# Stop Paying for APIs You Can Host Yourself Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2m0YyWImPs Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/a2m0YyWImPs Generated: 2026-01-12T18:12:08.016+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview The video demonstrates how to eliminate monthly API subscription costs for services like OpenAI, Creatomate, and others by deploying the No-Code Architects Toolkit onto Google Cloud Run, effectively using self-hosted Python code to access resources via API at minimal or no direct cost to the user. **Key Points:** - The No-Code Architects Toolkit is introduced as a solution to replace costly monthly API subscriptions for services like OpenAI (ChatGPT, Whisper, DALL-E), Creatomate, PDF.co, and Google Drive. - The strategy involves hosting the toolkit's custom Python code on a server, such as Google Cloud Run, allowing users to access external resources through their own deployment's API. - The tutorial walks through setting up the Google Cloud Run deployment, including setting the necessary Storage Object Viewer permissions on the Google Cloud Storage bucket. - To test the setup, an HTTP POST request is configured in Postman to the newly deployed endpoint, using the API key as a header. - The request body for the concatenation endpoint (POST /v1/video/concatenate) requires specifying video URLs, and upon success, returns a status code of 200 and the resulting concatenated video URL. - The total duration of the two sample video inputs used for testing (9 seconds each) resulted in an 18-second output video, confirming the concatenation worked correctly. ![Screenshot at 0:36: The visual diagram highlights several subscription services \(OpenAI, Creatomate, PDF.co, Google Drive\) with pink arrows pointing to them, indicating these are the costly services the No-Code Architects Toolkit aims to replace by using self-hosted code.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/a2m0YyWImPs/00-00-36.jpg) **Context:** The presenter addresses the common issue of accumulating high monthly costs associated with various third-party AI and automation APIs (like OpenAI, PDF processing, and video generation tools) when building complex automations. The solution presented is the No-Code Architects Toolkit, which provides underlying code that can be self-hosted, allowing users to bypass external subscription fees by paying only for the underlying cloud infrastructure hosting (like Google Cloud Run) instead. ## Detailed Analysis The video serves as a tutorial demonstrating how to eliminate recurring monthly subscription costs for several popular automation tools by utilizing the No-Code Architects Toolkit, which allows self-hosting of the necessary backend code. The presenter first shows a diagram illustrating popular services like OpenAI (ChatGPT, Whisper, DALL-E), Creatomate, PDF.co, and Google Drive, emphasizing the cumulative dollar cost of these subscriptions. The alternative is to deploy the No-Code Architects Toolkit, which includes custom Python code, onto a server like Google Cloud Run. The setup process involves ensuring proper permissions (Storage Object Viewer) are set on the Google Cloud Storage bucket. After deployment, the presenter switches to Postman to test the live endpoint. A POST request is configured to the concatenation endpoint (/v1/video/concatenate). This involves setting the HTTP method to POST, including the API key in the headers, setting the body type to JSON, and pasting the required JSON structure containing the URLs of the videos to be combined. After executing the request, the response confirms success with a 200 status code and provides the URL for the newly concatenated video, proving that the self-hosted solution successfully replicates the functionality of the paid services. ### Cost Problem Identification - Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on API subscriptions? - Solution introduced: No-Code Architects Toolkit offers a free alternative - Toolkit replaces OpenAI, Creatomate, PDF.co, and Google Cloud Storage integration. ### Self-Hosting Setup - The toolkit allows running custom Python code on your own server (e.g., Google Cloud Run) to access resources via API at almost no cost to you. ### Google Cloud Setup Steps - Ensure you check the documentation for setting up the Cloud Run deployment and granting necessary Storage Object Viewer permissions on the storage bucket. ### Postman API Test Configuration - Configure an HTTP POST request targeting the concatenation endpoint (/v1/video/concatenate). ### Request Parameters - Set Method to POST, include the API key in the headers, set Body Type to Raw, and Content Type to application/json. ### Request Body Input - Paste the required JSON body containing the video URLs from the output received when testing the endpoint in Postman previously. ### Execution and Verification - After clicking OK, running the test returns a 200 status code, and the response body contains the URL for the concatenated video, confirming the self-hosted solution works successfully. ![Screenshot at 0:04: The introduction slide showing the No-Code Architects Toolkit logo, representing the self-hosted solution.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/a2m0YyWImPs/00-00-04.jpg) ![Screenshot at 0:02: Diagram illustrating the high-cost API services \(OpenAI, Creatomate, PDF.co, Google Drive\) that the toolkit replaces.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/a2m0YyWImPs/00-00-02.jpg) ![Screenshot at 0:17: The presenter pointing to the No-Code Architects Toolkit logo, emphasizing that this self-hosted tool replaces paid subscriptions.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/a2m0YyWImPs/00-00-17.jpg) ![Screenshot at 0:59: The Google Cloud Run service details page showing the deployed endpoint URL for the toolkit.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/a2m0YyWImPs/00-00-59.jpg) ![Screenshot at 1:05: The HTTP module selection in Make \(Integromat\), showing the option to select HTTP for making a custom request.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/a2m0YyWImPs/00-01-05.jpg)