The SaaS Killer.
Replace your 10+ subscriptions with one AI-autonomous system you actually own.

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The Problem

You're paying $500+/month for fragmented SaaS tools. Your CRM doesn't talk to your task manager. Your calendar is isolated from your contacts. You can't query across systems. AI assistants can't help because they can't access your data. You're renting software you'll never own.

The Solution

Substrate is your AI-native business operating system. One PostgreSQL database. One codebase. Complete ownership. AI agents that actually understand your entire business.

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Modular By Design

Every feature in Substrate is a self-contained module. CRM, Tasks, Calendar—they're all just modules in the domains/ folder. You can add your own in minutes.

Create a Module in 4 Steps

# 1. Create the folder
mkdir -p substrate/domains/invoicing/sql

-- 2. Define schema: sql/001_init.sql
CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS invoicing;

CREATE TABLE invoicing.invoices (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    contact_id UUID REFERENCES crm.contacts(id),
    status TEXT DEFAULT 'draft',
    total_cents INTEGER,
    due_at TIMESTAMPTZ,
    created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT now()
);

# 3. Add AI tools: tools.py
def create_invoice(contact_id: str, amount: int) -> dict:
    """Create an invoice for a contact."""
    # Your business logic here
    pass

# 4. Run migrations
make migrate

That's it. Your module now has:

• REST API endpoints (/api/invoicing/invoices)
• Web UI for browsing/editing
• MCP tools for Claude Code
• Background task support

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How It Works

Interface	Purpose
Domain UIs	Custom web UI per module (/crm, /tasks, /calendar)
AI Chat	One chat interface to query and act across all domains
Claude Code	Build new modules, extend existing ones

Business logic runs in Absurd — a durable workflow engine with retries, scheduling, and state recovery. Send emails, sync data, process webhooks — all with guaranteed delivery.

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Quick Start

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/codimusmaximus/substrate.git
cd substrate

# Configure
cp .env.template .env
# Add your OPENAI_API_KEY

# Launch
uv sync && make init

Open http://localhost:8000 — you're running.

Endpoint	Purpose
localhost:8000	Dashboard
localhost:8000/chat	AI Chat
localhost:8000/crud	Data Browser
localhost:7890	Task Monitor

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Built-in Modules (SaaS Replacements)

Module	Replaces	AI Tools
crm/	HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive	crm_contacts_*, crm_companies_*
tasks/	Asana, Todoist, Linear	tasks_create, tasks_complete, ...
calendar/	Calendly, Cal.com	calendar_today, calendar_upcoming, ...
notes/	Notion, Obsidian (syncs both ways)	notes_query, notes_create, ...
email/	Customer.io, Mailchimp	email_send, email_list, ...
events/	Zapier, Make (routing rules)	events_rules_*, events_query
auth/	Auth0 (users, inboxes)	inboxes_*, users_*

Cost comparison: ~$500/month in SaaS → $0/month (self-hosted) or ~$20/month (single VPS)

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Claude Code Integration

Substrate exposes 70+ MCP tools for Claude Code:

claude mcp add substrate -- .venv/bin/python -m substrate.ui.mcp.server

Then just ask:

"Show me contacts I haven't talked to in 30 days"
"Create a meeting with John for tomorrow at 2pm"
"Draft a follow-up email for the Acme deal"
"What tasks are due this week?"

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology	Purpose
Database	PostgreSQL + pgvector	Data + vector embeddings
Workflows	Absurd	Durable background tasks
API	FastAPI	REST endpoints
AI	Pydantic AI + OpenAI	Chat interface
MCP	Model Context Protocol	Claude Code integration
Monitoring	Habitat	Task dashboard (Go + SolidJS)

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Project Structure

substrate/
├── core/                   # Infrastructure (don't modify)
│   ├── db/                 # Connection pool, migrations
│   ├── worker/             # Background task runner
│   └── config.py           # Environment configuration
│
├── domains/                # ← YOUR MODULES GO HERE
│   ├── crm/                # Contacts, companies
│   ├── tasks/              # Task management
│   ├── calendar/           # Events, scheduling
│   ├── notes/              # Knowledge base
│   ├── email/              # Email integration
│   ├── events/             # Routing rules
│   ├── auth/               # Users, inboxes
│   └── your-module/        # ← Add your own!
│
├── integrations/           # External system connectors
│   ├── obsidian/           # Vault sync (optional)
│   └── resend/             # Email API
│
└── ui/                     # Interfaces
    ├── api/                # REST API
    ├── chat/               # AI chat
    ├── mcp/                # Claude Code server
    └── web/                # Dashboards

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Configuration

Variable	Required	Description
DATABASE_URL	Yes	PostgreSQL connection
OPENAI_API_KEY	For AI	Chat and embeddings
RESEND_API_KEY	For email	Send emails
VAULT_REPO	For sync	Obsidian git sync

See .env.template for all options.

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Development

make help          # Show all commands
make api           # Run API with hot reload
make worker        # Run background worker
make db            # PostgreSQL shell
make migrate       # Run migrations

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Philosophy

Own your stack. No vendor lock-in. No monthly fees. Your data in PostgreSQL forever.

AI-native from day one. Every table is queryable by AI. Every action is an MCP tool.

Progressive automation:

1. Manual first—do it by hand until you understand it
2. Systematize—create tables and workflows when the pattern is clear
3. Augment—add AI tools when intelligence would help
4. Automate—schedule agents when you trust the process

Read the full Architecture Guide.

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Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md.

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License

MIT License - see LICENSE.

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Stop renting. Start owning.
_{Built for people who want AI-native business systems without the SaaS tax.}