Coolify is an open-source deployment control plane: it gives you a dashboard and API to deploy and manage Docker-based applications, databases, and services on servers you provide. It coordinates deployments and server operations; it is not the host for your application workloads. Coolify Cloud manages the control plane for you, but you still provide and operate the servers running your apps.
What Coolify is—and what it is not
Coolify provides a platform-as-a-service style workflow for managing resources on your infrastructure. In Coolify’s terminology, a resource can be an application, a database, or a one-click service based on a Docker Compose template. The underlying workloads run as Docker resources on connected servers, rather than on infrastructure supplied by Coolify. Coolify’s documentation describes the platform and its deployment workflow.
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This distinction is central when evaluating it: Coolify simplifies deployment and administration, but you remain responsible for obtaining the workload server and keeping its operating system, network access, data, and applications in order.
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Coolify supports several ways to provide an application and a catalog of other deployable resources.
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- Git repository: connect source code and configure a deployment from the repository.
- Dockerfile: build an image using the instructions in your project.
- Docker Compose: deploy a Compose definition, including applications made up of multiple services.
- Existing container image: pull a prebuilt image from a container registry.
- Databases and one-click services: configure databases or launch services built from Compose templates.
During deployment, Coolify coordinates tasks such as building or pulling an image, setting environment variables, starting containers, configuring domains and health checks, and providing access to logs and storage. Its official materials advertise more than 300 one-click open-source service templates; the catalog is a vendor-maintained count and can change. See the official Coolify documentation for current product details.
How Coolify’s architecture works
Coolify separates the control plane—the software used to configure and manage deployments—from the runtime, where application containers actually run. The control plane stores configuration and coordinates deployments, checks, and scheduled actions. It connects to selected servers over SSH and directs Docker operations there; Coolify says a persistent deployment agent is not required on connected servers. Coolify’s “How Coolify works” documentation explains this separation.
The control path
You use the Coolify dashboard or API to configure a resource and initiate management actions. Coolify then connects to the chosen server over SSH and directs Docker to build, pull, or run the relevant containers. A standard self-hosted installation’s documented base stack includes the coolify application container, a PostgreSQL coolify-db container, and a Redis coolify-redis container. A reverse proxy runs with the server runtime where enabled, and an optional Sentinel container adds monitoring data.
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The application traffic path
Application visitors do not send their requests through the Coolify dashboard or API. DNS or upstream network routing directs a request to the server hosting the resource. A reverse proxy on that server, when configured, forwards it to the appropriate container over Docker networking. Management traffic and application traffic therefore follow different paths.
What happens if the control plane is unavailable?
Already-running containers remain on their workload servers if the Coolify control plane goes offline, because they are ordinary Docker workloads on those servers. However, the dashboard and Coolify’s deployment automation are unavailable until the control plane recovers. This does not guarantee that an application stays available: its server, network, and application must still be healthy. Operators can inspect standard Docker containers, networks, and storage with Docker tools on the relevant server.
Who Coolify is for
Coolify can suit developers, self-hosters, and small teams who want a more convenient way to deploy Docker workloads while retaining control of the infrastructure. Typical uses include:
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- Deploying an application from source code or a Dockerfile to a Linux server.
- Running a multi-service Docker Compose application.
- Operating a database with persistent storage and separately configured backups.
- Launching a self-hosted service from a template.
- Managing resources across multiple connected servers from one Coolify instance.
Self-hosted Coolify or Coolify Cloud?
The workloads run on servers you supply in either arrangement. The difference is who operates the Coolify control plane: you do with a self-hosted installation, while Coolify’s team operates it with Coolify Cloud. The responsibilities below reflect Coolify’s published pages, accessed October 7, 2026; listed pricing can change.
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|---|---|---|
| Who operates the Coolify control plane? | You | Coolify’s team |
| Who supplies workload servers? | You | You |
| Control-plane updates, backup, and recovery | You | Coolify’s team handles the managed control plane |
| Workload operating system, data, secrets, and backups | You | You |
| Listed control-plane price | Free Forever | $5/month for two connected servers, plus $3/month for each additional server |
The Cloud price is the listing on Coolify’s pricing page as accessed October 7, 2026; check the live page for current terms. In either model, budget separately for the infrastructure that runs your applications and services. The choice is mainly whether you want to operate the Coolify management software yourself, not whether you want to operate your workloads.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Self-hosting requirements and setup considerations
Coolify’s self-hosting guide lists a minimum of 2 CPU cores, 2 GB RAM, and 10 GB of free disk space, for amd64 or arm64 systems. These are baseline requirements for the Coolify instance, not a sizing promise for application workloads. Builds running on the same server can consume substantial resources, so actual needs depend on what you deploy. The guide identifies VPSs, dedicated servers, Linux virtual machines, 64-bit Raspberry Pi setups, laptops, and other Linux devices as possible server types. See Coolify’s self-hosting guide for current installation details.
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Coolify recommends starting with a fresh server when possible, configuring SSH and firewall access, and creating the administrator account promptly. The guide also advises backing up /data/coolify/source/.env, which contains installation secrets including the application key needed for restoration. These are vendor-documented operational cautions; follow the current installation guide for the exact setup procedure.
Persistent storage is not a backup
Containers can be replaced during redeployment. Data that must outlive a container should be stored outside its replaceable filesystem—for example, in a named Docker volume or bind mount configured for the resource. Changes kept only inside a container can disappear when that container is removed. Coolify’s documentation explicitly distinguishes persistence from backup: persistent storage is not a backup. Plan backups separately and verify that you can restore them.
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Regardless of whether Coolify itself is self-hosted or managed, users retain responsibility for their workload servers, operating-system updates, SSH access, firewall rules, DNS, application and database data, secrets, workload security, and workload backups. With self-hosting, they also operate and recover the Coolify control plane.
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