Developer Workspace
Self-hosted Git + CI/CD + npm registry + automation. Full dev stack on one VPS.
What this stack is
Developer Workspace is the self-hosted DevOps platform for individual developers and small teams: Git + CI/CD + private package registry + workflow automation, all on one VPS. One-click deploys GitLab (Git hosting + issues + wiki), Drone CI (continuous integration), Verdaccio (private npm registry), and n8n (workflow automation that connects Git events to anything).
For the hosting provider, this is the "replace GitHub + CircleCI + npm Enterprise + Zapier with one VPS" product. Targets developers and small studios who burned out paying $100-300/mo across 4 different SaaS subscriptions.
What it's for
- Private Git hosting — code, issues, PRs, wiki, container registry, all on your domain
- CI/CD pipelines — Drone runs your tests, builds, deploys on every push
- Private package registry — Verdaccio caches npm + hosts your internal packages
- Workflow automation — n8n connects Git events to Slack/Discord/email/anything
Who it's for
- Indie developers wanting their stack off GitHub for cost or sovereignty reasons
- Small dev studios (2-10 devs) running multiple client projects with isolation needs
- Bootstrapped SaaS founders controlling all their tooling under one domain
- Open-source maintainers preferring self-hosted forge over GitHub dependency
- EU dev teams subject to data residency requirements on source code (defense, fintech, healthcare clients)
Apps in this stack
| App | Role |
|---|---|
| GitLab | Git hosting + issues + merge requests + wiki + container registry |
| Drone CI | Pipeline-as-code CI/CD — runs builds/tests on every push, deploys on tag |
| Verdaccio | Private + caching npm registry — host internal packages, cache public deps |
| n8n | Workflow automation — connect Git events to anything (400+ integrations) |
Sizing & deployment
- Recommended VPS: 8 GB RAM, 4 vCPU, 80 GB NVMe storage
- No GPU needed
- GitLab is the RAM-heavy component (~4 GB baseline) — sizing is GitLab-driven
- Deploy time: ~25-30 min one-click (GitLab is slow to first boot), all SSL automatic via Let's Encrypt
- Backup profile: nightly GitLab DB + repos + Drone DB + Verdaccio storage + n8n credentials export
Why hosters sell this
Developers calculate their tooling cost (GitHub Team $4/user + CircleCI $30 + npm Enterprise $7/user + Zapier $20 = $61/user/mo at 5 devs = $305/mo). Your offer replaces all of it at flat rate, with full sovereignty.
Common resale shape:
- Solo dev tier — single VPS, single user, personal Git + CI
- Small team tier — single VPS, 2-10 devs, shared CI + npm registry
- Studio tier — multiple isolated workspaces (multi-tenant GitLab Premium)
Stack retail pricing is set by the hoster. See the suggested retail hint on this page as starting anchor; refer to bluix.net/bluixapps.php for the Bluix module license layer.
Compliance profile
- Source code stays on the VPS — critical for defense/fintech/healthcare clients with code-residency clauses
- No third-party access to Git data, CI logs, package registry
- Audit log in GitLab for code-access compliance (ISO 27001, SOC 2)
- EU hosting by default for GDPR-bound dev teams
- Air-gap option — n8n can be disabled if no external integrations are allowed