Building Blocks ​

Server ​

Servers are where all your resources are deployed to.

Types ​

• Localhost: the server where Coolify is installed.
• Remote Server: could be any server, rechable through SSH.

Requirements ​

Localhost ​

To be able to manage the server where Coolify is running on, the docker container of Coolify should reach the host server through SSH.

You can use localhost as a server where all your resources are running, but it is not recommended as high server usage could prevent to use Coolify.

Remote Server ​

Its only purpose to host your resources, not Coolify itself.

You need the followings on the remote server:

1. Connectivity
   • SSH connectivity between Coolify and the server with SSH Key Authentication.

   TIP

   Your public key should be added to root user's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.

   If you do not have an SSH Key, you can generate on through Coolify with a simple button or you can generate one manually.

   • Root user access.
2. Docker Engine (23+)
   • Automatically installed from the UI or you can install manually.

The only manual step you need to do is to place your SSH key on the server, into root user's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file.

Automations & Monitoring ​

Coolify will automate a few maintenance tasks on the operating system, so you do not need to do them manually.

Coolify monitors your server & your deployed resources and immediately notifies you if something good or bad happens. You will always know what is going on in your self-hosted environment.

All you need to do is to setup your preferred notification system. Currently available:

• Email
• Discord Webhooks
• Telegram Bot

WIP:

• Webhooks
• Slack

Project ​

Resources are grouped together into a project, a tree structure. A project could have infinite number of resources.

Environment ​

Each project, by default have a production environment, that is not deletable, but renameable. Environments consists of resources, like application, database or a service, etc.

Application ​

An application could be a web application, a static website, a backend API, etc. It is a container that runs a process deployed to a defined server.

Types ​

1. Public or Private Git repository
   • Private Git repositories could be deployed with a GitHub App, or with Deploy Key
2. Simple Dockerfile

To have full integration with GitHub, like fully automated commit or pull request based deployments, you need a GitHub App (created automatically by Coolify).

Database ​

All supported databases could have scheduled, automatic backups, that is saved to your server or to an S3 compatible storage.

Types ​

• PostgreSQL

Service ​

A service is a more complex type of resource, that consists of several other resources, like an application and a database, etc.

Imagine you would like to deploy a Wordpress application, you would need a database, a web server and a PHP runtime. You could create a service that consists of these resources, grouped together and created automatically for you. Each resource in a service could be deployed to a different server.

Proxy ​

A server could have a proxy that is used to route traffic to the right resource. It is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended to use a proxy.

Coolify uses Traefik at the moment. Configuration done automatically by Coolify in case you deploy a resource that requires this proxy.

Like if you add a domain to your application, Coolify detects it and starts a proxy automatically.

Destination ​

Destination defines the type of the containerization technology you would like to use. It could be Docker, Docker Swarm or Kubernetes.

Source ​

Source defines the type of the source code repository you would like to use, like Github, Gitlab, Bitbucket, etc.

Github & GitLab public source is defined by default, but unseen by the users.

To use private repositories, you need to make a GitHub or GitLab App to have all kinds of integrations available.