Echo Line is a serialized cyberpunk story — and a live demo of what a single creator can ship with modern tools + AI. I wrote it, drew it, deployed it, and wired payments/membership — with ChatGPT as my always-on pair programmer/editor.
Studios aren’t a prerequisite. With Linux servers, open-source frameworks, and an AI ally, a motivated person can build a production membership platform and publish a world. That’s cyberpunk energy.
- Infrastructure: Linode (compute + object storage), Ubuntu
- Backend: Python, FastAPI, Uvicorn, SQLAlchemy, PostgreSQL
- Frontend: HTML, CSS, Tailwind, Alpine.js, Jinja templates
- Payments & Auth: Stripe (paywall), custom sessions, password reset via Mailgun
- CDN + DNS: Cloudflare, Namecheap
- AI Ally: ChatGPT — architecture, debugging, copy passes, component code
- Spin up a VPS (Linode), install Ubuntu + UFW + fail2ban.
- Deploy a FastAPI app with Uvicorn + Systemd, serve via Nginx.
- Wire PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy models, and migrations.
- Add templates with Tailwind/Alpine; ship your first view.
- Hook Stripe for paywall; Mailgun for password reset.
- Iterate with ChatGPT for code reviews, bug hunts, and content edits.
No CS degree required — just taste, persistence, and shipping energy.
Human-made story, art direction, and final prose. AI helps with ideation, edits, and code — the choices are mine.
Chapters 1–5 are free. Chapter 6+ unlock with a small one-time purchase.