Coolify CLI

Coolify CLI

Quick Start (3 Minutes)

1. Install

# Linux/macOS
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coollabsio/coolify-cli/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

# Windows (PowerShell)
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/coollabsio/coolify-cli/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

# Via Go
go install github.com/coollabsio/coolify-cli/coolify@latest

2. Authenticate

Get an API token from your Coolify dashboard at /security/api-tokens.

# Cloud-hosted Coolify
coolify context set-token cloud <YOUR_TOKEN>

# Self-hosted Coolify
coolify context add production https://coolify.example.com <YOUR_TOKEN>

# Verify connection
coolify context verify

3. First Commands

coolify server list
coolify app list
coolify deploy name my-app

Multi-Instance Context Management

Each context stores a name, URL, and API token. Multiple Coolify instances (cloud, staging, production) are managed independently.

# Add contexts
coolify context add production https://prod.coolify.example.com <token>
coolify context add staging https://staging.coolify.example.com <token>

# List all contexts
coolify context list

# Switch default context
coolify context use production

# Override per-command (no switching needed)
coolify app list --context staging

# Verify current context
coolify context verify

# Show Coolify instance version
coolify context version

# Delete a context
coolify context delete staging

Config file location:

• Linux/macOS: ~/.config/coolify/config.json
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.config\coolify\config.json

Override priority: --token flag > --context flag > default context.

Application Lifecycle

Deploy

coolify deploy uuid <uuid>              # Deploy by UUID
coolify deploy name my-app              # Deploy by app name
coolify deploy batch <uuid1>,<uuid2>    # Deploy multiple apps

Manage

coolify app list                        # List all applications
coolify app get <uuid>                  # Get app details
coolify app start <uuid>               # Start application
coolify app stop <uuid>                # Stop application
coolify app restart <uuid>             # Restart application
coolify app delete <uuid>              # Delete application

Logs

coolify app logs <uuid>                           # View recent logs
coolify app logs <uuid> --lines 100               # Last 100 lines
coolify app logs <uuid> --follow                  # Stream in real-time
coolify app deployments list <uuid>               # Deployment history
coolify app deployments logs <deployment-uuid>    # Specific deployment logs

Environment Variables

coolify app env list <uuid>                              # List all vars
coolify app env create <uuid> --key DB_URL --value "..." # Create variable
coolify app env update <uuid> --key DB_URL --value "..." # Update variable
coolify app env delete <uuid> --key DB_URL               # Delete variable
coolify app env sync <uuid> --file .env                  # Sync from file

CRITICAL: env sync only creates and updates variables. It does NOT delete variables that exist in Coolify but are absent from the .env file. To fully sync, manually delete unwanted vars first.

Database Management

Supported types: postgres, mysql, mariadb, mongodb, redis, keydb, dragonfly, clickhouse.

coolify database list                                           # List all
coolify database get <uuid>                                     # Get details
coolify database create --server-uuid <uuid> --type postgres    # Create
coolify database start <uuid>                                   # Start
coolify database stop <uuid>                                    # Stop
coolify database restart <uuid>                                 # Restart
coolify database delete <uuid>                                  # Delete

Backup Automation

coolify database backup list <db-uuid>                          # List backup configs
coolify database backup create <db-uuid> --frequency "daily" --enabled  # Create schedule
coolify database backup trigger <backup-uuid>                   # Trigger now
coolify database backup executions <backup-uuid>                # Check history
coolify database backup update <backup-uuid> --frequency "weekly"       # Update schedule
coolify database backup delete <backup-uuid>                    # Remove config

Service Management

Coolify supports 110+ one-click services (Redis, WordPress, Plausible, Ghost, etc.).

coolify service list                   # List all services
coolify service get <uuid>             # Get details
coolify service start <uuid>           # Start
coolify service stop <uuid>            # Stop
coolify service restart <uuid>         # Restart
coolify service delete <uuid>          # Delete

Known bug: coolify service env update returns 404 (issue #48). Use delete + create as workaround.

Server Management

coolify server list                    # List all servers
coolify server get <uuid>              # Get details
coolify server add --name web-1 --ip 192.168.1.100 --private-key-uuid <key-uuid> --user root
coolify server validate <uuid>         # Validate configuration
coolify server domains <uuid>          # List configured domains

Output Formats & Scripting

All commands support --format:

coolify server list                    # Table (default, human-readable)
coolify server list --format json      # JSON for automation
coolify server list --format pretty    # Pretty-printed JSON

# Pipe to jq for filtering
coolify app list --format json | jq '.[].name'

# Extract UUIDs
coolify app list --format json | jq -r '.[].uuid'

SSH Key Management

coolify private-key list                                    # List keys
coolify private-key get <uuid>                              # Get details
coolify private-key add --name deploy-key --file ~/.ssh/id_ed25519  # Add key
coolify private-key remove <uuid>                           # Remove key

Note: SSH keys must be passwordless (passphrase not supported).

GitHub App Integration

coolify github list                                 # List GitHub Apps
coolify github get <id>                             # Get details
coolify github repos <id>                           # List repos
coolify github branches <id> --repo owner/repo      # List branches
coolify github create --name my-app --app-id 123456 --private-key-uuid <uuid> --webhook-secret "secret"
coolify github delete <id>                          # Remove integration

Critical Rules

Always Do

• Verify context before operations: coolify context verify
• Use --format json for automation and piping
• Test deployments on staging context before production
• Use coolify deploy batch for coordinated multi-app deployments
• Keep API tokens scoped and rotated regularly

Never Do

• Store API tokens in shell history (use context system instead)
• Assume env sync deletes variables (it only creates/updates)
• Use --force in production without understanding the operation
• Skip context verification after token rotation
• Use passphrase-protected SSH keys (not supported)

Command Name Corrections

Claude has limited training data for Coolify CLI (released late 2025). Common hallucinations:

• coolify app list NOT coolify apps list or coolify application list
• coolify deploy uuid <uuid> NOT coolify app deploy <uuid> — deploy is top-level
• coolify deploy name <name> NOT coolify deploy --app <name>
• Must specify subcommand: coolify deploy uuid <uuid> NOT coolify deploy <uuid>
• --format json is correct (NOT --output json like cf CLI)

Known Issues Prevention

This skill prevents 5 documented issues:

Issue #1: "app env sync" Fails with "cannot unmarshal array"

Error: cannot unmarshal array into Go value Source: https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify-cli/issues/49 Prevention: Ensure .env file uses simple KEY=VALUE format. No JSON arrays. Sync individual variables if bulk sync fails.

Issue #2: "service env update" Returns 404

Error: HTTP 404 Not Found Source: https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify-cli/issues/48 Prevention: Delete and recreate the variable instead of updating:

coolify service env delete <uuid> --key MY_KEY
coolify service env create <uuid> --key MY_KEY --value "new_value"

Issue #3: Context Auth Failure After Token Rotation

Error: 401 Unauthorized after rotating API token Prevention: Update token and verify: coolify context set-token <name> <new-token> && coolify context verify

Issue #4: Table Rendering Issues with Wide Output

Error: Misaligned or truncated columns Source: https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify-cli/issues/54 Prevention: Use --format json or --format pretty for reliable output.

Issue #5: Windows Config File Not Found

Error: Config file not found on Windows Prevention: Ensure directory exists: %USERPROFILE%\.config\coolify\. The CLI stores config at %USERPROFILE%\.config\coolify\config.json.

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