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Arct Cloud provides an unmanaged Linux VPS. Coolify is not preinstalled or managed by Arct Cloud; you are responsible for the Coolify control plane, deployed workloads, security, backups, and updates. This guide installs self-hosted Coolify on a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 server using Coolify’s recommended automated installer. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is supported by that installer.

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Requirements

The official minimum runs the control plane. Builds, Docker images, databases, application volumes, and backups need additional resources. For several applications or local image builds, start with 4 vCPUs and 8 GB RAM (cvm.small) and monitor disk usage.
Install Coolify on a fresh server when possible. Ports, Docker configuration, and existing reverse proxies can conflict with the automated installer.

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Install Coolify

1

Deploy Ubuntu 24.04

Deploy a server, select a plan based on the control plane and workloads you will run, and choose Ubuntu 24.04.
2

Connect over SSH

Find the server IP address in the Arct Cloud console, then connect:
See Connect via SSH for key and username help.
3

Prepare DNS and a protected bootstrap path

Create an A record such as coolify.example.com that points to the server’s public IPv4 address. Add an AAAA record only when IPv6 is configured and reachable.Coolify binds these TCP ports during setup:Confirm the ports are not already occupied:
Before running the installer, attach a network-level firewall or ACL in front of the VPS with this inbound policy:Keep the current SSH session open while changing firewall rules. Attach and verify this policy before installation. Coolify’s official firewall guide explains that Docker-published ports bypass plain UFW rules and recommends a provider firewall. If no upstream firewall is available, configure the guide’s Docker-aware ufw-docker alternative before proceeding; an ordinary UFW deny rule is not sufficient.
4

Run the official installer

Coolify recommends its automated installation script. Run it with root privileges from the fresh server:
The installer adds required packages, installs Docker Engine when needed, creates /data/coolify, generates secrets and SSH keys, and starts the control plane. Do not install Docker through Snap.
5

Claim the administrator account

From your local computer, open an SSH tunnel for the direct-IP setup services and leave it running:
Confirm that http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8000 is unreachable without the tunnel, then open http://127.0.0.1:8000 through the tunnel. Create the first administrator with a unique password and enable two-factor authentication before adding servers or secrets.
Anyone who reaches the registration page first can become the Coolify administrator and gain root-level control of the server. Do not proceed if port 8000 is reachable directly from a non-allowlisted network.
6

Configure the dashboard domain and HTTPS

Wait until coolify.example.com resolves to this VPS. In Coolify, open Settings > Configuration > General, set URL to the complete address https://coolify.example.com, and save.Coolify’s integrated proxy requests and renews the TLS certificate. Confirm the dashboard, real-time updates, and web terminal all work through the HTTPS domain before restricting the setup ports.
7

Protect secrets and remove direct public access

Back up the generated environment file immediately:
Copy this backup to encrypted storage outside the VPS. It includes APP_KEY, which Coolify needs to decrypt credentials during a restore.After the HTTPS dashboard, real-time connection, and web terminal are verified, keep ports 8000, 6001, and 6002 denied at the network firewall and close the SSH tunnel. Keep 22, 80, and 443 available as required. Recheck the policy whenever you add direct port mappings to a workload.
8

Verify the installation

Check the control-plane containers and public endpoint:
In the dashboard, open Servers > localhost, validate the server, deploy a small test resource, and confirm it is reachable through HTTPS.

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Persistent Data and Security

Coolify stores its control-plane configuration under /data/coolify, including its environment file, SSH keys, proxy configuration, application definitions, and local backups. Do not edit the base Compose files in /data/coolify/source; updates replace them. Use docker-compose.custom.yml for supported overrides. Use a unique administrator password and enable two-factor authentication. Keep SSH key-only where possible, restrict administrative access, and do not expose databases or application container ports unless a client explicitly needs them. Applications routed through the Coolify proxy normally need only ports 80 and 443.
Coolify can control Docker and connect to servers over SSH. A compromised administrator account can compromise every managed workload and secret. Treat the dashboard as privileged infrastructure.

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Back Up and Restore

Configure two separate backup layers:
  1. In Settings > Backup, add an S3-compatible destination, schedule a Coolify instance database backup, run it once manually, and verify the object exists in remote storage.
  2. Save /data/coolify/source/.env, especially APP_KEY, and /data/coolify/ssh/keys/ in encrypted off-server storage.
  3. Configure scheduled backups for each application database and persistent volume. A Coolify instance backup does not include workload databases, application volumes, or arbitrary files on managed servers.
  4. Record the Coolify version whenever you take a recovery checkpoint.
To restore, install the matching Coolify version on the target server, restore the saved APP_KEY, load the instance .dmp backup into Coolify’s database using the official restore procedure, restore the SSH keys, and then restore every application database and volume independently. Test this process on a replacement server before relying on it for production recovery.
Keep at least one backup outside the Coolify server. A local backup cannot help if the VPS, filesystem, or account becomes unavailable.

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Update and Roll Back Safely

Before changing the Coolify version:
  1. Create and verify an instance backup plus workload backups.
  2. Copy .env and SSH keys off-server.
  3. Review the Coolify releases and wait for active deployments to finish.
  4. Record the current version shown in the dashboard.
Update during a maintenance window from Settings > Configuration > Updates, or run the official installer over SSH:
After the update, verify the displayed version, localhost validation, proxy, web terminal, and representative application/database resources. Update logs are written under /data/coolify/source/ as upgrade-*.log. To return to a known release, disable automatic updates and run the installer with the exact target version from the official releases page:
An older control-plane image may not understand database migrations made by a newer release. If the downgrade fails, stop and restore the pre-update instance database with its matching APP_KEY instead of repeatedly downgrading. Coolify control-plane rollback does not roll back deployed applications or their data.

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Troubleshooting

Port 8000 should remain blocked publicly. Connect through the SSH tunnel, then check sudo ss -lntp | grep ':8000', sudo docker ps --filter name=coolify, and the newest /data/coolify/source/upgrade-*.log. Another service occupying port 8000 can prevent a correct start.
Confirm the A record points to this server and ports 80 and 443 are publicly reachable. Remove an incorrect AAAA record, then inspect the Coolify proxy logs for ACME errors.
Before domain setup, direct-IP access also needs ports 6001 and 6002. After domain setup, confirm the instance URL uses https:// and that the proxy routes the dashboard, real-time service, and terminal before closing those ports.
Check free -h, df -h, and sudo docker system df. Builds can exceed the control-plane minimum. Add RAM/storage, use a dedicated build server, and configure Coolify’s automated Docker cleanup rather than deleting active volumes.
The restored database and active APP_KEY do not match. Restore the exact key saved with that backup; generating a replacement cannot decrypt existing values.

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Official Resources

Coolify Installation

Official requirements, supported systems, and automated installation.

Coolify on GitHub

Source code, installer, security policy, and issue tracker.

Coolify Releases

Stable releases, fixes, and upgrade notes.
Coolify is developed by Coollabs. Arct Cloud is an independent infrastructure provider and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Coollabs.