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Self-Hosting Coolify: Your Own Heroku

Coolify is an open-source PaaS. Push code, auto-deploy, preview environments — the Heroku/Vercel experience, self-hosted.

coolifypaasdeploymentheroku

What Is Coolify?


Coolify is an open-source alternative to Heroku, Netlify, and Vercel. It provides:

  • Git push to deploy
  • Automatic SSL
  • Preview environments for PRs
  • Database management
  • Monitoring dashboard

    • Why Self-Host Your PaaS?


    Cost

  • Heroku: $7-25/dyno/month
  • Railway: Usage-based, $5-20+/month
  • Coolify: Free software on your $5 server

    • Control

  • No vendor lock-in
  • No surprise bills
  • Deploy anywhere
  • Full configuration control

    • Features


    Deployment

  • Deploy from GitHub, GitLab, or Gitea
  • Dockerfile, Nixpacks, or Buildpacks
  • Auto-deploy on push
  • Manual deploy option

    • Preview Environments

    Every pull request gets its own deployment URL for testing.


    Databases

    One-click deployment of:

  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL/MariaDB
  • MongoDB
  • Redis

    • SSL

    Automatic Let's Encrypt certificates for all applications.


    Monitoring

  • CPU and memory usage per application
  • Deployment logs
  • Application logs

    • Multi-Server

    Manage applications across multiple servers from one Coolify dashboard.


    Coolify vs Alternatives


    Coolify vs CapRover

  • Coolify: More modern UI, preview environments, better GitHub integration
  • CapRover: More mature, simpler architecture

    • Coolify vs Dokku

  • Coolify: Web UI, multi-server support
  • Dokku: CLI-only, single server, Heroku buildpack compatible

    • Deployment


    1. Deploy Coolify on TinyPod

    2. Connect your GitHub/GitLab account

    3. Select a repository

    4. Configure build settings

    5. Deploy


    Resources: 2 CPU, 2 GB RAM (Coolify itself + your applications).


    When to Use Coolify vs Direct Container Deployment


  • Coolify: When you want git-push deployment for your own applications
  • Direct containers: When you're deploying pre-built applications (Nextcloud, Grafana, etc.)

    • Coolify is best for deploying YOUR code. TinyPod is best for deploying existing applications.