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World desk8 min

How to Add a Server to Coolify and Validate the Connection

Add a Linux server to Coolify with a passphrase-free ED25519 key, configure the matching SSH details, validate Docker and the proxy, and troubleshoot common authentication, permission and firewall failures.
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To add a server to Coolify, prepare a reachable Linux machine, authorize a passphrase-free ED25519 SSH key for the account Coolify will use, enter the matching address, port, user and key under Servers > New server, then run Validate connection. Validation does more than test a login: it checks the operating system, installs or verifies Docker and Docker Compose, records system details and starts the Coolify proxy. Because it can restart Docker, perform the first validation on a fresh server whenever possible.

What Coolify needs before you add a server

Coolify manages a remote Linux server over SSH. Every connection parameter must describe the same machine and account: the address must route to the server, the port must accept SSH, the username must own the authorized key, and the private key saved in Coolify must match the public key installed on that account.

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Requirement What to prepare Why it matters
Operating system A reachable Linux server Validation checks the operating system and required tools before configuring the host.
Network identity An IP address or hostname that resolves and routes to the server Coolify must be able to open an SSH connection to this address.
Administrative access Console or password access for the initial key installation You need a way to place the public key in the target account if it is not already there.
SSH service An open SSH port, usually 22, or your chosen nonstandard port Firewalls, security groups and routing must allow the connection from the Coolify host.
Coolify access Permission to open the Coolify dashboard The server record and private key are created in the dashboard.
SSH key An ED25519 private key without a passphrase, plus its matching public key Coolify cannot answer an interactive passphrase prompt during automation.

The manual procedure uses the root account. If you intend to use a non-root account, follow Coolify’s separate non-root setup requirements instead of assuming the root procedure will work unchanged.

Choose the server role before connecting it

Coolify asks what the server should do. Select the role that matches your resource and deployment plan.

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Role Use Constraint
Deployments and builds The same server builds images and runs applications, databases and services. Build jobs consume CPU, memory, storage and I/O alongside deployed workloads.
Deployments only The server runs applications, databases and services while image builds happen elsewhere. You must have a separate usable build server for those builds.
Builds only The server supplies dedicated image-building capacity. It is not a destination for deployed applications, databases or services.

For a small installation, Deployments and builds is the simplest choice. Separate roles are useful when you need to keep build spikes away from production workloads or want dedicated build capacity.

Create the private key in Coolify

Use Coolify’s built-in ED25519 generator

  1. Sign in to the Coolify dashboard.
  2. Open Keys & Tokens > Private Keys.
  3. Select New private key.
  4. Choose Generate ED25519.
  5. Save the key.
  6. Copy the complete public key. You will paste this value into the server account’s authorized_keys file.

Leave the generated private key without a passphrase. Coolify needs unattended SSH access and cannot stop for an interactive passphrase prompt. Do not substitute a public key from a different key pair: the private key kept in Coolify and the public key installed on the server must be mathematically matched.

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Install the public key on the Linux server

Connect using the account that Coolify will use

Use your server console or an existing administrative session to authorize the key. For the root-based procedure, connect as root:

ssh root@<server-ip>

If SSH listens on a nonstandard port, include it explicitly:

ssh -p <ssh-port> root@<server-ip>

Replace the placeholders with the real values. The username here must be identical to the SSH user you later enter in Coolify. If you install the key for one account but configure another, authentication will fail even when the key itself is valid.

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Create the SSH directory with restrictive permissions

On the server, create the account’s SSH directory and set its mode to 700:

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mkdir -p ~/.ssh
chmod 700 ~/.ssh

Append the complete public key copied from Coolify to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. Appending is safer than overwriting when the account already has keys used by other administrators:

cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Paste the entire single-line public key, press Enter, then finish the input with Ctrl-D. Set the file mode to 600:

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Check the file before ending your current session. A wrapped display in a terminal does not necessarily mean the key contains line breaks; the key itself must remain one complete authorized-keys line. Never remove the key that authenticated your current session until you have verified the replacement key from a second session. Locking yourself out can require console recovery.

Confirm ownership and account placement

The .ssh directory and authorized_keys file must belong to the same account whose name you will enter in Coolify. A key in /root/.ssh/authorized_keys does not authorize a different user. If your operating system or hardening rules changed ownership, correct it using the server’s administrative tools before testing from Coolify.

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Add the server in the Coolify dashboard

  1. Open Servers in the Coolify dashboard.
  2. Select New server.
  3. Choose IP address or domain.
  4. Enter a recognizable server name. Add a description if you need to record its environment or purpose.
  5. Enter the reachable IP address or hostname. Do not include http:// or https://; this field is for the host used by SSH.
  6. Enter the SSH port. Use 22 when the server uses the standard port, or the actual nonstandard port when it does not.
  7. Enter the SSH user, such as root for the manual root procedure.
  8. Select the private key you generated under Keys & Tokens > Private Keys.
  9. Choose Deployments and builds, Deployments only or Builds only.
  10. Select Continue to create the server record.

Check the address, port, user and key selection before continuing. A typo in any one of these fields produces the same practical result as a missing key: Coolify cannot authenticate or reach the host.

Validate the connection

Start validation from the General page

Open the new server’s General page and select Validate connection. A new-server validation can take several minutes. Keep the dashboard open until the operation finishes rather than treating the first pause as a failure.

What validation actually does

Validation is a provisioning operation, not merely a login check. Coolify:

  • Tests the SSH connection.
  • Checks the operating system and required tools.
  • Installs or verifies Docker Engine and Docker Compose.
  • Records server information.
  • Starts the Coolify proxy.

Because Docker may be installed or restarted, existing containers can be temporarily unavailable. A running production host may therefore experience an interruption during first validation. Use a fresh server whenever possible, or schedule the operation when a Docker restart is acceptable.

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Read the successful result

The operational confirmation is the General page status indicating that the server is reachable and validated. Once that status appears, the server can be selected as a deployment destination. Coolify also displays information discovered during validation, including the operating system, CPU architecture and core count, memory, kernel version and Docker versions. Review those values to ensure you connected the intended machine.

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Diagnose connection failures in the right order

Start with the failure category shown by Coolify, then verify one variable at a time. The address, port, user, key and firewall form a chain; changing several at once makes the cause harder to identify.

Authentication errors

  • Confirm that the IP address or hostname in Coolify points to the intended server.
  • Confirm the SSH port, including any nonstandard value.
  • Confirm the SSH user exactly matches the account where you installed the key.
  • Confirm that Coolify selected the intended private key.
  • Confirm that the matching public key is present in that user’s ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.

A public key from one pair cannot authenticate with a private key from another pair. If you generated a replacement key, install its new public half and select the corresponding private key in Coolify.

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Permission errors

SSH commonly rejects keys when file permissions are too broad. Recheck:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Also verify that the files are in the target account’s home directory and that the account owns them. Do not delete an older working key until the new key has been tested from a separate SSH session.

Timeouts

A timeout usually means Coolify cannot complete a network path to the SSH service. Check the SSH port first, then check every firewall or security-group rule between Coolify and the server. The rule must allow the relevant source address, not merely allow SSH from your own workstation. Also verify that the hostname resolves to the current public or private address and that routing is present.

After correcting a firewall rule, route, address or port, return to the server’s General page and run Validate connection again. A previously failed attempt does not automatically prove that the corrected path works.

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Failures after changing details

Revalidate whenever you change the server IP or domain, SSH user, SSH port, routing, firewall rules or tunnel configuration. Coolify’s stored connection details must be tested again after each such change.

Use private networking when public SSH is undesirable

If you need to keep the server’s IP private or close public SSH after initial setup, Coolify documents Server SSH Access through Cloudflare Tunnel. This changes the network path, so the tunnel endpoint, routing and SSH settings must all be reachable from Coolify. After configuring or changing the tunnel, run Validate connection again and wait for the General page to show the server as reachable and validated.

A repeatable preflight checklist

  • Linux server is powered on and reachable from the network where Coolify runs.
  • You have console or password access for initial key installation.
  • SSH is listening on the port you plan to enter.
  • Firewall and security-group rules allow the relevant Coolify source address.
  • The generated ED25519 private key has no passphrase.
  • The complete matching public key is in the target account’s ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.
  • ~/.ssh is mode 700 and authorized_keys is mode 600.
  • The address field contains only an IP address or hostname, without an HTTP scheme.
  • The Coolify SSH user matches the account where the key was installed.
  • The selected server role matches whether this host should build images, run workloads, or both.
  • You have considered the effect of a Docker installation or restart on existing containers.

What to do after validation

Use the validated server as a deployment destination according to the role you selected. Keep the server name and description meaningful so later deployments do not target the wrong host. If you move the machine, rotate its SSH port, change firewall policy or replace its key, update the corresponding Coolify fields and revalidate before deploying.

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