How to self-host Coolify on your VPS as a Heroku alternative

What is Coolify?

Coolify is an open-source, self-hosted Platform as a Service (PaaS) that you install on your own VPS. It provides a web dashboard for deploying and managing applications, similar to Heroku, Netlify, or Vercel - but running entirely on your infrastructure.

With Coolify, you can:

• Deploy from Git - Connect GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket and deploy on push
• Run any Docker application - Deploy pre-built images or custom Dockerfiles
• Manage databases - One-click PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, and more
• Automatic SSL - Let’s Encrypt certificates configured automatically
• Multiple servers - Manage deployments across several VPS instances from one dashboard

The key difference from other panels: Coolify is completely free and open-source. There’s no paid tier or feature restrictions.

Why choose Coolify over traditional hosting panels?

Coolify takes a different approach than panels like RunCloud or ServerAvatar:

Feature	Traditional Panels	Coolify
Focus	PHP/WordPress hosting	Any containerized app
Deployment	Manual or FTP	Git push or Docker
Pricing	Monthly subscription	Free (open-source)
Databases	MySQL/MariaDB focus	Postgres, MySQL, Mongo, Redis, more
App types	Primarily PHP	Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, PHP, static sites

Coolify is ideal if you’re deploying modern applications built with frameworks like Next.js, Laravel, Django, Rails, or any Docker-based stack.

System requirements for Coolify

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
RAM	2 GB	4 GB+
CPU	1 core	2 cores+
Disk	30 GB SSD	50 GB+ SSD
OS	Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Coolify runs Docker containers, so resource needs scale with what you deploy. For running multiple applications and databases, start with 4 GB RAM or more.

How to install Coolify on your VPS

Step 1: Deploy a VPS on ServerPoint’s ColossusCloud

Make sure you have a VPS ready and online on ServerPoint’s ColossusCloud platform. Log into ServerPoint’s Client Portal:

1. Deploy a new VPS in your preferred data center location
2. Select Ubuntu 24.04 LTS as your operating system
3. Choose at least 2 GB RAM (4 GB recommended for multiple apps)
4. Your ColossusCloud VPS will be online in under a minute

Note the IP address and root password from your Client Portal dashboard.

Step 2: Connect via SSH

SSH into your VPS:

ssh root@your-vps-ip

Step 3: Run the Coolify installer

Coolify provides a one-line installation script:

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

The installer will:

• Install Docker if not present
• Set up Docker Compose
• Pull Coolify’s container images
• Configure the web interface
• Start all services

Installation takes 5-10 minutes depending on your connection speed.

Step 4: Access the Coolify dashboard

Once installation completes, open your browser and go to:

http://your-vps-ip:8000

You’ll be prompted to create your admin account. Use a strong password - this account has full control over your deployments.

Step 5: Configure your domain (recommended)

For production use, point a domain to your VPS and configure it in Coolify:

1. Add an A record for your domain pointing to your VPS IP
2. In Coolify, go to Settings → Configuration
3. Set your instance’s domain
4. Coolify will automatically provision an SSL certificate

Deploying your first application

Option 1: Deploy from a Git repository

1. In Coolify, click “New Resource” → “Application”
2. Select your Git provider (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)
3. Authorize Coolify to access your repositories
4. Select the repository and branch
5. Coolify auto-detects the framework and suggests build settings
6. Click “Deploy”

Coolify supports automatic deployments - push to your branch and it rebuilds automatically.

Option 2: Deploy a Docker image

1. Click “New Resource” → “Application”
2. Select “Docker Image”
3. Enter the image name (e.g., nginx:latest or your private registry image)
4. Configure ports and environment variables
5. Click “Deploy”

Option 3: Deploy using Docker Compose

1. Click “New Resource” → “Docker Compose”
2. Paste your docker-compose.yml or link to a repository containing one
3. Configure environment variables
4. Click “Deploy”

Adding databases with Coolify

Coolify makes database provisioning simple:

1. Click “New Resource” → “Database”
2. Choose your database type:
   • PostgreSQL
   • MySQL / MariaDB
   • MongoDB
   • Redis
   • And more
3. Configure settings (or use defaults)
4. Click “Create”

Coolify provides connection strings automatically. For applications deployed in Coolify, you can reference databases using internal networking.

Supported application types

Coolify auto-detects and builds many frameworks:

JavaScript/TypeScript:

• Next.js, Nuxt.js, Remix
• Node.js (Express, Fastify, etc.)
• Static sites (React, Vue, Svelte)

PHP:

• Laravel
• Plain PHP

Python:

• Django, Flask, FastAPI

Other:

• Go, Rust, Ruby on Rails
• Any Dockerfile
• Any Docker Compose stack

If Coolify doesn’t auto-detect your framework, you can provide a custom Dockerfile or Nixpacks configuration.

Configuring environment variables

For each application:

1. Go to your application’s settings
2. Click “Environment Variables”
3. Add your variables (supports .env file paste)
4. Redeploy to apply changes

Coolify encrypts sensitive variables and supports build-time vs runtime variables.

Setting up automatic SSL certificates

Coolify handles SSL automatically via Let’s Encrypt:

1. Configure your domain in the application settings
2. Enable “Generate SSL Certificate”
3. Coolify provisions and renews certificates automatically

For wildcard certificates or custom certificates, Coolify supports manual configuration.

Managing multiple servers with Coolify

Coolify can deploy to multiple VPS instances from a single dashboard:

1. Go to “Servers” in Coolify
2. Click “Add Server”
3. Enter your additional VPS details
4. Run the provided SSH command on the new server to connect it

Use cases for multi-server setups:

• Separate production and staging environments
• Geographic distribution across ServerPoint data centers
• Resource isolation between projects

Coolify vs other self-hosted PaaS options

Feature	Coolify	Dokku	CapRover
Web UI	Full dashboard	CLI only	Dashboard
Git deployment	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-server	Yes	No	Yes
Database management	Built-in	Manual	Built-in
Active development	Very active	Moderate	Moderate
Learning curve	Low	Medium	Low

Coolify stands out for its modern UI, active development, and comprehensive feature set.

Backup and disaster recovery

Application backups

Coolify stores your deployment configurations. For application data:

• Use Coolify’s built-in backup features for databases
• Configure volume backups for persistent data
• Export configurations for version control

Database backups

1. Go to your database resource
2. Click “Backups”
3. Configure scheduled backups
4. Optionally configure S3-compatible storage for offsite backups

Full VPS backup

For complete disaster recovery, enable ServerPoint’s VPS snapshot backup service. This captures your entire server state, including Coolify configuration, all containers, and data.

Securing Coolify with ServerPoint’s Cloud Firewall

One advantage of running Coolify on ServerPoint’s ColossusCloud is our network-level Cloud Firewall. This firewall operates outside your VPS, blocking attacks before they reach your server.

Configure your firewall via ServerPoint’s Client Portal:

1. Navigate to your VPS → Firewall
2. Allow these ports:
   • 22 (SSH) - Restrict to your IP if possible
   • 80 (HTTP) - Required for SSL certificate validation
   • 443 (HTTPS) - Your applications
   • 8000 - Coolify dashboard (restrict to your IP after initial setup, or put behind a domain with SSL)
3. Block all other incoming traffic by default

This enterprise-grade network security is included with every ColossusCloud VPS at no additional cost.

Updating Coolify

Coolify updates itself through the dashboard:

1. Go to Settings → Configuration
2. If an update is available, click “Update”
3. Coolify pulls the latest version and restarts

Alternatively, SSH into your server and run:

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

The installer detects existing installations and performs an upgrade.

Troubleshooting common issues

Application won’t build

Check the build logs in Coolify’s dashboard. Common causes:

• Missing environment variables
• Incorrect build command
• Resource limits (increase RAM if builds fail)

Can’t access the dashboard

Verify:

• Firewall allows port 8000
• Coolify containers are running: docker ps
• Check logs: docker logs coolify

SSL certificate not issuing

Ensure:

• Domain DNS is pointing to your VPS IP
• Port 80 is open (required for Let’s Encrypt validation)
• Domain is correctly configured in Coolify

When Coolify might not be the right choice

Consider alternatives if:

• You only need WordPress hosting - RunCloud or ServerAvatar are more focused
• You want managed infrastructure - Use Heroku, Railway, or Render
• You need enterprise support - Coolify is community-supported
• Your team prefers CLI workflows - Consider Dokku instead

Official resources

• Coolify website - Official site with features overview
• Coolify documentation - Installation guides and configuration reference
• Coolify on GitHub - Source code, issues, and releases
• Coolify Discord - Community support and discussions
• Coolify on Twitch - Live development streams by the creator

Getting started with Coolify on ServerPoint

1. Deploy a ColossusCloud VPS with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (2+ GB RAM)
2. Run the Coolify installation script
3. Access the dashboard and create your admin account
4. Connect your Git repositories
5. Deploy your first application
6. Enable ServerPoint’s VPS snapshot backup service for disaster recovery

Need to scale? Upgrading your ColossusCloud VPS takes just a few clicks in the Client Portal - add more RAM, CPU cores, or storage without any migration.

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View VPS plans - Coolify runs on any of our Ubuntu VPS instances across all ServerPoint data centers.