When not to self-host
If you don't have time to maintain it, don't run it.
Difficulty 2/5
Short
Plain English
If you don't have time to maintain it, don't run it. Picture it like this: Don't adopt a horse if you can't muck out the stable. In the apps you ship (Agentify, wedding portals, CRM), you will bump into this on almost every screen — name it clearly when you prompt your coding agent.
Analogy
Don't adopt a horse if you can't muck out the stable.
Go deeper
If you don't have time to maintain it, don't run it.
Common mistakes
- Letting the AI rename this concept three different ways in one PR.
- Building UI before you can say what is stored and who can change it.
AI-agent trap
Agents may invent jargon here. Ask them to explain the concept in plain English first, then map it to your schema and one real screen.
Summary
If you don't have time to maintain it, don't run it. Don't adopt a horse if you can't muck out the stable. Ask yourself: where does this live in the database, which function changes it, and which screen shows it?
Confidence: