---
title: Curated Stacks
description: "Pre-tested bundles of open source tools designed for specific use cases. Save hundreds per month by self-hosting an entire toolkit."
---

import { Rocket, Palette, Bot, Settings, Lock, ArrowRight, DollarSign, Layers } from 'lucide-react'

# Curated Stacks

**A Curated Stack is a pre-tested bundle of open source tools designed for a specific use case.** Instead of researching, comparing, and testing 50 tools yourself, we've done it for you.

Each stack tells you exactly which tools to deploy, in what order, on what hardware — and how much SaaS money you'll save.

## The 5 Stacks

<div className="premium-grid mt-8">

<a href="/stacks/bootstrapper" className="premium-card group">
  <div className="premium-card-title">
    <div className="p-2 rounded-lg bg-red-500/10 text-red-500 group-hover:bg-red-500/20 transition-colors">
      <Rocket size={20} />
    </div>
    <span>The Bootstrapper Stack</span>
  </div>
  <p className="premium-card-description">Full SaaS toolkit for solo founders. Database, auth, deployment, analytics, project management, and design.</p>
  <div className="flex items-center gap-4 mt-4 text-xs font-bold text-[var(--altstack-text-dim)]">
    <span className="text-green-500">Saves ~$310/mo</span>
    <span>6 tools</span>
    <span>4 GB RAM</span>
  </div>
  <div className="absolute bottom-6 right-6 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity text-red-500">
    <ArrowRight size={18} />
  </div>
</a>

<a href="/stacks/designer" className="premium-card group">
  <div className="premium-card-title">
    <div className="p-2 rounded-lg bg-purple-500/10 text-purple-500 group-hover:bg-purple-500/20 transition-colors">
      <Palette size={20} />
    </div>
    <span>The Designer Stack</span>
  </div>
  <p className="premium-card-description">Professional design tools that rival Adobe. UI/UX prototyping, photo editing, and digital art — all free.</p>
  <div className="flex items-center gap-4 mt-4 text-xs font-bold text-[var(--altstack-text-dim)]">
    <span className="text-green-500">Saves ~$110/mo</span>
    <span>4 tools</span>
    <span>4 GB RAM</span>
  </div>
  <div className="absolute bottom-6 right-6 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity text-purple-500">
    <ArrowRight size={18} />
  </div>
</a>

<a href="/stacks/ai-first" className="premium-card group">
  <div className="premium-card-title">
    <div className="p-2 rounded-lg bg-blue-500/10 text-blue-500 group-hover:bg-blue-500/20 transition-colors">
      <Bot size={20} />
    </div>
    <span>The AI-First Stack</span>
  </div>
  <p className="premium-card-description">Run powerful AI locally. LLMs, image generation, and code completion — no API keys, no usage limits.</p>
  <div className="flex items-center gap-4 mt-4 text-xs font-bold text-[var(--altstack-text-dim)]">
    <span className="text-green-500">Saves ~$69/mo</span>
    <span>5 tools</span>
    <span>8+ GB RAM</span>
  </div>
  <div className="absolute bottom-6 right-6 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity text-blue-500">
    <ArrowRight size={18} />
  </div>
</a>

<a href="/stacks/devops" className="premium-card group">
  <div className="premium-card-title">
    <div className="p-2 rounded-lg bg-orange-500/10 text-orange-500 group-hover:bg-orange-500/20 transition-colors">
      <Settings size={20} />
    </div>
    <span>The DevOps Stack</span>
  </div>
  <p className="premium-card-description">From backend to hosting to monitoring — deploy and manage your entire infrastructure with zero vendor lock-in.</p>
  <div className="flex items-center gap-4 mt-4 text-xs font-bold text-[var(--altstack-text-dim)]">
    <span className="text-green-500">Saves ~$375/mo</span>
    <span>5 tools</span>
    <span>4 GB RAM</span>
  </div>
  <div className="absolute bottom-6 right-6 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity text-orange-500">
    <ArrowRight size={18} />
  </div>
</a>

<a href="/stacks/privacy" className="premium-card group">
  <div className="premium-card-title">
    <div className="p-2 rounded-lg bg-green-500/10 text-green-500 group-hover:bg-green-500/20 transition-colors">
      <Lock size={20} />
    </div>
    <span>The Privacy Stack</span>
  </div>
  <p className="premium-card-description">Every tool runs on your infrastructure. Your data never touches a third-party server. Maximum data sovereignty.</p>
  <div className="flex items-center gap-4 mt-4 text-xs font-bold text-[var(--altstack-text-dim)]">
    <span className="text-green-500">Saves ~$185/mo</span>
    <span>6 tools</span>
    <span>4 GB RAM</span>
  </div>
  <div className="absolute bottom-6 right-6 opacity-0 group-hover:opacity-100 transition-opacity text-green-500">
    <ArrowRight size={18} />
  </div>
</a>

</div>

---

## How We Pick Tools

Every tool in a Curated Stack must pass five filters:

| Criteria | What It Means |
|---|---|
| **Actively maintained** | Regular commits, responsive maintainers, not abandonware |
| **Docker-native** | Ships with official or well-maintained Docker images |
| **Production-proven** | Used by real teams and individuals, not just demo projects |
| **Honest quality** | We've actually deployed it. If the UX is rough, we say so |
| **No vendor lock-in** | Standard data formats, exportable data, no proprietary traps |

We don't include tools because they're popular. We include them because they actually work when you deploy them on a $6/mo VPS.

## Which Stack Is Right for You?

| If you are... | Start with |
|---|---|
| A solo founder building a SaaS MVP | [The Bootstrapper Stack](/stacks/bootstrapper) |
| A designer ditching Adobe subscriptions | [The Designer Stack](/stacks/designer) |
| An AI enthusiast who wants to run models locally | [The AI-First Stack](/stacks/ai-first) |
| A developer managing your own infrastructure | [The DevOps Stack](/stacks/devops) |
| Anyone who cares deeply about data privacy | [The Privacy Stack](/stacks/privacy) |

## Mixing & Matching

Stacks aren't exclusive — tools overlap by design. Many teams run a combination:

- **Bootstrapper + AI-First** → SaaS toolkit with local AI capabilities
- **DevOps + Privacy** → Full infrastructure with maximum data sovereignty
- **Designer + Bootstrapper** → Creative team with SaaS backbone

The only constraint is hardware. Each stack page lists specific RAM, CPU, and storage requirements. If you're running multiple stacks, add the requirements together and size your VPS accordingly.

> 🔥 **Pro Tip:** Start with one stack. Get comfortable. Then layer on tools from other stacks as you need them. Trying to deploy everything at once is how people burn out.

## Build Your Own Stack

Don't see your perfect combination? Browse the [Deploy Guides](/deploy) — every tool has an independent deployment page. Pick the ones that fit your workflow and build a custom stack.

If you want to suggest a new Curated Stack, [open an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/AltStackHQ/docs/issues) and we'll consider adding it.
