Configuring Coolify to run on a custom port

[AbnormalPilot]

Running Coolify on a Custom Port

Hello Coolify Community,

I recently installed Coolify 4.0.0-beta on my server and would like the application to listen on a port other than the default (8000).

After reviewing the .env file and docker-compose.yml, I noticed that Coolify uses a reverse proxy (Caddy) and does not directly expose ports in Compose.

I would like guidance on:

1. Configuring Coolify to use a custom port (e.g., 5000).
2. Any required changes to environment variables or proxy settings.
3. The proper procedure to restart or apply the configuration after making changes.

Thank you for your help!

[aditya-cherukuru]

Running Coolify on a Custom Port (Coolify v4.0.0-beta)

Coolify itself does not directly bind application ports in docker-compose.yml. Instead, it relies on Caddy as a reverse proxy. The 8000 port you are seeing is simply the host port mapping for the Coolify UI container — not an internal Coolify limitation.

Modifying the main docker-compose.yml is not recommended, as it will be overwritten during upgrades. The correct, upgrade-safe method is to use a docker-compose.override.yml file.

---

Recommended (Persistent & Update-Safe) Approach

Step 1: Navigate to the Coolify source directory

cd /data/coolify/source

---

Step 2: Identify the container’s internal port

Open the existing docker-compose.yml and locate the ports section for the coolify service.

Example:

ports:
  - "8000:80"

• Host port: 8000
• Container port: 80

You must keep the container port unchanged.

---

Step 3: Create a Docker Compose override file

Create a new file named docker-compose.override.yml:

touch docker-compose.override.yml

Add the following content:

services:
  coolify:
    ports:
      - "5000:80"

This tells Docker to expose Coolify on port 5000 instead of 8000, without touching the original configuration.

---

Step 4: Restart Coolify

Apply the changes by recreating the containers:

docker compose down
docker compose up -d

Docker automatically merges docker-compose.override.yml with the base configuration.

---

Step 5: Access Coolify

Open your browser and visit:

http://<server-ip>:5000

---

Notes on Caddy and Environment Variables

• No changes to .env are required for changing the host listening port.
• Caddy continues to operate internally and route traffic as usual.
• If you are using HTTPS with custom domains, port 80 and 443 must remain open for Caddy.

---

Summary

• Coolify’s port is controlled via Docker port bindings, not application config.
• Use docker-compose.override.yml to remain upgrade-safe.
• Restart containers to apply changes.

This approach is the officially recommended Docker pattern and works cleanly with Coolify updates.

[tevin-cole]

Where did you get this documentation? This reads like an AI and is not based in reality while actually running the software.

EDIT: I stand corrected, this method does in fact work but requires you to do restart coolify services using:

sudo /data/coolify/source/upgrade.sh

[djsisson]

the override is one solution see my comment below
#4031 (comment)

note the compose prod has a slight bug, where setting app_port alters the documented exposed port, however, nothing is really relying on this being correct.

coolify/docker-compose.prod.yml

Lines 25 to 26 in d29a9a2

	expose:
	- "${APP_PORT:-8000}"

[tevin-cole]

@djsisson The override actually did work, from your thread I realized that I needed to upgrade so that the new settings were used, thank you

[Cinzya]

You can also just add / update the APP_PORT of Coolifys environment variables with the custom port you want it to use and then run a compose down / up.
That would eliminate the need to fiddle around with the override compose.

[tevin-cole]

Where do you see this in Coolify's environment variables? This is not an option in Coolify's .env from what I can see.

[Cinzya]

@tevin-cole I was under the impression that we had this documented in the Docs, doesn't seem to be the case. Will make sure we will add that.
But you can see it in the compose file referencing the APP_PORT variable.

coolify/docker-compose.prod.yml

Lines 25 to 26 in d29a9a2

	expose:
	- "${APP_PORT:-8000}"

[tevin-cole]

@Cinzya The lack of documentation really got me because I could not find reliable reference to the solutions suggested anywhere. Appreciate the feedback and hopefully with its update its is clearer in the future.

I also think that it's worth nothing that the upgrade.sh script should be run (allbeit I did not try this method as the override worked above) but I'm also not sure if this is a side-effect of me running coolify as a LXC in proxmox which cached the docker-compose in the original instance

[hhoangg]

can I change 8000 to port 80?

[Cinzya]

@hhoangg the Coolify proxy uses port 80.