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Cloudron turns a dedicated Ubuntu VPS into a web-app platform: you install Cloudron once, point a domain at the server, and then deploy supported applications from a dashboard. It handles reverse proxying, HTTPS certificates, app isolation, updates, and per-app backups, while you remain responsible for the VPS, DNS, administrator credentials, capacity, and recovery testing.

The reliable path is a fresh supported x64 Ubuntu server with at least 2GB RAM, 20GB of disk, and unrestricted inbound ports 80 and 443. Those figures are installation minimums, not a sensible capacity plan for several busy applications. Leave storage and memory headroom, use external backups, and treat third-party community packages as untrusted until you have verified their maintainer and update history.

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What Cloudron does on an Ubuntu VPS

Cloudron is a self-hosted control plane for installing, managing, securing, and backing up web applications on your own server. Its purpose is to remove much of the repetitive work that normally surrounds a production deployment: configuring a reverse proxy, obtaining certificates, creating isolated app environments, applying package updates, and scheduling backups.

The Cloudron dashboard runs on your VPS. The platform’s backend and frontend code run on that server, and a CDN or analytics service is not required. Applications are isolated with Docker and receive per-app CPU and memory controls. Cloudron also adds firewall rules as applications require ports, while Ubuntu automatic security updates protect the underlying operating system.

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This is still self-hosting. You own the virtual machine, its provider account, the domain and DNS zone, SSH access, administrator credentials, disk capacity, monitoring, and the process of proving that a backup can actually be restored. Cloudron reduces operational toil; it does not transfer operational responsibility to somebody else.

Check the VPS before installing

Use the supported operating-system and virtualization combination

Cloudron’s current installation documentation (2026) lists Ubuntu Resolute 26.04 x64. Release support is volatile, so check the live installation guide immediately before provisioning. The installer does not support ARM, LXC, Docker, or OpenVZ. Select a conventional x86-64 virtual machine and start with a clean operating-system image.

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Do not preinstall Docker, a hosting panel, Nginx, databases, mail servers, or unrelated daemons. Cloudron manages the services and firewall rules it needs; the network documentation describes installing additional packages or running other services on the same server as unsupported unless a current Cloudron procedure explicitly allows the integration.

Meet the documented minimums, then plan for real workloads

Resource or requirement Documented value How to interpret it
CPU architecture x64 ARM VPS instances are not supported by the installation guide.
Ubuntu release Ubuntu Resolute 26.04 x64 (Cloudron documentation, 2026) Verify the currently supported release before deployment; support can change.
Memory At least 2GB RAM An installation minimum, not a recommendation for a busy multi-app server.
Disk At least 20GB Leaves little room once platform files, images, logs, backups, and app data accumulate.
Inbound network Ports 80 and 443 available HTTP and HTTPS must reach the VPS for the dashboard, applications, and certificate issuance.
Platform image overhead Docker images take around 10GB (Cloudron server documentation, 2026) Reserve this before estimating application and user-data storage.
Typical app image Around 2GB per app, with wide variation (Cloudron server documentation, 2026) Large databases, search indexes, media, and caches can require much more.
Swap Cloudron dynamically resizes /apps.swap, capped at 4GB Swap can absorb short pressure but is not a substitute for adequate RAM.

For a single light application, the minimum may be enough to complete setup. For multiple applications, size the VPS for peak concurrent use and growth: add memory for databases and background jobs, and add disk for uploaded files, image layers, logs, and the free space required during updates. A nearly full root filesystem can prevent both upgrades and restores.

Prepare ownership and access

  • Register a domain or subdomain that you control and can edit at the DNS provider.
  • Keep an administrative SSH path available while you install and harden the host.
  • Record the VPS provider’s console or recovery access before making firewall changes.
  • Decide where encrypted external backups will live before deploying irreplaceable data.

Install Cloudron step by step

  1. Provision the server. Create a fresh x64 Ubuntu VPS, select enough storage for your applications and growth, and ensure inbound TCP ports 80 and 443 are not blocked by the provider network firewall.
  2. Connect over SSH. Log in with the provider’s initial account, confirm that the machine is the intended instance, and keep the session available until the installer completes.
  3. Download and run the official installer. Cloudron documents this short sequence:
    wget https://cloudron.io/cloudron-setup
    chmod +x cloudron-setup
    ./cloudron-setup

    The script checks the host and installs the platform components. Do not run it on a server that already hosts production services you cannot remove.

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  4. Open the initial setup page. Browse to https://<IP>. The first connection uses a self-signed certificate, so accept that temporary warning for this initial enrollment page. This is not the certificate users should see in production.
  5. Enter the primary domain and create the administrator. Cloudron normally places the management dashboard at my.example.com. Choose a long, unique administrator password and store it in a password manager. Applications will normally use their own subdomains, such as git.example.com or chat.example.com.
  6. Configure DNS. Select a DNS provider supported by Cloudron’s automated integrations, or choose wildcard/manual DNS configuration. Create only the records your deployment needs and preserve unrelated records such as existing mail, verification, or third-party service entries.
  7. Harden the host and perimeter. Disable password SSH login after testing key-based access, restrict SSH to trusted source addresses where practical, and enable the VPS provider’s firewall. Allow web traffic and the SSH path you actually use. Let Cloudron manage its own iptables and ip6tables rules; do not replace or hand-edit its managed firewall configuration.

When DNS resolves to the VPS and the domain is accepted, revisit the dashboard through its hostname rather than the IP address. Cloudron can then obtain and renew trusted certificates for the dashboard and application hostnames.

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Point a domain at Cloudron without breaking existing services

Choose the DNS model

Cloudron supports an integrated DNS-provider route and a wildcard/manual route. An integrated provider can create records as applications are added. With manual DNS, you create the required records yourself, commonly a wildcard record for application subdomains and a record for the dashboard hostname, following the current Cloudron prompts.

Do not blindly replace the entire zone with a template. First inventory existing A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, and verification records. A Cloudron deployment should add or deliberately change only the names it owns. If the domain also serves email or another website, keep those records intact.

Allow for DNS and certificate timing

After changing records, verify resolution from outside the VPS network. A stale resolver cache can make the dashboard appear unreachable even when the authoritative zone is correct. Certificate issuance also requires that the requested hostname resolves to the Cloudron server and that port 80 or 443 is reachable. Fix DNS and perimeter routing before troubleshooting the application itself.

Deploy applications and understand the package choices

App Store packages

The built-in App Store is the default path. These packages are integrated with Cloudron’s lifecycle features, including dashboard installation, updates, configuration, and app-level backup and restore. Read each package’s requirements before installing it and allocate storage for both its image and its data.

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Community apps

Community packages can be added by supplying a CloudronVersions.json URL. Cloudron explicitly says community apps are not reviewed by Cloudron; install them only when you trust the developer and can evaluate the package’s source, release activity, permissions, and update process. A package that installs successfully can still be abandoned or unsafe.

External links and app proxy

An external link is a dashboard shortcut to a service that remains outside Cloudron. App proxy publishes an externally hosted HTTP or HTTPS service behind a Cloudron-managed endpoint. Cloudron can provide DNS handling, certificates, aliases, redirects, content-security-policy settings, and availability notifications for that endpoint.

Proxied services remain externally hosted. Cloudron cannot manage their software updates or back up their contents, so document the external system’s own maintenance and recovery process separately.

How HTTPS, proxying, and isolation work

Cloudron places a managed reverse proxy in front of applications and automates certificate acquisition and renewal. You generally select an app’s hostname in the dashboard rather than editing Nginx configuration by hand. The platform documentation warns that /etc/nginx is managed; manual edits can be overwritten or interfere with upgrades.

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Each application runs in its own Docker-isolated environment with configurable CPU and memory limits. Isolation reduces the chance that one package can directly interfere with another, but it does not make a compromised VPS harmless: the host kernel, administrator account, DNS account, and provider account remain critical trust boundaries.

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Plan memory, CPU, and disk beyond the minimum

Estimate storage in layers

Start with the operating system and Cloudron platform, then reserve the approximately 10GB that Cloudron documents for Docker images. Add the typical approximately 2GB image footprint for every app, recognizing that this is a broad estimate rather than a limit. Finally, add live app data: uploads, databases, indexes, generated thumbnails, logs, temporary files, and the free space needed for updates and restores.

Keep meaningful free space on the root filesystem. Cloudron stores platform data under /home/yellowtent/boxdata and application data under /home/yellowtent/appsdata. If a data-heavy app threatens to fill the root disk, use Cloudron’s supported volume or data-directory workflow to move high-storage app data to an external disk. Make a complete backup before moving anything and verify the app afterward.

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Use controls, not wishful thinking, for busy apps

Per-app memory and CPU controls let you prevent one workload from consuming every resource, but limits that are too low cause crashes, slow jobs, or failed upgrades. Watch actual usage during imports, indexing, media processing, and backup windows. The dynamically resized /apps.swap file can reach 4GB, yet sustained swapping signals that the VPS needs more RAM or fewer concurrent workloads.

Backups, mounts, and restore testing

Configure an external destination

Cloudron supports per-app backup and restore and can migrate a whole Cloudron between providers. Its official site names Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, and DigitalOcean Spaces as external encrypted-backup destinations. Treat a backup stored only on the same VPS as protection from an application mistake, not from disk loss or provider failure.

Set a schedule appropriate to the data’s recovery-point requirement, retain more than one generation, and monitor failed jobs. Storage fees, retention, and transfer charges come from the external provider and should be included in the operating budget.

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Know what a backup includes

An external app data directory is included in app backups. Mounted volumes are not backed up by Cloudron. A restore therefore does not recreate the contents of a mount; media files, mounted databases, and other volume data need their own backup procedure and documented restore steps.

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Perform a restore drill

  1. Choose a non-production app or a temporary destination.
  2. Restore the app from an external backup and confirm that its database, configuration, and user-visible files open correctly.
  3. Recreate any mount contents from the separate volume backup.
  4. Test DNS, HTTPS, logins, background jobs, and outbound integrations.
  5. Record the elapsed time and any manual steps so a real incident does not depend on memory.
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Security responsibilities that remain yours

  • Administrator account: use a unique, high-entropy password, protect recovery channels, and remove or review unused access.
  • SSH: prefer key authentication, restrict exposure where possible, and retain provider-console access for recovery.
  • Provider firewall: expose only required ports, principally 80, 443, and your controlled SSH path. Cloudron’s own firewall then handles app-specific rules.
  • Updates: keep Ubuntu security updates enabled and review Cloudron and app update notifications. Test important updates against a recent backup.
  • Monitoring: watch disk free space, memory pressure, CPU saturation, certificate status, backup failures, and application health.
  • Secrets: keep DNS API tokens, backup credentials, and app keys out of public repositories and rotate them after suspected exposure.

Cloudron’s secure-by-default design reduces the amount of manual configuration, but it cannot compensate for a stolen domain account, an exposed SSH credential, an unpatched provider image, or backups that have never been restored.

Cloudron compared with other ways to run web apps

The right choice depends on how much infrastructure work you want to own and whether the server must run unrelated services. Compare the approaches using the same operational questions rather than marketing labels.

Decision axis Cloudron on an Ubuntu VPS Manual Docker Compose Another control panel Managed app platform
Supported host model Requires the supported x64 Ubuntu and virtualization combination; ARM, LXC, Docker, and OpenVZ are unsupported. Depends on the operator’s chosen OS, architecture, and runtime. Defined by that panel’s documentation. Defined by the provider; host administration is abstracted.
App packaging App Store packages, trusted community packages, external links, and app proxy. Compose files, images, and hand-maintained environment settings. Panel-specific catalog and templates. Provider-specific buildpacks, images, or marketplace services.
DNS and TLS Integrated DNS options plus automated certificates and reverse proxying. Operator configures DNS, proxy, and certificate renewal. Varies by panel and integration. Usually integrated with the provider’s routing.
Isolation and limits Docker isolation with per-app CPU and memory controls. Possible, but limits and isolation are operator-designed. Varies by implementation. Provider-defined isolation and quotas.
Backups Per-app and whole-platform workflows; mounts are excluded and require separate protection. Operator designs, schedules, and verifies every backup component. Varies; inspect whether volumes and databases are included. Provider-specific retention and export options.
Unrelated services Additional packages and services on the server are unsupported unless Cloudron explicitly documents them. Flexible, provided the operator resolves conflicts and security. Depends on the panel’s constraints. Usually not available on the same underlying host.
Portability Whole-Cloudron migration between providers is supported, subject to backup and mount planning. Compose definitions can be portable, but data and secrets still require migration work. Depends on export tools. Migration may require a provider-specific rebuild.
Cost components VPS, domain, Cloudron subscription where applicable, and external backup storage. VPS, domain, storage, and the value of your maintenance time. Provider or panel fees plus VPS, domain, and storage. Platform usage, storage, bandwidth, and any add-on services.

Cloudron is most attractive when integrated application lifecycle management, certificate automation, isolation, and per-app recovery matter more than running arbitrary daemons on the same machine. Manual Compose offers greater control but makes you the maintainer of every proxy, update, secret, backup, and restore path.

Troubleshoot the common failure points

The dashboard does not open after installation

  • Confirm the VPS has the expected public IP and that the provider firewall allows 80 and 443.
  • Check that the dashboard hostname resolves to that IP from an independent network.
  • Use the IP-based setup URL only for initial enrollment; switch to the configured hostname afterward.
  • Do not edit Nginx files or Cloudron firewall rules manually while diagnosing; use the current Cloudron procedure.

Certificate issuance fails

Verify DNS first, then verify that HTTP/HTTPS traffic reaches the VPS without another proxy or NAT rule intercepting it. Remove stale conflicting records and retry after DNS caches expire.

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An app runs out of space

Inspect root-disk usage, image layers, logs, and app data. Delete only data you understand, expand the VPS disk, or move high-storage app data through Cloudron’s supported external volume/data-directory workflow. Back up before moving data.

A restore is missing files

Check whether the missing path was a mounted volume. Cloudron app backups do not include mounted-volume contents, so restore those files from the separate volume backup and document the dependency for the next recovery test.

A community app is unreliable

Review the package maintainer, source, release history, and update behavior. Because community packages are unreviewed by Cloudron, replacing the package with a maintained App Store package or a trusted alternative may be safer than debugging an abandoned build.

A practical operating checklist

  • Before launch: verify supported Ubuntu and x64 virtualization, size RAM and disk beyond minimums, inventory DNS records, and configure external encrypted backups.
  • During launch: run the documented installer on a fresh host, create a protected administrator account, configure DNS, and harden SSH and the provider firewall.
  • For each app: choose an App Store package where possible, review storage needs, set a hostname, test HTTPS, and record any external integrations or mounts.
  • Every week: review backup success, disk headroom, memory pressure, certificate status, and pending updates.
  • On a regular schedule: perform a restore drill, including mount contents, DNS, logins, background jobs, and external service credentials.
  • Before major changes: take a complete backup, confirm recovery access, and ensure enough free disk for an image update or rollback-style recovery.

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