Coolify Self-Hosted PaaS Deployment

Quick Start

Install Coolify on VM

ssh -i <key-file> <user>@<instance-ip>
curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | sudo bash
# Access: http://<instance-ip>:8000

Deploy Application

1. Access Coolify UI at http://<instance-ip>:8000
2. Create admin account (first visitor gets admin)
3. Add GitHub source → Create project → Deploy from repo
4. Access app at http://<container-id>.<instance-ip>.sslip.io

Server Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 vCPU	4 vCPU
RAM	2GB	4GB
Storage	30GB	50GB
OS	Ubuntu 20.04/22.04/24.04 LTS	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Required Ports:

• TCP 22 (SSH)
• TCP 80 (HTTP/Let's Encrypt)
• TCP 443 (HTTPS)
• TCP 8000 (Coolify UI)

Cloud VM Deployment

1. Provision Infrastructure

# Create security group with required ports
# - TCP 22 (SSH)
# - TCP 80 (HTTP)
# - TCP 443 (HTTPS)
# - TCP 8000 (Coolify UI)

# Launch instance with:
# - 2+ vCPU, 2GB+ RAM
# - 30GB+ root volume
# - Ubuntu LTS
# - Public IP
# - SSH key pair

2. Install Coolify

# Set key permissions
chmod 400 /path/to/key.pem

# Connect and install
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -i /path/to/key.pem <user>@<instance-ip>
curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | sudo bash

3. Initial Setup

1. Open browser: http://<instance-ip>:8000
2. IMPORTANT: Create admin account immediately
3. Complete setup wizard

4. Verify Installation

ssh -i /path/to/key.pem <user>@<instance-ip> \
  "sudo docker ps --format 'table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}' | grep coolify"

Application Deployment

Supported Build Methods

Method	Use Case
Dockerfile	Custom container builds
Nixpacks	Auto-detected language builds
Docker Compose	Multi-container apps
Static	HTML/JS/CSS sites

Deploy from GitHub

1. Add Source: Sources → Add New → GitHub App
2. Create Project: Projects → Add New Project
3. Add Resource: Add New Resource → Public/Private Repository
4. Configure:
   • Repository URL
   • Branch
   • Build pack (Dockerfile/Nixpacks)
   • Port to expose
5. Deploy: Click Deploy button

Sample Dockerfile Application

app/
├── main.py          # Application code
├── requirements.txt # Dependencies
└── Dockerfile       # Container definition

Dockerfile:

FROM python:3.12-slim
WORKDIR /app
COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
COPY . .
EXPOSE 8080
CMD ["python", "-m", "uvicorn", "main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8080"]

Domain Configuration

Auto-generated (sslip.io):

• Format: <container-id>.<public-ip>.sslip.io
• Works immediately, no DNS required

Custom Domain:

1. Add DNS A record → EC2 public IP
2. Update domain in Coolify resource settings
3. Enable SSL (Let's Encrypt auto-configured)

Verification

Check Container Status

ssh -i /path/to/key.pem <user>@<instance-ip> \
  "sudo docker ps --format 'table {{.Names}}\t{{.Ports}}\t{{.Status}}'"

Test Application

# Get app URL from Coolify UI
APP_URL="http://<container-id>.<public-ip>.sslip.io"

curl -s $APP_URL/
curl -s $APP_URL/health

Check Logs

# Application logs
ssh -i /path/to/key.pem <user>@<instance-ip> \
  "sudo docker logs <container-name> --tail 50"

# Coolify logs
ssh -i /path/to/key.pem <user>@<instance-ip> \
  "sudo docker logs coolify --tail 50"

Configuration Reference

Coolify Containers

Container	Purpose	Port
coolify	Main application	8000
coolify-proxy	Traefik reverse proxy	80, 443
coolify-db	PostgreSQL database	5432
coolify-redis	Redis cache	6379
coolify-realtime	WebSocket server	6001-6002

Important Paths

Path	Purpose
/data/coolify/source/.env	Coolify configuration
/data/coolify/proxy/dynamic/	Traefik dynamic config
/data/coolify/applications/	Application data
/data/coolify/databases/	Database volumes

Environment Variables (Installation)

Variable	Purpose	Example
ROOT_USERNAME	Admin username	admin
ROOT_USER_EMAIL	Admin email	admin@example.com
ROOT_USER_PASSWORD	Admin password	SecurePass123
AUTOUPDATE	Auto-update toggle	true/false

Production Checklist

• Create admin account immediately after install
• Backup /data/coolify/source/.env to secure location
• Configure firewall/security group rules
• Set up custom domain with SSL
• Restrict SSH access to specific IPs
• Configure monitoring/alerts
• Test deployment rollback procedure
• Document access credentials securely

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
404 on public IP	Access via sslip.io domain, not raw IP
Cannot access Coolify UI	Check security group allows port 8000
Deployment fails	Check Coolify logs and Dockerfile syntax
SSL certificate fails	Ensure port 80 open, DNS configured
Container not starting	Check container logs for errors
Out of disk space	Prune Docker: docker system prune -a
Coolify unresponsive	Restart: docker restart coolify

Update Coolify

ssh -i /path/to/key.pem <user>@<instance-ip> \
  "cd /data/coolify/source && sudo bash upgrade.sh"

Cleanup

# Stop all containers
ssh -i /path/to/key.pem <user>@<instance-ip> \
  "cd /data/coolify/source && sudo docker compose down"

# Remove Coolify data (destructive)
ssh -i /path/to/key.pem <user>@<instance-ip> \
  "sudo rm -rf /data/coolify"

# Terminate cloud instance

References

• Coolify Documentation
• Coolify Installation Guide
• Coolify GitHub
• Traefik Documentation
• sslip.io