Deploying a GitHub repo on Coolify

• A Coolify instance with at least one server added and showing Validated under Servers.
• Ports 80 and 443 open to the internet on that server. Let's Encrypt validates over port 80 — if it is firewalled, certificates never issue.
• Admin rights on the GitHub organisation, so you can install a GitHub App on it.
• A repository whose start script boots a server listening on 0.0.0.0 and the port given by process.env.PORT.

1. 1

   Create a GitHub App source

   In Coolify, go to Sources → + Add → GitHub App. Give it a name, pick the organisation that owns your repos, and press Register Now. Coolify hands you off to GitHub to create the App, then back again to install it.

   When GitHub asks which repositories to grant access to, prefer Only select repositories and pick the ones you will actually deploy.

1. 2

   Add the resource

   Open (or create) a Project, choose an environment, then + New Resource → Private Repository (with GitHub App). Select the source you just made, pick the repository, and choose the branch to deploy.

2. 3

   Set the build configuration

   Coolify detects Next.js and preselects Nixpacks. Leave the three command fields empty — Nixpacks derives them from package.json, and typing them in by hand only creates something else to keep in sync.

   Build Pack	NixpacksAuto-detected for Next.js. No Dockerfile needed.
   Branch	masterMust match the branch you actually push. This is also what autodeploy watches.
   Base Directory	/Change only for a monorepo, e.g. /apps/web.
   Install Command	(leave blank)Nixpacks runs npm ci from package-lock.json.
   Build Command	(leave blank)Nixpacks runs npm run build.
   Start Command	(leave blank)Nixpacks runs npm run start, i.e. next start.
   Ports Exposes	3000The port inside the container. Traefik maps 443 to it.

3. 4

   Add environment variables

   Under Environment Variables, paste your keys. The one distinction that matters: anything the browser needs is compiled into the JavaScript bundle at build time, so it has to be present during the build.

   NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME=Coolify Deployment Demo
   NEXT_PUBLIC_ENVIRONMENT=staging
   NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.example.com

   APP_VERSION=1.0.0
   COMMIT_SHA=$SOURCE_COMMIT
   SERVER_NAME=coolify-prod-01
   NIXPACKS_NODE_VERSION=22

   $SOURCE_COMMIT is a Coolify built-in that resolves to the deployed commit, which is what makes the running version identifiable later.

4. 5

   Configure the health check

   Point Health Checks at an endpoint that actually exercises the process — this app exposes /health.

   Enabled	on
   Path	/health
   Port	3000
   Return Code	200
   Interval	10s
   Timeout	5s
   Retries	3
   Start Period	20sGrace window while Node boots, before failures start counting.

   Without this, Coolify treats a container as healthy the moment it starts, so a process that boots and then fails to serve can replace a working deployment.

1. 6

   Create the DNS record first

   Add an A record for the hostname pointing at your server's public IP — or a wildcard, if you want every future app to get a subdomain for free.

   A    mumz-app.coolify.mumzstage.com    →  203.0.113.10
   A    *.coolify.mumzstage.com           →  203.0.113.10   (wildcard alternative)

2. 7

   Set the FQDN in Coolify

   In Configuration → General → Domains, enter the full URL including the scheme. The https:// prefix is what tells Traefik to request a certificate; without it you get plain HTTP.

   https://mumz-app.coolify.mumzstage.com

   Save, then enable the HTTPS redirect under Advanced so visitors on http:// are bounced up to TLS. Multiple domains can be comma-separated.

1. 8

   Press Deploy and watch the logs

   Hit Deploy and open the running deployment to follow the build. Nixpacks moves through four phases — setup, install, build, start — and the log names each one as it goes.

2. 9

   Verify it is really your build

   Do not stop at “the page loads”. Check that the container is running the commit you think it is:

   curl -s https://mumz-app.coolify.mumzstage.com/health | jq

   Confirm commit matches the commit you pushed, and that uptimeSeconds resets to near zero after a restart. If uptime keeps climbing across a redeploy, you are still talking to the old container.

With the GitHub App source and Advanced → Automatic Deployment enabled (the default), a push to the configured branch triggers a fresh build. Three things quietly break it:

• Branch mismatch. Pushing master while Coolify watches maindeploys nothing, silently.
• Watch Paths. If set, only commits touching those paths deploy. Leave it empty unless you are deploying one app out of a monorepo.
• Wrong source type. An app created as a Public Repository has no webhook. Check Webhooks in the sidebar — it shows the URL Coolify expects to be called.

Read from the environment of the container serving this request, on every request. Italic not set means the variable is absent in Coolify — which is exactly what step 4 fixes.