Coolify on a VPS in Frankfurt

Updated 2026-10-30

The Coolify app gives you a Frankfurt cloud server with Coolify installed, a self-hosted platform that deploys your apps, databases and services from Git, much like a hosted PaaS but on a server you own.

You get the push-to-deploy workflow without per-app pricing, and traffic is unmetered.

What is installed

• Coolify, the open-source self-hosted deployment platform, with its web dashboard.
• Docker, which Coolify uses to build and run everything you deploy.
• A standard Linux system with full root access.

From the dashboard you can connect Git repositories, deploy Dockerfiles or Compose files, start one-click services and databases, and manage environment variables and domains.

Which plan to start with

Coolify builds images and runs your workloads on the same server, so size it for your apps, not for Coolify alone.

• A few small apps: a Standard plan with 2 GB of memory.
• Several apps with databases, or regular builds: 4 GB of memory or more.
• Build-heavy projects: a CPU-optimised (c) plan speeds up builds.

Billing is hourly from a prepaid balance and capped at the monthly price. Resize to a bigger plan as you add projects.

Signing in after boot

1. Create a server in the console and choose Coolify as the app.
2. When the server is running, allow a few minutes for Coolify to install and start.
3. Open the Coolify dashboard in your browser on the server's address. On the first visit you register the admin account.
4. Sign in and follow the onboarding to add the server as a deploy target.

Register the admin account straight away so nobody else can. For terminal access, connect with SSH as root. See connect with SSH.

First steps

Add a domain

Point a domain, or a wildcard record, at the server's IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. Set it as the instance domain in Coolify so the dashboard runs over HTTPS, and give each app its own subdomain.

Deploy your first app

1. Create a project and an environment.
2. Add a resource from a public or private Git repository, a Dockerfile, or a Compose file.
3. Set the domain and environment variables.
4. Deploy, and watch the build log in the dashboard.

Secure the server

• Attach a free firewall that allows SSH, HTTP and HTTPS, plus the dashboard port until you have a domain.
• Use SSH keys only.
• Turn on daily backups and configure database backups inside Coolify as well.

Grow beyond one server

Keep Coolify on one server and add more Wolkra servers as deploy targets. Put them in a private network so Coolify talks to them privately, spread them with a placement group, and use a load balancer for apps that run on several servers.

When Coolify is the right choice

Coolify fits best when you deploy several small to medium apps and want a dashboard instead of hand-written server configuration. Typical examples:

• Agencies and freelancers who host many client projects and want each one deployed from its own Git repository.
• Side projects and internal tools that need a database, a domain and HTTPS, without a separate setup for each.
• Teams moving off a hosted PaaS who want the same push-to-deploy habit on a server with a fixed price.

If you run a single app and like working in the terminal, the plain Docker app with a Compose file may be simpler. If you need many servers with strict separation, combine Coolify with separate deploy targets as described above. Either way, you can start with one small server, try it for a few hours, and delete it if it does not suit you.

Why run Coolify on Wolkra

• No per-app or per-seat fees. One server price, billed hourly, capped monthly.
• Unmetered traffic. Deployments, image pulls and user traffic carry no per-GB fees. Ports go up to 10 Gbit/s, shared, under fair use. See network.
• Data in Germany. Apps and databases run in Frankfurt. See VPS Germany.
• Plain building blocks. Volumes, floating IPs, firewalls and the API work with Coolify servers like with any other.

Want to compare approaches? See Docker hosting and SaaS and startups.

Start your Coolify server

Sign up, add balance by card or crypto, and choose the Coolify app. Your own deploy platform in Frankfurt is ready in minutes.