SkillsApr 3, 2026·3 min read

Coolify — Self-Hosted Vercel & Netlify Alternative

Deploy apps, databases, and services on your own server with one click. No vendor lock-in. 52K+ GitHub stars.

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TL;DR
Coolify is a self-hosted PaaS for deploying apps and databases on your server.
§01

What it is

Coolify is an open-source, self-hosted platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that lets you deploy applications, databases, and services on your own server with a visual dashboard. It supports Docker, Docker Compose, Nixpacks, and Buildpacks for deployment. One-click installs are available for popular services like PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, and MinIO.

It targets developers and small teams who want the convenience of Vercel or Netlify but prefer to own their infrastructure and avoid vendor lock-in.

§02

How it saves time or tokens

Coolify provides a Heroku-like deployment experience on your own VPS. Instead of configuring Nginx, SSL certificates, Docker networking, and CI/CD pipelines manually, Coolify handles all of this through its dashboard. For AI projects, you can deploy model servers, APIs, and databases on a single server with automatic HTTPS and zero-downtime deployments.

§03

How to use

  1. Install on your server:
curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash
  1. Open http://your-server:8000 and set up your admin account.
  1. Deploy an application:
  • Connect your GitHub/GitLab repository
  • Coolify auto-detects the framework and builds it
  • Configure domain and environment variables
  • Click deploy
§04

Example

# Install Coolify on a fresh Ubuntu server
curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | bash

# After setup, use the dashboard to:
# 1. Add your server as a resource
# 2. Connect a GitHub repository with your AI app
# 3. Set environment variables (OPENAI_API_KEY, DATABASE_URL)
# 4. Deploy with one click
# 5. Coolify handles SSL, reverse proxy, and Docker

# One-click deploy databases for your AI stack:
# - PostgreSQL for application data
# - Redis for caching and queues
# - MinIO for file/model storage
§05

Related on TokRepo

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Common pitfalls

  • Coolify runs on a single server by default. For high-availability deployments, you need to configure multi-server setups manually.
  • The server needs adequate resources. Running Coolify plus multiple applications and databases on a small VPS (1GB RAM) will cause performance issues. Start with at least 2GB RAM.
  • Automatic HTTPS requires a domain pointed to your server. Local deployments work with HTTP but will not have SSL certificates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I deploy with Coolify?+

Coolify deploys any Dockerized application, Docker Compose stacks, static sites, and applications built with Nixpacks or Buildpacks. It supports Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, PHP, Ruby, and any other language. One-click database deployments include PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, and more.

Does Coolify provide automatic HTTPS?+

Yes. Coolify integrates with Let's Encrypt for automatic SSL certificate generation and renewal. Point your domain to your server, configure it in Coolify, and HTTPS is set up automatically with Traefik as the reverse proxy.

How does Coolify compare to Vercel?+

Vercel is a managed platform optimized for Next.js and frontend frameworks. Coolify is self-hosted and supports any Docker application plus databases. Coolify gives you full infrastructure control at the cost of managing your own server. Vercel is simpler but creates vendor dependency.

Can Coolify handle CI/CD?+

Yes. Coolify provides built-in CI/CD through webhooks. When you push to your repository, Coolify automatically builds and deploys. It supports preview deployments for pull requests and rollbacks to previous versions.

Is Coolify free?+

Yes. Coolify is open-source and free for self-hosting. The team offers optional paid support and a cloud-hosted version. Self-hosting has no feature limitations or usage restrictions.

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Source & Thanks

Created by coollabs. Licensed under Apache-2.0.

coolify — ⭐ 52,500+

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