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Install Coolify on a Hostinger VPS: A Self-Hosted Vercel for a Flat Price

Install Coolify on a Hostinger VPS for Git deploys, auto HTTPS and databases: template or script, dashboard on your domain, a first app and port lockdown.

By · 20+ years in tech

Published · 9 min read

The short answer

  • 01Coolify is a free, open-source platform that gives your own server Vercel- or Heroku-style Git deploys, HTTPS, databases and preview deploys.
  • 02It needs at least 2 CPU cores and 2 GB RAM, so KVM 2 (2 vCPU, 8 GB) is the realistic starting plan; KVM 1 is only for trying it out.
  • 03Install it from Hostinger's Coolify OS template or with curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | sudo bash on a dedicated server.
  • 04Docker bypasses UFW, so close ports 8000, 6001 and 6002 in Hostinger's hPanel VPS firewall once the dashboard is on your domain.
  • 05Send Coolify's database backups to S3-compatible storage, because a backup on the same server is lost with the server.

What Coolify gives you, and who should skip it

Coolify is open-source software you install on your own server. It covers most of what Vercel, Netlify or Heroku do: connect a Git repository, push, and it builds and deploys behind HTTPS. It also runs databases (Postgres, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB) and one-click services, and it can spin up a preview deploy for each pull request.

It earns its overhead when you run several apps and want one dashboard for all of them. If you have a single app and a deploy script you trust, skip it. The plain route in the Next.js guide plus GitHub Actions is lighter and has fewer moving parts.

Sizing: builds are what run out of memory

Coolify itself wants at least 2 CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM, and by default your builds run on the same machine. Builds are where memory disappears.

PlanFits
KVM 1 (1 vCPU, 4 GB)Below the 2-core minimum. It installs, but builds crawl. Fine for evaluation only
KVM 2 (2 vCPU, 8 GB)The sensible starting point: a handful of apps and a database or two
KVM 4 (4 vCPU, 16 GB)Many apps, frequent builds, or preview deploys for a team

Route 1: Hostinger's Coolify template

Coolify is one of Hostinger's VPS OS templates. Choose it when you create the server, or reinstall an existing one from the VPS settings, and Coolify is installed for you on Ubuntu. Then jump to the first-login section.

Route 2: run the installer yourself

Begin with a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 server you have secured: SSH keys, updates, firewall. Coolify's installer sets up Docker and everything else it needs. Run it as root or with sudo.

Give Coolify a server of its own. It manages Docker, its own reverse proxy and ports 80 and 443, which collides with any Nginx or Caddy you already set up.

bash
curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | sudo bash

First login

When the installer finishes, open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8000 and create the admin account immediately. Until an account exists, whoever opens the URL first can take over the instance.

Coolify then asks where to deploy. Pick "This machine" (localhost) to run apps on the same server.

  • Port 8000 serves the dashboard until you give it a domain.
  • Ports 6001 and 6002 carry the dashboard's realtime updates and the web terminal.
  • Ports 80 and 443 belong to Coolify's proxy (Traefik), which serves your apps over HTTPS.

Move the dashboard onto your domain

  1. 1Add an A record for a subdomain such as coolify.example.com pointing at the server (step-by-step DNS).
  2. 2Optionally add a wildcard *.example.com record so Coolify can give every app its own subdomain automatically.
  3. 3In Coolify, open Settings, enter https://coolify.example.com as the instance domain and save.
  4. 4The proxy requests a Let's Encrypt certificate and the dashboard switches to HTTPS.

Deploy a first app

Using a GitHub repository as the example:

  1. 1Go to Projects, Add, choose the production environment, then New resource.
  2. 2Pick a public repository, or connect the Coolify GitHub App for private repos and automatic deploys on push.
  3. 3Choose a build pack. Nixpacks detects Node, Next.js, Laravel, Django and most common stacks; pick Dockerfile or Docker Compose if the repo includes one.
  4. 4Set the port the app listens on (3000 for Next.js), add environment variables, and set the domain, for example https://app.example.com.
  5. 5Click Deploy and watch the build log. Later pushes to the branch redeploy on their own.

Close the ports Docker opened

Coolify publishes ports through Docker, and Docker installs iptables rules that route around UFW. A UFW rule blocking 8000 does not actually block it. Use Hostinger's VPS firewall in hPanel instead; it filters traffic before it reaches the server.

PortKeep open?
22 (SSH)Yes, ideally only from your own IP
80, 443Yes, for your apps and the dashboard
8000Close once the dashboard is on your domain
6001, 6002Close once the dashboard is on your domain; the proxy handles them after that
Database ports (5432, 3306…)Only if you made a database public on purpose; keep them internal where you can

Backups and updates

Coolify can back up the databases it manages on a schedule, either to the server or to S3-compatible storage such as Cloudflare R2 or Backblaze B2. Configure the S3 target; a backup sitting on the same server is no help if the server goes. Hostinger's weekly VPS backups and snapshots add a second net for the whole disk.

Updates are one click in the dashboard, and you can enable automatic updates. On a busy server I would leave auto-update off, read the release notes, take a snapshot, then update.

Verify it worked

Run these checks after the install and again after every Coolify update.

  • The admin account exists and the dashboard loads on your domain over HTTPS.
  • A push to the deploy branch triggers a new build in Coolify.
  • From outside, http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8000 no longer answers once the hPanel firewall rules are in place.
  • A scheduled database backup has landed in your S3 bucket at least once.
On the server and from your laptop:
bash
sudo docker ps                         # expect: Coolify and its proxy containers running
curl -I https://coolify.example.com    # expect: a response over HTTPS, no certificate error
curl -I https://app.example.com        # expect: your first app answering over HTTPS

Related

Coming from Vercel? The Vercel-to-VPS migration guide covers DNS, env vars and cut-over. Prefer config files to a dashboard? Host multiple sites with plain Nginx.

Questions people ask

Is Coolify free?

Yes. The self-hosted edition is open source and free, so you pay only for the server; Coolify also sells a hosted dashboard, Coolify Cloud, that manages your servers for a fee.

Can Coolify replace Vercel for a Next.js app?

For most apps, yes. Git deploys, HTTPS, environment variables and preview deploys all work, but you give up Vercel's global edge network and managed analytics, and the server is now your job.

Can I run Coolify on KVM 1?

Only for testing. It installs, but KVM 1 has one CPU core and Coolify recommends at least two; KVM 2 builds real apps much faster.

Why is port 8000 still reachable after I blocked it in UFW?

Docker writes its own firewall rules that bypass UFW. Block the port in Hostinger's VPS firewall in hPanel, which sits in front of the server.

Independent site, not Hostinger. Buy through my links and Hostinger pays me a referral fee; your price is the same or lower. How that works.