Installing Coolify on an Oracle ARM Ubuntu server

What is Coolify?

Coolify is an open-source, self-hostable Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)—think “Heroku/Vercel, but free on your own server”. Deploy applications, databases, and services with one click, automatic SSL, and Git integration, with zero monthly fees.

Feature	Heroku/Vercel	Coolify on Your Server
One-click deployments	✅	✅
Automatic SSL (Let’s Encrypt)	✅	✅
Git integration	✅	✅
Free database management	❌ ($)	✅
Monthly cost	💰 $7-50+	💰 $0
Data ownership	❌ Provider	✅ Your server
Full customization	❌ Limited	✅ Complete

Trade-off: You manage server infrastructure, but gain complete control and cost savings.

This guide documents the complete process of installing Coolify on an Oracle Cloud instance with Docker configured to use a separate volume to avoid filling up the boot disk.

System Setup

• Server: Oracle Cloud ARM instance
• OS: Ubuntu 24.04
• Boot disk: 45GB (/dev/sda1)
• Data volume: 148GB (/dev/sdb1 mounted at /mnt/myvolume)
• Goal: Install Coolify with all Docker data on the larger volume

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• SSH access to your server
• Root/sudo privileges
• A mounted volume at /mnt/myvolume (or your preferred location)
• Docker installed (version 27.5.1)

Table of Contents

• What is Coolify?
• System Setup
• Prerequisites
• Step 1: Configure Docker to Use Custom Data Root
• Step 2: Install Coolify
• Step 3: Configure SSH for Coolify
• Step 4: Configure Firewall (UFW)
• Step 5: Configure Oracle Cloud Ingress Rules
• Step 6: Configure Custom Domain (Optional but Recommended)
• Step 7: Ensure Containers Auto-Restart
• Step 8: Add SSH Keys for Deployments
• Step 9: Configure S3 Storage and Docling for AI Applications
  • Overview
  • S3 Configuration
  • Docling Integration
  • Docker Compose Example
  • Docling Usage
  • Security Considerations
• Verification
• Post-Reboot Checklist
• Common Issues
  • SSH Connection Timeout During Setup
  • Containers Not Restarting After Reboot
  • Port Already in Use
• Environment Variables (.zshrc)
• Storage Layout
• Summary

Step 1: Configure Docker to Use Custom Data Root

Edit Docker daemon configuration:

sudo cp /etc/docker/daemon.json /etc/docker/daemon.json.backup

Update /etc/docker/daemon.json to include the data-root directive:

{
    "data-root": "/mnt/myvolume/docker",
    "log-driver": "json-file",
    "log-opts": {
      "max-size": "100m",
      "max-file": "5"
    },
    "features": {
        "buildkit": true
    },
    "live-restore": true,
    "default-address-pools": [
        {
            "base": "172.17.0.0/12",
            "size": 20
        },
        {
            "base": "192.168.0.0/16",
            "size": 24
        }
    ]
}

Restart Docker and verify:

sudo systemctl restart docker
sudo docker info | grep "Docker Root Dir"

Expected output: Docker Root Dir: /mnt/myvolume/docker

Step 2: Install Coolify

Run the official installation script:

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

The installer will:

• Install required packages
• Configure SSH
• Download Coolify components
• Start Coolify containers
• Display access URL (e.g., http://YOUR_IP:8000)

Step 3: Configure SSH for Coolify

Coolify runs as root and needs SSH access to manage the server. Add Coolify’s generated SSH key to authorized_keys:

# The key will be shown in the Coolify UI during setup
# Copy it and add to authorized_keys:
echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3Nza... coolify" | sudo tee -a /root/.ssh/authorized_keys
sudo chmod 600 /root/.ssh/authorized_keys

Step 4: Configure Firewall (UFW)

Allow required ports:

# Essential ports
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp    # SSH
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp    # HTTP
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp   # HTTPS
sudo ufw allow 6001/tcp  # Coolify real-time
sudo ufw allow 6002/tcp  # Coolify terminal
sudo ufw allow 8000/tcp  # Coolify dashboard

# Allow Docker networks to access SSH (critical for Coolify)
sudo ufw allow from 172.16.0.0/12 to any port 22 comment "Coolify Docker network"
sudo ufw allow from 10.0.0.0/8 to any port 22 comment "Docker networks"

Step 5: Configure Oracle Cloud Ingress Rules

In Oracle Cloud Console, add these Ingress Rules to your Security List:

Source CIDR	Protocol	Destination Port	Description
0.0.0.0/0	TCP	22	SSH
0.0.0.0/0	TCP	80	HTTP
0.0.0.0/0	TCP	443	HTTPS
0.0.0.0/0	TCP	6001	Coolify Real-time
0.0.0.0/0	TCP	6002	Coolify Terminal
0.0.0.0/0	TCP	8000	Coolify Dashboard

Step 6: Configure Custom Domain (Optional but Recommended)

Once you set up a custom domain with SSL in Coolify:

1. Point your domain to the server IP
2. Configure the domain in Coolify settings
3. Enable wildcard domain for subdomains
4. After SSL is working, close ports 6001, 6002, and 8000 for security:

# Remove from UFW
sudo ufw delete allow 6001/tcp
sudo ufw delete allow 6002/tcp
sudo ufw delete allow 8000/tcp

Also remove these ports from Oracle Cloud Ingress Rules.

Step 7: Ensure Containers Auto-Restart

Set all Coolify containers to restart automatically:

sudo docker update --restart=always coolify-sentinel

Verify all containers have restart policies:

sudo docker inspect coolify coolify-db coolify-redis coolify-realtime coolify-proxy coolify-sentinel --format '{{.Name}}: {{.HostConfig.RestartPolicy.Name}}' | sed 's|/||'

Step 8: Add SSH Keys for Deployments

Copy your deployment SSH keys to root user:

sudo cp ~/.ssh/your-key /root/.ssh/your-key
sudo cp ~/.ssh/your-key.pub /root/.ssh/your-key.pub
sudo chmod 600 /root/.ssh/your-key
sudo chmod 644 /root/.ssh/your-key.pub

Step 9: Configure S3 Storage and Docling for AI Applications

Overview

This step configures S3-compatible storage (Cloudflare R2, AWS S3, etc.) for persistent data storage and adds Docling for document processing capabilities to your Coolify deployment.

S3 Configuration

Set up S3 storage for applications requiring external object storage:

1. Obtain S3 Credentials:
   • Create S3 bucket (e.g., through Cloudflare R2, AWS S3, or compatible service)
   • Generate access key ID and secret access key
   • Note the endpoint URL and region
2. Environment Variables:
   • STORAGE_PROVIDER: Set to s3
   • S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID: Your S3 access key
   • S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: Your S3 secret key
   • S3_ENDPOINT_URL: S3 endpoint URL (e.g., https://yourbucket.r2.cloudflarestorage.com)
   • S3_REGION_NAME: Region code (e.g., us-east-1, wnam)
   • S3_BUCKET_NAME: Name of your S3 bucket

Docling Integration

Docling is a document processing service that converts various document formats to structured markdown. It’s useful for AI applications that need to process PDFs, Word documents, and other file types.

Docker Compose Example

Edit the docker-compose.yml file in Coolify with S3 storage and Docling:

services:
  open-webui:
    image: 'ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main'
    volumes:
      - 'open-webui:/app/backend/data'
    environment:
      - ENV=dev
      - SERVICE_URL_OPENWEBUI_8080
      - STORAGE_PROVIDER=s3
      - 'S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=${S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID}'
      - 'S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=${S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}'
      - 'S3_ENDPOINT_URL=${S3_ENDPOINT_URL}'
      - 'S3_REGION_NAME=${S3_REGION_NAME}'
      - 'S3_BUCKET_NAME=${S3_BUCKET_NAME}'
    healthcheck:
      test:
        - CMD
        - curl
        - '-f'
        - 'http://127.0.0.1:8080'
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 30s
      retries: 10
  docling:
    image: 'quay.io/docling-project/docling-serve:latest'
    healthcheck:
      test:
        - CMD
        - curl
        - '-f'
        - 'http://127.0.0.1:5001/health'
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 30s
      retries: 5
volumes:
  open-webui: null

Docling Usage

The Docling service exposes an API for document processing:

# Health check
curl http://localhost:5001/health

# Convert document to markdown
curl -X POST http://localhost:5001/convert \
  -F "[email protected]"

Security Considerations

• Store credentials securely: Use Coolify’s environment variable management or a secrets manager
• Never commit .env files: Add .env to .gitignore
• Use IAM policies: Restrict S3 bucket access to only what’s needed
• Rotate credentials regularly: Periodically rotate S3 access keys
• Use S3 bucket policies: Restrict access by IP or endpoint

Verification

Check everything is working:

# Verify Docker location
sudo docker info | grep "Docker Root Dir"

# Check container status
sudo docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}"

# Check disk usage
df -h / /mnt/myvolume
sudo du -sh /mnt/myvolume/docker

Post-Reboot Checklist

After any server reboot, run the health check:

/mnt/myvolume/coolify-data/check-coolify.sh

Or add to .zshrc:

alias coolify-check='/mnt/myvolume/coolify-data/check-coolify.sh'

Common Issues

SSH Connection Timeout During Setup

Symptom: “ssh: connect to host host.docker.internal port 22: Operation timed out”

Solution: Ensure Docker networks can access SSH:

sudo ufw allow from 172.16.0.0/12 to any port 22

Containers Not Restarting After Reboot

Symptom: coolify-sentinel or other containers show as “Exited”

Solution: Update restart policy:

sudo docker update --restart=always coolify-sentinel

Port Already in Use

Symptom: Installation fails because port 8000 or others are in use

Solution: Check and stop conflicting services:

sudo lsof -i :8000
sudo systemctl stop <conflicting-service>

Environment Variables (.zshrc)

Add these to your .zshrc for convenience:

export COOLIFY_HOME="/mnt/myvolume/coolify-data"
export COOLIFY_AUTO_UPDATE="true"

alias coolify-check='/mnt/myvolume/coolify-data/check-coolify.sh'

Storage Layout

After successful installation:

/mnt/myvolume/
├── docker/                    # All Docker data (7.6GB+)
│   ├── containers/
│   ├── volumes/              # App data and databases
│   │   ├── coolify-db/
│   │   ├── coolify-redis/
│   │   └── <app-volumes>/
│   └── ...
└── coolify-data/             # Coolify scripts and tools
    ├── check-coolify.sh
    └── coolify-installation-guide.md

Summary

With this setup:

• ✅ Docker stores all data on /mnt/myvolume (large volume)
• ✅ Boot disk stays at ~24GB usage
• ✅ All deployed apps automatically use the large volume
• ✅ Coolify containers auto-restart after reboot
• ✅ Firewall properly configured for Oracle Cloud
• ✅ SSH keys properly configured for root user
• ✅ Custom domain with SSL (if configured)

For a more detailed explanation of how to install Coolify, please watch this excellent video that covers all the details

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Resources:

• Coolify Official Documentation
• Coolify GitHub
• Coolify Discord Community