Introduction & Installation

Coolify is an open-source alternative to platforms like Heroku, Vercel, and Netlify. It runs on your own server and provides:

• Git-based deployments — Push to GitHub/GitLab, and your app deploys automatically
• One-click databases — Spin up PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, or MongoDB in seconds
• Automatic SSL — Let's Encrypt certificates with zero configuration
• Docker Compose support — Deploy any self-hosted app from a compose file
• Multi-server management — Control multiple VPS instances from one dashboard

The key difference from managed platforms? You own your infrastructure. No surprise bills, no vendor lock-in, and complete control over your data.

Coolify needs resources to run its management interface, build containers, and orchestrate deployments. Here's what we recommend:

Recommendation: The Standard 4GB plan ($16/month) hits the sweet spot for most developers. Choose a region close to your users—RamNode offers locations in NYC, Atlanta, LA, Seattle, and the Netherlands.

• A RamNode VPS running Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 (recommended)
• A domain name with DNS access (for SSL and accessing your dashboard)
• SSH access to your server
• About 15 minutes

SSH into your fresh VPS and prepare the system:

ssh root@your-server-ip

# Update the system and install basic dependencies
apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install -y curl git

Configure a Firewall (Recommended)

Coolify needs a few ports open. Set up UFW:

ufw allow 22/tcp    # SSH
ufw allow 80/tcp    # HTTP
ufw allow 443/tcp   # HTTPS
ufw allow 8000/tcp  # Coolify dashboard (temporary)
ufw enable

Coolify provides a one-liner installer that handles Docker and all dependencies:

curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash

This script will:

1. Install Docker and Docker Compose if not present
2. Pull the Coolify containers
3. Set up the internal network
4. Start the Coolify services

The installation takes 2-5 minutes. When complete, you'll see:

Coolify installed successfully!
Please visit http://your-server-ip:8000 to get started.

Open your browser and navigate to http://your-server-ip:8000. You'll be greeted with the registration screen.

Create Your Admin Account

Fill in your details to create the first (admin) user. This account has full control over Coolify—choose a strong password.

Configure Instance Settings

After logging in, head to Settings in the sidebar. Key settings to configure:

• Instance URL: Set this to your domain (e.g., https://coolify.yourdomain.com). This is important for webhooks and SSL.
• Wildcard Domain: If you want automatic subdomains for your apps (e.g., myapp.yourdomain.com), configure a wildcard domain here.

For production use, access Coolify via a proper domain with SSL.

DNS Configuration

Add an A record pointing to your server:

Type: A
Name: coolify (or your preferred subdomain)
Value: your-server-ip
TTL: 300

If you plan to use wildcard subdomains for your apps:

Type: A
Name: *.apps (or your preferred wildcard)
Value: your-server-ip
TTL: 300

Enable SSL for the Dashboard

Back in Coolify's settings:

1. Set your Instance URL to https://coolify.yourdomain.com
2. Coolify will automatically provision a Let's Encrypt certificate
3. Once complete, access your dashboard via HTTPS

You can now close port 8000 on your firewall:

ufw delete allow 8000/tcp

Let's make sure everything is working. In the Coolify dashboard:

1. Go to Servers in the sidebar
2. Click on localhost
3. You should see green status indicators for Docker and the server connection

Run a quick health check from SSH:

docker ps

You should see several Coolify containers running:

coolify
coolify-proxy
coolify-db
coolify-redis

Understanding Servers and Destinations

Coolify uses two concepts that might seem confusing at first:

• Servers are the physical or virtual machines where your apps run. Your current VPS is automatically added as the "localhost" server.
• Destinations are Docker networks on those servers where containers are deployed. Coolify creates a default destination for you.

For a single-server setup, you don't need to change anything. The localhost server with its default destination is ready to deploy apps.