I almost replaced Lovable with a $5 VPS, Dokploy and one MCP gateway

A developer has shared an alternative to the popular AI-powered web development platform Lovable by building a custom solution using a $5 VPS, Dokploy, and a new tool called Junctio. The author created Junctio, an MCP (Model Context Protocol) gateway, to bridge the gap between AI agents like Claude and infrastructure management tools. By running the official Dokploy MCP server within a controlled Junctio container, the developer can securely manage deployments, domain settings, and application lifecycles via AI prompts. The setup utilizes OAuth for secure authentication and allows for a curated, limited set of tools to prevent AI agents from over-executing commands. This approach offers a cost-effective, self-hosted alternative to subscription-based services, providing granular control over API keys and security while maintaining a streamlined workflow for automated deployments. The project is open-source and available on GitHub for those looking to replicate the architecture.