About Coolify
Coolify is an open source platform that works like a Heroku, Netlify or Vercel that you host yourself. You connect a Git repository, and it builds the application, runs it in a Docker container and takes care of routing and certificates. It can also deploy databases and third-party services from ready-made templates.
It is aimed at independent developers, small teams and agencies who want to stay in control of their infrastructure without writing an Ansible playbook for every project. The cost stays that of a single server, and your data stays on a machine you control.
At delivery, the VPS has already run the official installer (curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash), launched by cloud-init through the script /opt/install-coolify.sh. The installer sets up Docker, Coolify and its dependencies. The web interface answers on http://SERVER_IP:8000, where you create your administrator account.
What you can do with Coolify
Deploy straight from Git
Connect a GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or Gitea repository. Coolify builds the application with a Dockerfile, a Docker Compose file or a buildpack, then starts it.
One-click databases
PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis and others are created from the interface. Scheduled backups can be sent to S3-compatible storage.
Domains and HTTPS certificates
You attach a domain to each application and Coolify handles the reverse proxy and the Let's Encrypt certificates. There is no Nginx configuration to maintain by hand.
Catalogue of ready-made services
Dozens of self-hosted tools (analytics, wikis, monitoring and more) install from templates. You avoid writing every Compose file yourself.
Webhooks and automatic deployments
A push to a branch can trigger a new deployment. Environment variables and secrets are managed per application from the panel.
Several servers, one panel
Coolify can manage other servers over SSH. You can start on a single VPS and spread the load later without changing tools.
Get started with Coolify
From order to production in a few minutes.
- 1
Order the VPS with Coolify
On the order form, choose a Linux VPS (Paris or Frankfurt), then tick Coolify in the "Applications" tab. Pick Debian 12, Debian 13, or Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04 or 24.04.
- 2
Wait for delivery and open the panel
The installer runs on first boot and can take a few minutes. You can follow its progress over SSH, then open the interface in your browser.
Bashssh root@SERVER_IP cloud-init status --wait # then open http://SERVER_IP:8000 - 3
Create the administrator account
On the Coolify welcome page, enter your email and a strong password. Do it as soon as the server is delivered: until an account exists, the registration page is open to anyone who knows the address. Then add your first project and connect your Git repository.
- 4
Secure it for production
Create a DNS A record from YOUR_DOMAIN to SERVER_IP, then enter that domain in the Coolify instance settings to reach the panel over HTTPS. After that, limit what the server exposes and schedule backups of your databases.
Bash# Example with ufw (note: Docker can bypass ufw for published ports) ufw allow 22/tcp ufw allow 80/tcp ufw allow 443/tcp
Coolify use cases
Replace Heroku or Vercel
Host your Node.js, PHP or Python applications and static sites on a fixed-cost server, with a deployment triggered on every Git push.
Staging platform for an agency
Create one project per client, with its own environment variables, domains and database, from a single panel the whole team shares.
Self-host your internal tools
Install a wiki, an analytics tool or a task manager from the service catalogue, without maintaining scattered Compose files.
Test and preproduction environments
Deploy each branch of a project to test it before release, then delete the environment when you no longer need it.
Coolify FAQ
The VPS has run the official Coolify installer, which sets up Docker, Coolify and its dependencies. The web interface is available on port 8000 of the server's IP address. All that is left is to create your administrator account.
More about Coolify
Sizing the server
The Coolify documentation recommends at least 2 GB of RAM, 2 cores and about 30 GB of disk for the instance itself. That does not cover your applications. Builds (npm, Composer, compilation) use a lot of memory for a few minutes, so leave some headroom, or add swap if the server is tight. If builds start slowing down your production applications, a second server dedicated to builds or heavy workloads is a sensible next step. You can browse the Linux VPS range to pick a suitable size.
Domain and HTTPS
Port 8000 is meant for the first login, over plain HTTP, so nothing is encrypted. As soon as your account exists, attach a domain to the panel itself (in the instance settings) so you stop typing your password in clear text. For your applications, each domain must point to the server's IP address before you deploy, otherwise certificate issuance fails. If you do not have a domain name yet, see the domain names page.
Backups
Coolify can schedule database backups to S3-compatible storage. Set them up as soon as you create your first database, and test a restore. Your application volumes and Coolify's own configuration also deserve a backup of your own, kept off the server.
Updates
Coolify offers updates from its interface and can apply them automatically if you enable that option. On a production instance, run them yourself outside peak traffic hours, after reading the project's release notes.
