Install Coolify on a VPS and Deploy Your First App

Description and use

Install Coolify 4.4.6 on Ubuntu 24.04, deploy a Node.js app from a public repo, bind the dashboard to localhost to secure it, and configure a custom domain with HTTPS via Traefik.

Problem

Deploy a self‑hosted application platform on a fresh VPS and secure the dashboard before first use.

Outcome

Coolify installed in 1 min 22 s, Node.js app built in 37 s, HTTPS working, dashboard secured by binding to localhost.

Workflow

• SSH into the server as root or sudo user
• Run the installer script with a pinned version: curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | sudo bash -s 4.4.6
• Verify installation output and note the .env file location
• Create a dashboard account immediately or bind port 8000 to 127.0.0.1 using a compose override
• Apply the override with docker compose --env-file /data/coolify/source/.env -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml -f docker-compose.custom.yml up -d --pull always --remove-orphans --force-recreate
• In the Coolify dashboard, select "This machine", add a public Git repository, set base directory and port, then click Deploy
• Add a custom domain in the dashboard, ensure DNS A record points to the server and port 80 is open
• Verify Let’s Encrypt certificate issuance via Traefik
• Disable automatic nightly updates if desired

Evidence

The installer sets up Docker, then runs Coolify's own containers next to the apps you deploy

Source

On the test server it finished in 1 minute 22 seconds

Source

My first build took 37 seconds

Source