Stack Basics — the free course

Setting up to build on the autonomous agent economy

Everything you need to set up BEFORE the "drop and go": where your always-on machine lives, the plumbing that makes it real, the coding agents that build it with you, what it all costs, and the decisions nobody can make for you. All of it free. Even if you never sell to an AI agent, you'll walk away able to host anything.

Pairs with the free Idea-Fit Checklist. The checklist scores your idea; this course builds the machine that ships it. Start with either — you need both halves before launch.

⬇ Download the free ebook (PDF) 📄 Read it as one page

📬 Optional: get the course by email

The whole course is free right here, no email needed — that stays true. But if you want it in your inbox, plus updates when modules are added or prices/tools shift, drop your email.

Module 1

Your laptop is not a vending machine

Why localhost fails as a business, and every realistic home for your always-on machine — VPS, Mac mini, Pi, PaaS — with the honest tradeoffs.

Module 2

The plumbing: domains, tunnels, TLS & staying alive

Four small pieces that turn a machine into a reachable, self-healing service — the exact pattern a 19-service fleet runs on.

Module 3

Coding agents: your build crew

Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Aider — what they cost, which one fits you, and the five habits that make them actually work.

Module 4

What it costs + the hacks that work

Token math, subscriptions vs API keys, the OpenRouter free-model tradeoff, and when a local LLM on your own hardware is enough.

Module 5

The decisions only you can make

The pre-launch decision list, the comfort-threshold story, and why this pays off even if you never charge a bot a cent.

Then: the deep end

When you're ready for the very technical 402 build — payment middleware, discovery, client-compat quirks — the x402 Starter Kit is the brief your coding agent executes, proven on 800+ live paid endpoints. Every purchase keeps the free stuff free.

Disclosure: some links in this course are affiliate links (including Amazon). They help fund the free course — your price never changes, and every product here is one we'd recommend anyway.