A self-hosted deploy platform
If you like pushing code and having it just deploy, you do not need a cloud for that. Coolify, Dokku and CapRover give you a small platform on your own server — the git-push workflow, none of the per-seat bill.
These tools wrap Docker and a reverse proxy into a “push to deploy” experience. You get app deployments, databases, TLS and rollbacks without clicking through a cloud console — and without the cloud’s pricing.
What they actually are
Underneath, they are an opinionated layer over Docker, a reverse proxy (usually Traefik or nginx) and Let’s Encrypt. Coolify adds a web UI and manages databases and backups; Dokku is leaner and driven from the command line. Both turn a bare server into something that feels like Heroku.
One server, many apps
The appeal is density: a single well-specified dedicated server can host a dozen small applications this way, each with its own domain and certificate. That is a lot of former cloud bill running on one box — see dedicated, VPS or cloud?.
Mind the single point of failure
Convenience has a cost: everything now depends on one machine and one control plane. Back up the platform’s own configuration and your application data separately, and know how to redeploy from scratch — see deploying without downtime and backups.
The firewall trap, again
Because these tools drive Docker, they inherit Docker’s habit of punching through the firewall with its own rules. A database you thought was internal can end up exposed. Read Docker and the firewall trap before you expose anything.
Keep the platform updated
The control panel is itself an application on the public internet. Patch it like one, and lock its admin interface down — it can deploy anything, which means anyone who reaches it can too.
Still stuck? Mail support@novogara.com — an engineer answers, at any hour. Back to the knowledge base