CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED // DISTRIBUTION: YOURS ALONE
Improvise. Adapt. Self-host.
The sovereign way to run software: rig the exact tool you need from parts you own. A Start9 server, open-source services, your own AI — wired together and reachable anywhere. No cloud landlord. No vendor in the loop.
Bayside High · Computer Lab · Est. wherever your server lives
Your compute. Your keys. Your off switch.
The sovereign way to run software. Build the app you actually need, run it as a service on your own Start9 server, and open it anywhere as a progressive web app. No platform standing between you and your compute.
// four operations — and the four scenes we shoot
Start9 + StartOS + a bespoke service you open as a PWA — kept private.
scene 01 — the box & the app OP 02Frontier models build it; OpenClaw ships it; Opus/Grok/Venice patch it.
scene 02 — building with AI OP 03Open-source services on your box. Fine-tune Gemma 4 with LLaMA-Factory.
scene 03 — your own weights OP 04Cron jobs, your hosted models, and sharing services on your terms.
scene 04 — work while you sleep// also the shooting schedule — one period per scene
Start9 + StartOS + a bespoke service you open as a PWA — kept private.
scene 01 — the box & the app PERIOD 2Frontier models build it; OpenClaw ships it; Opus/Grok/Venice patch it.
scene 02 — building with AI PERIOD 3Open-source services on your box. Fine-tune Gemma 4 with LLaMA-Factory.
scene 03 — your own weights PERIOD 4Cron jobs, your hosted models, and sharing services on your terms.
scene 04 — work while you sleepA Personal Data Center is the hardware and software you own and run yourself. Instead of renting compute from someone else's cloud, the box sits where you live. You hold the keys, the data, and the off switch.
// HOMEROOM — THE SOVEREIGN STACK
A Personal Data Center is the hardware and software you own and run yourself. Instead of renting compute from someone else's cloud, the box sits where you live. You hold the keys, the data, and the off switch.
# build the app you actually need, # package it as a service, install it on your box $ start-cli package build ./the-daily-vol ✓ built the-daily-vol.s9pk $ start-cli package install the-daily-vol.s9pk ✓ service running $ start-cli net tunnel enable the-daily-vol ✓ reachable on the open web — your call # traffic routes through a VPS; visitors see # the tunnel's IP, never your home address
LEAVE NO TRACE
Start-Tunnel runs the connection out through a VPS, so the address the world sees is the tunnel's — not your house. Like a VPN for your services: publish only what you choose to the open web, and your home connection stays off the grid.
// shielded by Start-Tunnel — VPS out front, home server behind itStart-Tunnel runs the connection out through a VPS, so the address the world sees is the tunnel's — not your house. Like a VPN for your services: publish only what you choose to the open web, and your home connection stays hidden.
// shielded by Start-Tunnel — VPS out front, home server behind itFrontier models do the heavy lifting on the first build, the security audit, and the evals. You stay the editor-in-chief: the model writes, you review, test, and decide what ships.
// FIELD LAB — BUILDING WITH AI
Frontier models do the heavy lifting on the first build, the security audit, and the evals. You stay the editor-in-chief: the model writes, you review, test, and decide what ships.
$ openclaw issue "feed ingest dies on bad RSS date" # fan the fix out to several models $ openclaw patch --models opus,grok,venice opus ✓ passes evals grok ✓ passes evals venice ✗ regression in parser $ openclaw commit --pick opus ✓ one concern, one commit → GitHub
The services that run your PDC are open source — read them, fork them, host them. And the model itself can be yours: fine-tune an open model on your own data, on your own GPUs, with nothing leaving the building.
// THE WORKBENCH — OPEN SOURCE ON YOUR BOX
The services that run your PDC are open source — read them, fork them, host them. And the model itself can be yours: fine-tune an open model on your own data, on your own GPUs, with nothing leaving the building.
# fine-tune on your own data, on your own GPUs $ llamafactory-cli train \ --model_name google/gemma-4 \ --dataset timestamp_essays \ --finetuning_type lora \ --output_dir ./gemma4-in-my-voice ✓ checkpoints written locally # serve it back to your own services $ vllm serve ./gemma4-in-my-voice ✓ OpenAI-compatible endpoint, on your box
Cron turns the PDC from a tool you poke into a system that runs on its own. Schedule your hosted models to do the work, write results back to your services, and hand out a key to anyone you choose — without giving away the box.
// AFTER HOURS — SET IT AND WALK AWAY
Cron turns the PDC from a tool you poke into a system that runs on its own. Schedule your hosted models to do the work, write results back to your services, and hand out a key to anyone you choose — without giving away the box.
# 6am: local model writes the morning report, # posts it to a service on your own box 0 6 * * * curl localhost:8000/v1/chat \ -d @prompt.json \ | curl -X POST https://pdc.local/report -d @- ✓ runs every morning, on your hardware # share one service, keep the rest private $ start-cli access grant report --to lp@example.com
Every rig comes down to five things you procure: a box for StartOS, GPUs for your models, a VPS to front the tunnel, keys to the frontier models, and the open weights themselves. Here's my kit — and the field substitutes.
// REQUISITIONS — WHAT'S IN THE BAG
Every rig comes down to five things you procure: a box to run StartOS, GPUs to host your models, a VPS to front the tunnel, keys to the frontier models, and the open weights themselves. Here's my kit — and the field substitutes if you're working with what's on hand.
KIT 01 · THE BOX
Hardware StartOS runs on — your always-on server.
Field substitutes
KIT 02 · THE GPUS
The silicon that fine-tunes and serves your own models.
Field substitutes
KIT 03 · THE VPS
The public node Start-Tunnel fronts, so your home IP stays hidden.
Field substitutes
KIT 04 · THE AI KEYS
Frontier models for first builds, audits, evals, and patches.
Field substitutes
KIT 05 · THE MODELS
Open weights you download, host, and fine-tune yourself — nothing leaves the box.
Sources & substitutes