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Cover image for How to Self-Host Coolify (Open Source Heroku) β€” With Monitoring & Free Lifetime Alerts
Alexander Neitzel
Alexander Neitzel

Posted on • Originally published at garmingo.com

How to Self-Host Coolify (Open Source Heroku) β€” With Monitoring & Free Lifetime Alerts

πŸš€ How to Self-Host Coolify (Open Source Heroku) β€” With Monitoring & Free Lifetime Alerts

Coolify is a brilliant open-source platform that lets you self-host your own Heroku-style PaaS.

Deploy apps, databases, workers, and more β€” all from one dashboard.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to:

  • Deploy Coolify using Docker
  • Host it on a budget-friendly server
  • Monitor it from the outside with Garmingo Status
  • All without paying monthly

Let’s build your own mini-PaaS πŸ‘‡


🧰 What You’ll Need

  • A Linux server (Ubuntu/Debian) πŸ‘‰ We recommend Hetzner Cloud β€” fast, reliable, cheap (€3/month)
  • Docker + Docker Compose
  • Domain (optional but recommended)
  • 5–10 minutes

πŸ› οΈ Step 1: Prepare Your Server

Update & install Docker:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y
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Add your user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER  
newgrp docker
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πŸ“¦ Step 2: Deploy Coolify

Run:

docker run -d \  
  --name coolify \  
  -p 3000:3000 \  
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \  
  -v coolify-data:/app/data \  
  ghcr.io/coollabsio/coolify
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Once it's running, go to:

http://your-server-ip:3000

Create your account and log in to the dashboard.


🌐 Step 3: Add Domain & HTTPS (Recommended)

Coolify supports automatic Let's Encrypt provisioning if you point a domain (e.g. coolify.yourdomain.com) to the server IP.

Set this in the dashboard or behind a reverse proxy.


πŸ“ˆ Step 4: Start Deploying Stuff

Coolify can handle:

  • Static apps
  • Dockerfiles & Git repos
  • Databases like PostgreSQL & MySQL
  • Background workers & CRON jobs

You can even build CI/CD pipelines with webhooks or Git integration.


🚨 Step 5: Monitor Coolify with Garmingo Status

Coolify is your app platform. If it goes down, everything breaks.

You need visibility outside your own stack.

That’s where Garmingo Status comes in:

βœ… External uptime monitoring

βœ… Multi-location checks

βœ… Slack, Email, Discord & Webhook alerts

βœ… Private or public status pages

βœ… PDF reports & SLA logs

βœ… Forever free tier or one-time payment β†’ Lifetime deal!

πŸ‘‰ Grab the Lifetime Deal here (under $50!)

You host your own PaaS. Now make sure it's always up.


🧘 TL;DR

  • 🧰 Install Coolify with Docker
  • 🌐 Add a domain + TLS
  • πŸš€ Deploy your apps
  • πŸ“‘ Monitor it with Garmingo Status
  • πŸ’Έ Never pay monthly again

πŸ‘‰ Try the Lifetime Plan on AppSumo

πŸ‘‰ Or start free here

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