coolify-mcp MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

38 tools across servers, applications, databases (8 engines), services, teams
Batch ops: restart all apps in a project, bulk env updates, emergency stop
Full-text search over Coolify docs built in — no tab-switching
Responses 90-99% smaller than raw Coolify API — survives long conversations
Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

coolify.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coolify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "coolify-mcp"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coolify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "coolify-mcp"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coolify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "coolify-mcp"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "coolify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "coolify-mcp"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "coolify",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "coolify-mcp"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "coolify": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "coolify-mcp"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add coolify -- npx -y coolify-mcp

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use coolify-mcp

Deploy a new app to Coolify from a Git URL by chat

👤 Solo devs, indie hackers self-hosting ⏱ ~10 min beginner

When to use: You have a new side project on GitHub and want it live on your VPS in under 5 minutes without clicking through Coolify's UI.

Prerequisites

Running Coolify instance — coolify.io install script on your VPS
COOLIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN — Coolify > Settings > API > Create Token

Flow

Create the app

Create a new Coolify app in project 'side-projects' on server 'hetzner-fsn1'. Source: https://github.com/me/my-app. Build pack: Nixpacks. Port: 3000.✓ Copied

→ App created with a UUID returned
Set env vars

Set these env vars on the app: DATABASE_URL=..., SESSION_SECRET=..., NODE_ENV=production.✓ Copied

→ Env vars saved
Deploy and watch logs

Deploy the app. Tail the build log; tell me when it's healthy or if it crashes.✓ Copied

→ Live build log + final success/fail verdict

Outcome: A new HTTPS app running on your VPS in ~5 minutes, all from chat.

Pitfalls

Forgot to set a domain; Coolify uses an ugly auto-generated one — After deploy, ask: 'Add custom domain app.example.com with HTTPS'. Coolify auto-provisions Let's Encrypt.

Combine with: github

Spin up a managed Postgres for your new app in one prompt

👤 Full-stack devs ⏱ ~5 min beginner

When to use: Your app needs a DB and you don't want to shell in, docker run, and remember backup cron.

Flow

Create the database

Create a Postgres 16 database named 'myapp-prod' in project 'side-projects' with 2GB RAM, daily backups retained 7 days.✓ Copied

→ Database created, credentials returned
Connect it to your app

Add the DATABASE_URL for this DB as an env var on app 'my-app', and redeploy.✓ Copied

→ Env var set + redeploy triggered

Outcome: Managed Postgres with scheduled backups, wired into your app.

Pitfalls

Default Postgres accepts connections only from Coolify network — Set Public toggle via the MCP if you need external access — and open only specific IPs

Combine with: postgres

Diagnose and recover from a production app crash from your phone

👤 Solo ops, small teams ⏱ ~10 min intermediate

When to use: Your app is down and you're away from your desk. You have Claude on your phone and your Coolify token.

Flow

Check health

Show me the status of all apps in project 'prod'. Anything unhealthy?✓ Copied

→ Per-app status list with reds flagged
Look at logs

Tail the last 200 lines of app 'api-server'. What's the error?✓ Copied

→ Log excerpt + probable cause
Roll back or restart

Restart the app. If it crashes again within 2 minutes, redeploy the previous commit.✓ Copied

→ Restart issued; state monitored

Outcome: Recovered service without needing a laptop.

Pitfalls

Restart won't fix a bad deploy — you'll just loop — Tell Claude to look at deploy history and roll back to the last healthy commit if restart doesn't help

Combine with: sentry

Rotate a shared secret across every app in a project

👤 Small DevOps teams ⏱ ~10 min intermediate

When to use: You rotated an API key (Stripe, Sentry DSN, etc.) and 6 apps all reference it.

Flow

List affected apps

In project 'prod', list all apps that have the env var 'STRIPE_SECRET_KEY'.✓ Copied

→ List of matching apps
Bulk update and redeploy

Update STRIPE_SECRET_KEY to [new value] on all those apps, then trigger redeploy for each with a 30-second stagger.✓ Copied

→ Per-app update + redeploy report

Outcome: Fleet-wide secret rotation in one conversation.

Pitfalls

Staggered redeploy still causes brief downtime — If zero-downtime required, use Coolify's rolling deploy mode per app

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

coolify + github

When a new repo is ready, deploy it to Coolify and comment the URL back on the PR

Take repo me/new-project. Deploy it to Coolify under project 'preview', then comment the preview URL on the main branch README.✓ Copied

coolify + sentry

When Sentry shows a spike on a Coolify-hosted app, redeploy the previous version

If Sentry issue count for app 'api-server' doubles in 10 min, roll back the Coolify deploy to previous commit.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call	Cost
list_servers		Discover attached servers before creating resources	1 API call
list_applications	project_uuid?: str	Find existing apps; scope to a project for less noise	1 API call
create_application	source, server, project, build_pack, port, ...	Spin up a new app from Git	1 API call
deploy_application	app_uuid: str	Kick off a deploy; returns immediately, poll status	1 API call + build time
get_application_logs	app_uuid, tail?: int	Debug a running or failing app	1 API call
update_env_variable	app_uuid, key, value, is_preview?: bool	Change an env var; does not auto-redeploy	1 API call
create_database	engine, name, project, server, config	Provision a new managed DB (Postgres, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, etc.)	1 API call
search_docs	query: str	Look up Coolify feature usage without leaving the chat	free

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: Bounded by Coolify instance — no formal rate limit, but keep calls sane
Tokens per call: List calls ~500-2000 tokens (optimized); detail calls ~200-1000
Monetary: Free, MIT. Coolify itself is free & self-hosted.
Tip: Use search_docs before guessing — it's cheaper than Claude trial-and-error-ing a feature it's unsure about.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Minimum scopes: A Coolify API token scoped to the team you want to manage

Credential storage: COOLIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN env var on the machine running MCP client

Data egress: Direct to your Coolify instance; your Coolify handles everything else

Never grant: Share the token — it's equivalent to full control of your PaaS

MCP runs with token privileges — a compromised client = full PaaS access. Use scoped tokens where Coolify supports it.
Destructive tools (delete app, delete DB) run without extra confirmation — tell Claude to always ask first.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

401 Unauthorized

Token invalid or expired. Regenerate in Coolify > Settings > API and update the env var.

Verify: curl -H 'Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN' $COOLIFY_URL/api/v1/servers

Deploy stuck in 'queued'

Check if the Coolify server has free CPU/disk. Also confirm the build queue isn't blocked by a previous hung deploy.

Verify: Use `list_deployments` tool and cancel stale ones

create_application returns 422 build_pack invalid

Valid values are: nixpacks, static, dockerfile, dockercompose. Case sensitive.

Custom domain shows cert error

DNS must point to the Coolify server before TLS can be issued. Verify A record, then ask Claude to trigger the LE issuance retry.

Verify: dig app.example.com

Alternatives

coolify-mcp vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
Dokploy MCP	You're on Dokploy instead of Coolify	Similar feature set; Dokploy is the closest competitor
Caprover / Dokku CLI via ssh-manager	You use Caprover or Dokku and don't have a dedicated MCP	Drive via SSH commands; less ergonomic but works anywhere

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills