𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟬$ 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲)

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟬$ 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲)

AI costs too much.

Many teams buy expensive tools before they understand the problem.

A demo needs one API call. A real system needs layers.

Here is the $0 stack for software engineers.

The layers you need:

• Frontend: User interface.
• Backend: Business logic.
• Orchestration: Task planning.
• LLM: Model serving.
• Coding Agent: Development speed.
• Data: Context and memory.
• Deployment: Scaling and security.

Recommended $0 tools:

• UI: Next.js, Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui.
• Backend: FastAPI or NestJS.
• Orchestration: Hexabot or n8n.
• Models: Ollama.
• Coding: Aider or OpenCode.
• Data: PostgreSQL with pgvector.
• Deployment: Docker Compose, NGINX, Let’s Encrypt.

Why start here?

• You control the stack.
• You avoid vendor lock-in.
• You pay only when the use case proves its value.

Architecture is stable. Tools change every week.

Learn where tools belong.

Pick one layer. Pick one tool. Build one slice.

Prove your system works before your cloud bill proves it does not.

Source: https://dev.to/marrouchi/the-0-ai-achitecture-stack-2026-3m4n