Hosting · checked 2026-10-20

Can I vibecode Heroku?

KINDA· weekend project

For one person the Heroku loop is small to describe: git push, a build, a container behind HTTPS, environment variables, logs and a Postgres. Dokku, CapRover and Coolify already do it on a $5 to $12 server, and an agent can write a lean version in a weekend. What the $7 buys is not the code but being off call: OS patching, disk space, certificate renewals, tested database restores and a platform that restarts things at 3am. A self-built platform moves all of that onto you, so it fits side projects better than anything people pay for.

$7/moprice

$84you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyAdvanced · Real infrastructure or OAuth work.

TimeA weekend; testing restores and TLS takes longer than writing the code

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
A VPS with Docker EngineA small Ubuntu 24.04 server is enough for a few side projects.
A domain and a wildcard DNS recordCaddy gets certificates for each app name on its own once DNS points here.
Go 1.23Builds the shipd daemon and the ship CLI.
A habit of testing restoresThe nightly dumps only count once you have loaded one into a scratch database.

Before you buildHeroku has no free compute any more. Coolify or Dokku give you the platform for free and cost only the server, so check them before building your own.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a one-server app platform to replace Heroku for my side projects. Requirements:

- Go 1.23: a daemon `shipd` running as a systemd service on one Ubuntu 24.04 VPS, and a CLI
  `ship` on my laptop that talks to it over SSH only. There is no web UI.
- Deploy with `git push`: a bare repo per app in /srv/shipd/repos/<app>.git with a post-receive
  hook that calls shipd. Build with `docker build` when a Dockerfile exists, otherwise with
  `pack build --builder paketobuildpacks/builder-jammy-base`. Keep the last 5 images per app.
- Processes: read the Procfile (web, worker); run one container per process on a Docker network
  using the Docker Engine SDK. Env vars live in /srv/shipd/apps/<app>/env (mode 0600), set with
  `ship config set KEY=VALUE`. A release starts the new web container, waits up to 30 seconds for
  HTTP 200 on its port, switches the route, then stops the old one. `ship rollback` re-runs the previous image.
- Routing: Caddy through its admin API, automatic HTTPS for <app>.<ROOT_DOMAIN> from .env, and
  custom domains with `ship domains add <app> <host>`.
- Database: `ship pg:create <app>` starts a postgres:17 container with a named volume and sets
  DATABASE_URL; a nightly `pg_dump` goes to /srv/shipd/backups (keep 14) and `ship pg:restore`
  loads a chosen dump into a scratch database for checking.
- Day to day: `ship logs <app> --tail`, `ship ps`, `ship run <app> <command>` for a one-off container.
- Storage: SQLite (modernc.org/sqlite) at /srv/shipd/shipd.db for apps, releases, domains, processes.
- Single owner, SSH keys only. No accounts, no telemetry; outbound calls are image pulls and
  Let's Encrypt.
- Out of scope: autoscaling, several servers, pipelines, review apps, an add-on marketplace, metrics.
- README: provisioning the VPS (firewall open on 22, 80, 443), the wildcard DNS record, and a
  warning that patching, backups and a restore test are now my job.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Heroku.

Extend the app platform in this folder. Requirements:

- Pushing a branch other than main to an app creates a review release at <branch>-<app>.<ROOT_DOMAIN> with its own container and an empty database cloned from the schema only.
- `ship review list` shows branches with age; reviews older than 7 days are removed by a nightly job.
- Review releases never receive production env vars: they read /srv/shipd/apps/<app>/env.review.
- Update the README.

Add off-server backups to the app platform in this folder. Requirements:

- After each nightly pg_dump, upload the file to an S3-compatible bucket from .env with `aws-sdk-go-v2`, encrypted with `age` using a public key from .env.
- `ship backups list` shows local and remote copies; `ship backups verify <app>` downloads the newest, decrypts it and restores it into a scratch container.
- Alert by email through SMTP from .env when a backup or a verification fails.
- Update the README.

Add release hooks to the app platform in this folder. Requirements:

- A `release` entry in the Procfile runs once in a one-off container with the new image before the web container starts; a non-zero exit cancels the release.
- Per-app health check path and timeout in `ship config set` style settings.
- Show release history with exit codes and durations in `ship releases <app>`.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Managed Postgres with backups, followers and failover handled for you
Not being on call for OS updates, disk space and restores
Scaling dynos, metrics and alerts from a dashboard
Review Apps, Pipelines and the add-on marketplace
Private Spaces and Shield for regulated workloads

Why people still pay

People pay so that deploys, TLS, logs, restarts and database backups are someone else's job. At $7 a dyno and $5 for a small database, the bill is lower than one evening spent on a full disk or a failed upgrade.

Moatinfrastructure scale integrations brand & trust

Do the math

Heroku or your own copy?

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Heroku, 1 yr$84

Your own copy, 1 yr$115running + build session

Paying is cheaper by$31never pays for itself

Estimate · A small VPS runs several apps, against $12 a month per app on Heroku with a Basic dyno and a small Postgres. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Heroku

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Heroku

1There is no one-click backup of a whole app: collect code, config, database and add-on data separately.
2Code: use your local git copy, or run `heroku git:clone -a <app>`.
3Config: run `heroku config -a <app>` to list every variable and value.
4Database: run `heroku pg:backups:capture` and `heroku pg:backups:download`; PGBackups suits moderately loaded databases up to 20 GB, and larger ones may time out.
5Other add-ons: ask each provider how to export its data.

2 · Cancel Heroku

1Delete the app with `heroku apps:destroy` or from its Settings page in the Dashboard; deletion is permanent, and destroying an add-on also destroys its data.
2Download your invoices first: you can't read them after the account is closed.
3Open Account Settings from your avatar and choose Close this account.
4A personal account can't be closed while it owns apps, nor mid-billing-period if paid usage has accrued.

Billing is prorated to the second, so deleting apps stops charges from that moment, but the final invoice for the month still arrives.
Past-due invoices block both closing the account and removing the card.
Closing is irreversible and removes access to invoices and logs.
Run both servers side by side for a few days before you delete the Heroku app, and lower the DNS TTL beforehand.

Checked 2026-10-20 against Heroku's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

DokkuOpen sourceMIT Docker-based PaaS that deploys on git push to one host, with Heroku-style buildpacks and plugins; command line only.★ 32k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
serverVisit ↗CoolifyOpen sourceApache-2.0 self-hostable PaaS with a web UI for apps, databases and one-click services on your own servers.★ 63k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
serverVisit ↗CapRoverOpen sourceApache-2.0 Docker and nginx PaaS with a web dashboard and a one-click app store.★ 15k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
serverVisit ↗

All 5 free alternatives to Heroku ›

The numbers

Heroku pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Eco	$5	—	0.5 GB RAM, sleeps after 30 minutes of inactivity, 2 process types, personal accounts only.
Basic	$7	—	0.5 GB RAM, always on, 10 process types.
Standard-1X	$25	—	0.5 GB RAM, horizontal scaling, metrics and alerts.
Standard-2X	$50	—	1 GB RAM, the same features as Standard-1X with twice the compute.
Performance-M	$250	—	2.5 GB RAM, dedicated compute and autoscaling; larger Performance dynos run from $500 to $1,500.
Postgres Essential-0	$5	—	Shared database with 1 GB of disk and 20 connections.
Key-Value Mini	$3	—	25 MB, 20 connections.

Free tier: No free dynos or databases on the pricing page.
Billing: Usage is prorated to the second and the monthly price is the most you pay for a resource that ran all month. Invoices arrive monthly for the previous month's use. Postgres Advanced is usage-based. Monthly pricing only: no annual discount on the page.
Hidden costs: A real app needs a dyno plus a database, so Basic ($7) with Postgres Essential-0 ($5) is $12 a month before any other add-on. Private and Shield dynos and databases need a Private Space, which the page doesn't price. Third-party add-ons are priced in the marketplace, and destroying an add-on destroys its data.
Source: www.heroku.com

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Questions

Heroku, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

No free compute: the pricing page offers only free Basic Support.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Managed Postgres with backups, followers and failover handled for you, Not being on call for OS updates, disk space and restores.

About $7 a month on the Basic dyno plan, $84 a year (checked 2026-10-20).

Managed Postgres with backups, followers and failover handled for you; Not being on call for OS updates, disk space and restores; Scaling dynos, metrics and alerts from a dashboard; Review Apps, Pipelines and the add-on marketplace; Private Spaces and Shield for regulated workloads. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.