residency, or a vendor decision makes it someone else’s problem to solve and their problem to absorb.
Why it mattered
Organizations in regulated or cost-sensitive environments need to know where their data sits and what happens if a vendor changes terms.
What I built
A self-hosted n8n environment with Traefik handling routing and certificates and Gotenberg for document generation, assembled as a demonstrable lab rather than a diagram — so the operational cost of running it is visible before anyone commits.
What I learned
Self-hosting is not a cost decision, it is an operational commitment. The honest question is not whether you can stand it up, but whether you can keep it running.