Starhold Software · automation and platform engineering
Automation and platform engineering for teams that outgrew scripts.
You wrote a script. Then a folder of them. Now something that matters depends on them — I build the version that holds, and I keep it running.
Things you can check before you read another word
What I sell
Four ways to hire me
Scoped and quoted per job. No retainer, no minimum, no discovery-phase invoice.
Automation
The manual step, removed. Python, PowerShell, and Bash that runs on a schedule, records what it did, and says so when it fails.
Platform and HA hosting
Somewhere for it to live. Rootless containers, private mesh networking, backups, and a status page anyone can open.
Custom bots
Discord run like business software, under your server's own name and avatar: moderation, roles, logging, and automation. An Ops Pack adds server, application, and scheduled-scraping monitoring.
Full stack solutions
A whole application, not a script. Proven open-source components, assembled and operated as one system scoped to your business — the job a multi-thousand-dollar platform does, without that invoice.
Published uptime
Uptime you can open
Every service I run reports to a public status page, including when it is down. You never have to ask me whether something is up.
# public hostnames
starhold.devstorefront
starhold.fyidocs
starhold.appplatform
open https://status.starhold.fyi
Verified payments
Money is verified
Payments go through Stripe Checkout. The webhook checks Stripe's signature on the raw request before it touches an order, and a request that fails the check is rejected and does nothing.
stripe-signatureread from header
constructEventraw body, signing secret
signature validverified
checkout.session.completedorder posted to Discord
signature invalidrejected, nothing runs
tests in this repository180 unit, 87 browser
Self-hosted
Hosts I administer
The hosts are mine to administer, joined by a private mesh, and the services run rootless: unprivileged containers rather than a root daemon.
podman ps
NAMESRUNS AS
webunprivileged user
gatusunprivileged user
Featured work
A whole game, built and run by one person
Shushgame is a Discord server that is itself the game. I built the site, the bot and the payments, and I operate all three. It is live, so you can open it and check.
How it works
From first message to running in production
A short call
You tell me what you keep doing by hand. I ask questions until I can say what it takes and what could go wrong.
A written quote
I write down the scope and the price before I start, so you know what you are agreeing to.
I build it and keep it running
I ship it, host it where it belongs, and stay on the hook for it. If it breaks overnight, it is my problem.
The fleet
Selected work
Four things I built and still run. Each one is here because of what it proves, not because it is for sale.
Shushgame
A Discord server that is itself the game, with its own site and its own payments.
Live
A whole product carried end to end: design, bot, billing, hosting. Nothing about it was handed to someone else.
Custom Discord Bots
A configurable bot sold as a flat monthly subscription, under your server name.
Live
Live Stripe Checkout, webhook signatures verified before anything acts on them, and a catalog published as machine-readable JSON that my own Discord bot consumes as a contract.
QNix
Bring-your-own-device hosting with high availability.
In development
Architecture, hosting, and tenancy and security notes were written down and published before the product existed.
Starhold itself
This site, the docs, the status page, and the machines underneath them.
Live
A dedicated server and a VPS on a private Tailscale mesh, running rootless Podman containers, with 180 unit tests and 87 browser tests in this repository.
How I work
Operating principles
The three above get their own space. These are the rest, short enough to remember and specific enough to hold me to.
- Tests ship with the work. This storefront alone carries 180 unit tests and 87 browser tests, and the counts on this page are generated from the repository rather than typed in. Read them →
- Your visit is not the product. No analytics, no ad trackers, no cookie banner. Nothing on this site phones home — the cart lives in your browser until you check out, and payment goes to Stripe. Read the policy →
- Design notes come before code. The architecture for the platform in development is written up and published where you can read it.
Who you are hiring
Quadstronaut
I run Starhold Software. It is one person, and that person is me.
Questions
Before you ask
Who does the work?
One person. I am Quadstronaut: I scope, build and run every project myself, so the person you talk to is the person writing the code.
How does a project start, and how is it priced?
A short call, then a written quote. Anything bespoke is governed by that quote.
What about refunds?
Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time and run to the end of the period already paid; fees already paid are not refunded or pro-rated. Refund terms for custom work are set out in each written quote. A charge that looks wrong: email me first and I respond within five business days, and you keep your card network chargeback rights either way.
Where does it run?
On a dedicated server and a VPS that I administer myself, joined by a private mesh. The status page is public, so you can check it yourself.
How do payments work?
Checkout is Stripe. Card details are entered on Stripe, not on this site, and the cart stays in your browser until you check out.
Does this site track me?
No analytics, no ad trackers and no cookie banner. The privacy policy spells out what is kept.
Next step
Tell me what you keep doing by hand.
Send me the process, the two systems that refuse to talk to each other, or the thing that keeps breaking overnight. I will tell you what it takes to fix it and what it costs.
- No cookie banner — there is nothing to consent to.
- A short call, then a written quote
- No retainer, no minimum
Currently taking work for Q1 2027.