Coolify Install on AWS: One-Click Coolify Installation on EC2

A Coolify install is one line of bash on any Linux server. On AWS, the work is everything around that line: an EC2 instance big enough for your builds, a VPC, the right ports, backups. Meetrix's Coolify AMI does those parts through a CloudFormation stack. It runs Coolify 4.1.0 on Ubuntu 24.04, and the stack is ready in 5-10 minutes.

Do one thing the minute it's up: register your admin account. Coolify makes the first person who reaches the registration page the admin. An instance sitting unclaimed on a public IP can be claimed by anyone who finds it.

What is Coolify?

Coolify is an open-source, self-hostable alternative to Heroku, Netlify and Vercel, licensed Apache 2.0 with the code on GitHub. Point it at a Git repository or a Docker image and it builds and deploys the app, issues SSL certificates, and runs databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB and Redis alongside it. It can also manage other servers over SSH, so one dashboard can deploy to several machines.

If you're still weighing it against the hosted platforms, we compare them in Coolify vs Vercel and Netlify and across the wider field in self-hosted Heroku alternatives.

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Coolify AMI: Self-Host Your Applications with Ease on AWS

Discover how Coolify AMI by Meetrix offers the fastest, most reliable way to deploy self-hosted applications on AWS. Skip the complexity, own your infrastructure, and launch production-ready platforms in minutes with this all-in-one solution.

By Maneesha Shehara • Meetrix.IO

Quick Video Guide

Coolify installation on AWS, step by step

1. Open the Coolify listing on AWS Marketplace, click "Continue to Subscribe" and accept the terms.
2. Click "Continue to Configuration", choose "CloudFormation Template" and your region, then "Continue to Launch" and "Launch CloudFormation".
3. On "Create stack", keep "Template is ready" selected and click "Next".
4. Fill in the parameters: a stack name, DeploymentName, InstanceType (t3.medium recommended), your EC2 keyName, and an S3Bucket for backups of Coolify's PostgreSQL database. Leave SubnetCidrBlock at 10.0.0.0/24 and VpcCidrBlock at 10.0.0.0/16. SSHLocation defaults to 0.0.0.0/0; narrow it to your own IP range.
5. Under "Stack failure options", choose "Roll back all stack resources" and "Delete all newly created resources", tick the IAM acknowledgement and submit.
6. Wait 5-10 minutes. If stack creation fails with a vCPU limit error, request a vCPU quota increase and try again.
7. Open DashboardUrlIp from the stack's Outputs tab and register your admin account straight away.

A 502 Bad Gateway in the first few minutes is normal; Coolify is still starting. If it's still there after about 5 minutes, work through our Coolify bad gateway fixes. The Coolify developer guide has screenshots of every screen above, plus how to stop and remove the stack.

Coolify AWS EC2 instance size

Coolify's own minimum is 2 CPU cores, 2 GB of RAM and 10 GB of disk. That's for Coolify. Every app and database you deploy lives on the same box unless you add servers, and builds are the memory spike: a Node.js or Next.js build can use more RAM than the running app ever will. That's why t3.medium (2 vCPU, 4 GiB) is the recommended size. If you build several apps on the instance itself, go bigger, or build images elsewhere and have Coolify pull them.

Coolify on AWS: what the AMI sets up

• Coolify 4.1.0, installed and running on Ubuntu 24.04
• A dedicated VPC and subnet, with SSH limited to the range you choose
• Backups of Coolify's own PostgreSQL database to your S3 bucket
• Billing through your AWS invoice: the EC2 instance plus an hourly software fee, after a 5-day free trial

Domains and SSL for the apps you deploy are Coolify's job, not the stack's. Point a DNS record at the instance, add the domain to the app in Coolify, and its proxy requests the certificate. If you're comparing this with other ways to run Coolify, our Coolify hosting article covers that side.

Coolify installation guide: the manual route

You don't need an AMI to run Coolify. On a fresh 64-bit Linux server (Ubuntu or Debian are the easy path), the official installation guide is a single command, run as root:

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

It installs Docker if needed, pulls Coolify's containers and starts them. Then open http://<your-server-ip>:8000 and register, again before anyone else does. On EC2 that also means opening port 8000 (and 80 and 443 for your apps) in the security group yourself.

The manual route is free and perfectly fine if you're comfortable on a Linux box. The AMI is for when you'd rather have the network, backups and instance created by one CloudFormation stack, billed through AWS, with someone to email when it breaks.

Coolify architecture in one paragraph

Everything is a Docker container. Coolify itself runs as a few containers on the host, with its own PostgreSQL and Redis. In front sits a reverse proxy (Traefik by default, Caddy as an option) that routes each domain to the right app and handles certificates. Each app or database you deploy is another container on the same host, or on another server Coolify reaches over SSH.

Real-World Applications of Coolify

Coolify, in conjunction with Meetrix’s AMI solution, has been instrumental in transforming the operational landscape of various industries. This section highlights how different sectors have leveraged Coolify for enhanced efficiency and productivity, supported by client testimonials and success stories.

E-Commerce Platform

• Background: An emerging e-commerce company faced challenges in deploying and managing multiple web applications and databases efficiently.
• Solution: They implemented Coolify with Meetrix’s AMI, which allowed for seamless deployment and management of their applications on AWS.
• Outcome:
  • Increased Deployment Efficiency: The e-commerce platform experienced a significant reduction in deployment times, from several hours to minutes.
  • Scalability: The company could effortlessly scale its services in response to varying customer demands.
  • Cost Reduction: By leveraging the pay-as-you-go model, the company reported substantial cost savings.
• Client Testimonial: "The integration of Coolify with Meetrix's solution has been a game-changer for our e-commerce operations. It simplified our deployment process and significantly reduced operational costs."

Healthcare Data Management

• Background: A healthcare provider needed a secure and efficient way to manage patient data and internal applications.
• Solution: They utilized Coolify with Meetrix’s AMI to host their applications securely on AWS.
• Outcome:
  • Enhanced Data Security: The healthcare provider ensured compliance with data privacy regulations while maintaining high data security standards.
  • Streamlined Data Management: The integration facilitated easy management and deployment of healthcare applications.
  • Improved Accessibility: Care providers gained better access to applications and patient data, leading to improved patient care.
• Client Testimonial: "Implementing Coolify via Meetrix provided us with a secure and manageable platform, crucial for handling sensitive healthcare data and applications."

Educational Institution

• Background: A university struggled with managing various educational applications and databases for their online learning platforms.
• Solution: Coolify, through Meetrix’s pre-configured AMI, was employed to manage and deploy their educational applications.
• Outcome:
  • User-Friendly Management: The university’s IT team found it easier to manage and deploy applications.
  • Reliability: There was a notable improvement in the reliability and uptime of their online learning platforms.
  • Cost-Effective: The solution proved to be budget-friendly, especially important for the educational sector.
• Client Testimonial: "Coolify and Meetrix’s AMI transformed how we manage our online learning applications, offering us a reliable and cost-effective solution."

These case studies demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of Coolify with Meetrix’s AMI across various industries. From e-commerce to healthcare and education, organizations have realized tangible benefits in terms of deployment efficiency, scalability, security, and cost savings. These real-world applications and testimonials underscore the impact of this powerful combination in addressing industry-specific challenges.

For technical help with the AMI, contact Meetrix Support at support@meetrix.io.