How to Deploy Dokploy – Self-Hosted PaaS for Docker Applications

Dokploy is an open-source, self-hosted Platform as a Service (PaaS) that simplifies application deployment and management. It serves as a free alternative to platforms like Heroku, Vercel, and Netlify, using Docker for containerization and Traefik for automatic HTTPS routing. Dokploy provides a web-based dashboard where administrators can deploy applications from Git repositories, manage databases, configure environment variables, and monitor resource usage.

This article explains how to install Dokploy on Ubuntu 24.04 and deploy a sample application. It covers the installation process, initial configuration, deploying an application from a GitHub repository, configuring a custom domain with SSL certificates, and monitoring application performance through the Dokploy dashboard.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you need to:

• Have access to an Ubuntu 24.04-based server as a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Configure a domain A record pointing to your server's IP address (for example, dokploy.example.com and app.example.com).

Install Dokploy

Dokploy provides a single installation script that installs Docker (if not present), configures Docker Swarm mode, and deploys the Dokploy application stack. The script requires root privileges and handles all dependencies automatically.

1. Update the server's package index.

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   $ sudo apt update

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2. Run the Dokploy installation script with root privileges.

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   $ curl -sSL https://dokploy.com/install.sh | sudo sh

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   Output:

   Congratulations, Dokploy is installed!
   Wait 15 seconds for the server to start
   Please go to http://YOUR-SERVER-IP:3000

   The script installs and configures Dokploy and its dependencies.

3. Add your user to the docker group to run Docker commands without sudo.

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   $ sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   $ newgrp docker

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4. Verify that the Dokploy services are running.

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   $ docker service ls

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   Output:

   ID             NAME               MODE         REPLICAS   IMAGE                    PORTS
   yjuz1bv9slln   dokploy            replicated   1/1        dokploy/dokploy:latest   
   icesr4uht5py   dokploy-postgres   replicated   1/1        postgres:16              
   aqb1hms95ox8   dokploy-redis      replicated   1/1        redis:7      

   You should see the dokploy service and supporting services (for example, PostgreSQL and Redis). Depending on the Dokploy version and your configuration, you may also see a Traefik service (sometimes shown as dokploy-traefik) for HTTP/HTTPS routing.

Access the Dokploy Dashboard

The web interface runs on port 3000 by default. In this section, you access the dashboard and create the administrator account.

1. Open the Dokploy dashboard in your web browser. Replace SERVER-IP with your server's IP address.

   http://SERVER-IP:3000

2. The setup page prompts you to enter your name, email address, and password for the initial administrator account. Click Register to complete the setup.

   

   The dashboard displays the main project view after registration. From here, you can create projects, deploy applications, and manage databases.

   Note

   The initial setup uses HTTP on port 3000. This article shows how to configure a custom domain with HTTPS for the Dokploy dashboard later in the Secure the Dokploy Dashboard section.

Deploy a Sample Application

Dokploy supports multiple deployment methods including GitHub repositories, Git URLs, Docker images, and Docker Compose files. In this section, you deploy a sample Node.js application from a public GitHub repository.

Create a Project

1. Click Create Project from the dashboard.

   

2. Enter a project name (for example, demo-project) and click Create.

   The project page opens, displaying options to add applications, databases, and Docker Compose stacks.

Add an Application

1. Click Create Service and select Application.

   

2. Enter an application name (for example, hello-app) and click Create.

3. Navigate to the General tab and configure the source settings:

   • Provider: Select GitHub (or Git for custom repositories).
   • Repository URL: Enter a public repository URL (for example, https://github.com/dokploy/hello-world).
   • Branch: Enter main.

   

4. Configure the build settings:

   • Build Type: Select Nixpacks (automatically detects and builds most applications).

   Dokploy supports multiple build types:

   • Nixpacks: Auto-detects language and dependencies (recommended for most applications).
   • Heroku Buildpacks: Compatible with Heroku-style applications.
   • Paketo Buildpacks: Cloud-native buildpacks for production deployments.
   • Dockerfile: Uses a custom Dockerfile from the repository.

5. Click Save to apply the configuration.

Deploy the Application

1. Click Deploy to start the build process.

2. Navigate to the Deployments tab to monitor the build progress.

   The deployment log shows each build step including dependency installation, compilation, and container creation. A successful deployment displays a green status indicator.

3. Navigate to the Logs tab to view the application's runtime output.

   Output:

   Server listening on port 3000

   The application is now running inside a Docker container managed by Dokploy.

Configure a Custom Domain with SSL

Dokploy uses Traefik to route traffic and automatically provision SSL certificates through Let's Encrypt. Traefik requires ports 80 and 443 to handle HTTP/HTTPS traffic and certificate provisioning.

1. Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic through the firewall.

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   $ sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
   $ sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

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2. Enable UFW if it is not already enabled.

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   $ sudo ufw enable

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3. Verify the firewall status.

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   $ sudo ufw status

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Configure a Custom Domain

1. Navigate to the Domains tab for your application.

2. Click Add Domain.

   

3. Configure the domain settings:

   • Host: Enter your domain (for example, app.example.com).
   • Container Port: Verify this matches the port your application listens on (check the application logs).
   • HTTPS: Enable to provision an SSL certificate.
   • Certificate Provider: Select Let's Encrypt for automatic certificate management.

4. Click Create to save the domain configuration.

5. Verify that your domain's DNS A record points to your server's IP address.

   • Install dig if it is not available.

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     $ sudo apt install -y dnsutils

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   • Query the DNS A record for app.example.com.

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     $ dig +short app.example.com

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     Output:

     SERVER-IP

     Verify the output matches your server's public IP address.

6. Access the application through your custom domain.

   https://app.example.com

   Traefik automatically provisions the SSL certificate on the first request. Certificate renewal occurs automatically before expiration.

Secure the Dokploy Dashboard

This section assigns a domain to the Dokploy dashboard, enables HTTPS, and disables IP:port access after confirming the domain works.

1. Navigate to Settings > Web Server in the Dokploy dashboard.

   

2. Configure a domain for the panel (for example, dokploy.example.com).

3. Enable HTTPS and select Let's Encrypt for certificate provisioning.

4. Verify the domain works correctly by accessing https://dokploy.example.com.

5. Disable IP:port access after confirming the domain works.

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   $ docker service update --publish-rm "published=3000,target=3000,mode=host" dokploy

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   Warning

   Verify that your domain is working correctly with HTTPS before disabling IP:port access. Otherwise, you lose access to the Dokploy dashboard.

Deploy a Database

Dokploy provides one-click database deployments with automatic backup configuration. In this section, you deploy a PostgreSQL database.

1. Navigate to your project and click Create Service.

2. Select Database and choose PostgreSQL.

3. Enter a database name (for example, app-db) and click Create.

4. Navigate to the General tab to view the database connection settings.

   Dokploy displays internal connection details for application-to-database connections on the server:

   • User
   • Database Name
   • Password
   • Internal Port (Container): Container port for PostgreSQL (default 5432).
   • Internal Host: Hostname that applications use to reach the database over Dokploy's internal network.
   • Internal Connection URL: Prebuilt connection string you can copy into your application configuration.

   It also includes an External Port (Internet) field. Set this only if you need to connect from outside the server (for example, from your workstation).

   

5. Click Deploy to start the database container.

6. Optionally configure automated backups in the Backups tab:

   • Set backup frequency (hourly, daily, weekly).
   • Configure an S3-compatible destination for off-server storage.

Connect the Application to the Database

1. Navigate to the Environment tab for your application.

2. Copy the Internal Connection URL value from the database's General tab and save it as an environment variable.

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   DATABASE_URL=INTERNAL-CONNECTION-URL

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   Replace INTERNAL-CONNECTION-URL with the exact value displayed in Dokploy (use the copy button next to the field).

3. Click Save and redeploy the application for the changes to take effect.

Monitor Application Resources

Dokploy provides real-time monitoring for CPU, memory, disk, and network usage. In this section, you access the monitoring dashboard.

1. Navigate to the Monitoring tab for your application.

   Four graphs display resource utilization:

   • CPU Usage: Processor usage percentage.
   • Memory Usage: RAM consumption in megabytes.
   • Block I/O: Storage I/O operations.
   • Network I/O: Inbound and outbound traffic.

2. Use the monitoring data to identify performance bottlenecks and adjust resource limits.

3. Navigate to the Advanced tab to configure resource constraints:

   • CPU Limit: Maximum CPU cores allocated to the container.
   • Memory Limit: Maximum RAM allocated to the container.

Conclusion

You have installed Dokploy on Ubuntu 24.04 and deployed a sample application with a custom domain and SSL certificate. The platform provides a centralized dashboard for managing containerized applications, databases, and Docker Compose stacks with automatic HTTPS provisioning through Traefik. For advanced features including cluster deployments, remote servers, and custom Traefik configurations, refer to the official Dokploy documentation.