I spent 7 days (and my last $400) building the "BYOK" AI assistant I couldn't find.

Hi everyone,
​I’ve spent the last few weeks frustrated with the "subscription trap" of modern AI coding tools. I wanted something that stayed out of my way, respected my privacy, and let me bring my own API keys so I wasn't locked into a $20/month commitment just to use the models I already pay for.


​So, I decided to build it. I call it Hum (Heyhum.net).


​I’m a stay-at-home mom of two toddlers, so I don't have the luxury of months of quiet development time. I spent the last 7 days in a state of hyper-focus, coding primarily on my phone and in the gaps of my daily routine, to get a stable version live. Nap time with a baby asleep on my chest works out to be the pretty good window for focus.


​The Core Philosophy:
​True BYOK: No middleware taking a cut. You provide the keys; Hum provides the interface.
​Privacy-First: It’s stateless. Your code doesn't live on my server.
​Surgical Edits: Built for "Vibe Coding" = making precise, intentional changes rather than letting an agent rewrite your whole file.
​Compare & Merge: Run two models (like Claude and GPT-4o) side-by-side with different prompts to see which one handles a logic problem better.


​The Reality Check:
The site has been live for a week. I’ve already seen a 10× spike in traffic and survived my first massive wave of automated bot scans (the "welcome to the internet" ritual).


​I'm currently on a total spending freeze after investing $400 into the initial assets and infrastructure. My goal isn't to build a VC-backed unicorn; I just want to build a tool that solves a real pain point for developers who value control and precision.
​I’d love to get some feedback from this community. Does the "Bring Your Own Key" model solve a pain point for you, or do you prefer the convenience of an all-in-one subscription?