How to install Coolify on a VPS, step by step
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Coolify is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to platforms like Heroku and Vercel. You install it on your own VPS and get a web dashboard for deploying WordPress, databases and apps such as n8n — with SSL and backups handled for you.
Before you start
Check the requirements in the official Coolify documentation — they change between versions. A VPS with 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM and 30 GB of disk is a sensible minimum, and a fresh Ubuntu LTS server is the easiest starting point.
1. Connect to your server
Use the IP address and root password (or SSH key) from your VPS dashboard.
# Replace with your server's IP
$ ssh [email protected]2. Update the system
$ apt update && apt upgrade -y3. Run the Coolify installer
The official one-line installer sets up Docker and Coolify for you. It takes a few minutes.
$ curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | sudo bash
✓ Coolify is installed4. Open the dashboard and create your admin account
When the installer finishes it prints the address of your dashboard — by default your server IP on port 8000, for example http://203.0.113.10:8000. Open it and create the first (admin) account straight away, before anyone else can.
Lock it down
Create the admin account immediately after install, then point a domain at the dashboard and enable HTTPS. Keep your firewall open only for the ports the Coolify docs list for your version — typically SSH (22), HTTP (80), HTTPS (443), the dashboard port while you set it up, and the ports used for real-time updates.
5. Add a domain and deploy your first app
- Point an A record for your domain (for example
apps.example.com) to the server IP. - In Coolify, set the instance domain under Settings so the dashboard gets an SSL certificate.
- Create a Project, add a Resource (WordPress, n8n, a database or a Git repository) and click Deploy.
6. Set up backups
Coolify can back up databases to any S3-compatible storage. Add your storage under Settings → Backups and schedule daily backups before you put real sites on the server.
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