Coolify Initial Setup

Prerequisites

Before starting, you need:

• Linux server with Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+
• Root access via SSH
• 2 GB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended)
• Open ports: 22 (SSH), 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS)

Step 1: Connect to Server

ssh root@your-server-ip

If using SSH key (recommended):

ssh -i ~/.ssh/your-key root@your-server-ip

Step 2: Install Coolify

Run the official installation script:

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

The script will:

1. ✅ Check system requirements
2. ✅ Install Docker if needed
3. ✅ Download and configure Coolify
4. ✅ Start containers

Estimated time: 2-5 minutes depending on connection.

Step 3: Access the Panel

After installation, access:

http://your-server-ip:8000

First time setup:

1. Create your admin account
2. Configure the server as “localhost”
3. Done! 🎉

Step 4: Configure a Domain (Optional)

To access via domain instead of IP:

4.1 Point DNS

In your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Route53, etc.):

Type: A
Name: coolify (or @ for root)
Value: your-server-ip
TTL: Auto

4.2 Configure in Coolify

1. Go to Settings → Configuration
2. In Instance’s Domain, enter: https://coolify.yourdomain.com
3. Click Save
4. SSL will be configured automatically

Required Ports

Make sure these ports are open in firewall:

Port	Protocol	Use
22	TCP	SSH
80	TCP	HTTP (redirect to HTTPS)
443	TCP	HTTPS
8000	TCP	Coolify panel (before domain setup)

Useful firewall commands

UFW (Ubuntu):

ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable

firewalld (CentOS/Fedora):

firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=22/tcp
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=80/tcp
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=443/tcp
firewall-cmd --reload

Verifying Installation

To confirm everything is running:

docker ps

You should see containers like:

• coolify
• coolify-proxy (Traefik)
• coolify-db (PostgreSQL)
• coolify-redis

Troubleshooting

Error: “Cannot connect to Docker daemon”

systemctl start docker
systemctl enable docker

Port 8000 not responding

Check if container is running:

docker logs coolify

SSL not working

1. Check if DNS propagated: dig coolify.yourdomain.com
2. Ports 80 and 443 must be open
3. Wait a few minutes — Let’s Encrypt may take time

Updating Coolify

Coolify auto-updates by default. To force update:

cd /data/coolify/source
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Next Steps

Now that Coolify is installed:

1. Deploy your first app — Connect GitHub and deploy
2. Configure Database — PostgreSQL, MySQL or MongoDB
3. Automatic Backups — Protect your data

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