One-click Applications explained

What this is#

When you deploy a VPS or reinstall one, the install picker has two tabs: Operating Systems (a bare distro, you build from there) and Applications, which installs a complete, configured app on top of the OS for you. "One-click" is literal: you select the app, fill in its couple of fields on the same form, and the VPS comes up with the application installed and ready, no SSH session required to get it running.

The current lineup#

• Coolify, a self-hosted deploy platform (the open-source alternative to Vercel/Heroku/Netlify): websites, databases, and 280+ one-click services of its own, deployed to your VPS from git. The most popular pick, and the broadest, a whole hosting workflow in one install.
• Traccar, GPS tracking server for vehicles and devices.
• Immich, self-hosted photo and video library, the Google Photos replacement.
• Code Server, VS Code in your browser, running on your VPS.

More get added over time, the tab shows what's currently available (availability can vary by plan size, some apps need more memory than the smallest plans offer).

How it works#

1. On the deploy or reinstall form, switch to the Applications tab and select the app.
2. Fill in the app's fields right on the form, typically an admin email and admin password (the form validates the app's requirements, e.g. password length and complexity, so what you enter is what works on first login).
3. Continue the deploy or reinstall as normal. Provisioning installs and configures the app automatically.
4. Watch your inbox: the completion email contains the details, where to log in and with what. You use the credentials you set on the form.

That's the whole procedure. The admin password you choose is about to be an internet-facing login, so give it the same respect as any other: unique and from a password manager.

What you get, and what stays yours#

Underneath the app is a normal VPS: full root over SSH, our managed firewall, the same panel controls. The one-click saves you the installation, not the ownership, the app's configuration, its updates, and its data are yours to run, using the app's own documentation plus an AI chatbot when stuck, these are popular projects the models know deeply, and Coolify or Immich questions get excellent answers (self-managed, as ever). Two habits worth keeping from day one:

• Update the app on its own schedule, an internet-facing application is attack surface like any other (Coolify and Immich ship updates frequently and make them easy).
• Back it up. The one-click installed it; only backups can reinstall your data.

The first-30-minutes checklist still applies to the server underneath, one-click doesn't change that.

Switching, or starting over#

Want a different app, or back to a bare OS? Reinstall and pick again, remembering a reinstall wipes everything, app data included, so export or back up first.

Troubleshooting#

• No completion email? Check spam, and the VPS's Tasks log in the panel. Provisioning an app takes a few minutes longer than a bare OS.
• The app's page doesn't load right after the email. Give it a couple of minutes on first boot, then check from another network (the usual scoping). Still down? Ticket us with the VPS and the app.
• Forgot the admin password you set on the form? Password recovery is the app's own mechanism from here (or reinstall and set fresh credentials, at the cost of the data).

Related questions#

• "What are the one-click Applications and how do they work?"
• "How do I deploy Coolify / Immich / Traccar / Code Server?"
• "Where do I get the login details for my one-click app?"
• "Can I still SSH into a VPS deployed with an application?"
• "Who updates the app, you or me?"
• "How do I switch my VPS to a different app?"