Coolify is an open source platform that turns your server into a personal PaaS: connect a Git repository or pick from one-click apps, and it builds, deploys, and manages everything with a web UI — on your own hardware.

Prerequisites

  • A fresh VPS running a supported OS — Coolify officially supports recent Ubuntu/Debian releases. Don't install it on a server full of existing Docker workloads; it expects to manage the machine.
  • Root access over SSH for the installer.
  • At least 2 GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores for comfortable operation.

1. Run the official installer

On the server, as root:

curl -fsSL https://get.coollabs.io/coolify | bash

The script installs Docker, pulls Coolify's own containers, and starts them. When it finishes it prints the URL and the initial login token.

Know what you're piping to bash. Read the script first if you like (curl -fsSL https://get.coollabs.io/coolify, review, then pipe). This is standard practice for one-line installers — the source is public in the Coolify repository.

2. First login

Coolify listens on port 8000. Until you've decided how to expose it, reach it through an SSH tunnel — on your own computer:

ssh -L 8000:localhost:8000 root@your-server-ip
# then open http://localhost:8000

Register your admin account (no default credentials — the first user you create becomes the administrator). Then open the server settings and enable two things before anything else: SSH access for deployments, and a persistent API token only if you plan to script against it.

3. Deploy your first app

  1. Project → Add resource. For a no-code start, pick a one-click service (for example Uptime Kuma or Vaultwarden) from the list.
  2. Coolify generates the Compose setup for you. Review the domain it assigns (something.random-subdomain.coolify.io by default) or attach your own domain.
  3. Hit Deploy. Watch the build log; a healthy deploy ends with a running container and a green health check.

4. Your own domain and HTTPS

Point your domain's A record at the server, enter it in the app's domain settings, and let Coolify request a Let's Encrypt certificate. Like any platform of this kind, Coolify's managed traefik routes become the public doorway — keep individual app ports off the public interface unless you mean to expose them.

5. Updates and backups

  • Coolify itself: the UI shows update prompts; the project releases frequently and updating is one click. The docs recommend keeping it current.
  • Your apps and data: enable scheduled database backups in each resource's settings where supported, and back up Coolify's own configuration volume (/data/coolify on the host) — it holds your instance's keys and configuration. Fold it into the routine from the backups guide.

Troubleshooting

  • UI unreachable after reboot: docker ps — if Coolify's containers are down, cd /data/coolify && docker compose up -d brings the panel back; then check why it didn't start (the installer normally registers a startup service).
  • Deploy fails at build: read the deploy log — most failures are missing environment variables or a repository that needs authentication. Connect your Git provider under Keys & Tokens first.
  • Out of memory: builds are the hungriest step. On a 2 GB server, add swap (the VPS guide shows how) and avoid parallel deploys.

Official documentation: Coolify docs · Installer source: GitHub repository