Coolify on a VPS: requirements, setup and what to watch

What Coolify does

Coolify runs on top of Docker and manages your applications for you. You add a server, point it at a Git repository or a Docker image, and it builds, starts and restarts the app, wires up a reverse proxy and requests HTTPS certificates. It can also create databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL or Redis, and ready-made services like n8n or WordPress from templates.

It is not a magic cloud. Everything still runs on one VPS (or several, if you add more servers), so the limits of that machine are your limits.

Requirements from the documentation

The official docs list a minimum of 2 CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM, and the project's pages give different disk figures (10 GB on one page, 30 GB of free space on another), so plan for the larger number. The docs also say Coolify may work on weaker hardware but recommend slightly higher minimums. These are minimums for Coolify itself, not for the apps you deploy.

In practice the builds are what hurt. Compiling a Node or Docker image uses a lot of memory and disk for a few minutes, and old images pile up. Treat 4 GB as a comfortable starting point if you deploy more than one small app, and 8 GB if you also run databases on the same machine.

• A KVM-based Linux VPS with root access (Ubuntu LTS or Debian are the usual choice).
• A public IPv4 address and a domain name you control.
• Ports 80 and 443 for your apps, SSH for you, and the panel's own port while you set it up.
• Spare disk for Docker images, build cache and logs, which grow over time.

Install outline

Installation is a single script from the project, run as root on a fresh server. According to the docs it installs Docker if it is missing and then starts Coolify. Read the script first if you prefer, then follow the current instructions on the official installation page rather than copying commands from an old tutorial.

When it finishes you open the panel in a browser on the server's IP address, create the admin account immediately (the first visitor becomes the owner) and set up the instance domain. Use a fresh server for this: Coolify wants to manage Docker and the proxy itself, so sharing the machine with hand-built containers invites conflicts.

Domain, HTTPS, apps and databases

Point an A record (and a wildcard record if you want automatic subdomains per app) at the server's IP. Coolify's proxy then handles routing and certificates, so each app gets its own address and HTTPS without you editing configuration files.

To deploy an app, add a resource, choose a Git source or a Docker image, set the build method and environment variables, and deploy. For a database, pick the type from the list. Keep databases internal unless you truly need outside access; if you do, restrict it by firewall.

Backups and what to watch

Coolify can schedule database backups and send them to S3-compatible storage. Turn that on for every database, and also back up the Coolify configuration and persistent volumes, because a lost server otherwise means rebuilding everything from memory. A provider snapshot before major upgrades is a useful extra. Test a restore at least once.

• Keep the panel off the open internet where you can: put it behind a VPN, an IP allow-list or a firewall rule, since it holds keys to every app on the server.
• Leave memory headroom. A server running at its limit will fail builds or kill containers.
• Update on purpose: read the release notes, snapshot first, then upgrade.
• Use SSH keys, disable password logins and keep the operating system patched.
• Watch disk usage and prune unused images now and then.

When not to use Coolify

If you run a single static site or one WordPress blog, a panel for apps is extra weight; a plain Docker Compose file or managed hosting is simpler. If you need guaranteed uptime for a business, one VPS is a single point of failure, and a managed platform may be the more honest choice. Coolify is at its best for a developer or small team with several side projects who is happy to maintain a server.