Server Requirements
Before adding a server to Appliku, ensure it meets the following requirements. Appliku supports servers from any cloud provider or bare-metal hosting, as long as the requirements below are met.
Supported Operating Systems
| OS | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu | 24.04 LTS | Supported |
| Ubuntu | 22.04 LTS | Supported |
| Debian | 12 (Bookworm) | Supported |
Other operating systems (CentOS, Fedora, Arch Linux, Alpine, Amazon Linux, Windows Server) are not supported. The server setup will fail on unsupported OS versions.
Supported Architectures
| Architecture | Also Known As | Status |
|---|---|---|
| x86_64 | amd64 | Supported |
| ARM64 | aarch64 | Supported |
Both architectures are fully supported. ARM64 servers (such as AWS Graviton, Hetzner Arm64, Oracle Ampere) work with all Appliku features.
Hardware Specifications
Minimum
| Resource | Minimum |
|---|---|
| CPU | 1 vCPU |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Disk | 20 GB |
1 GB RAM is sufficient for small applications, but builds (especially for JavaScript projects) may fail due to memory constraints. Consider 2 GB as a practical minimum for most workloads.
Recommended
| Resource | Recommended |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 vCPU |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Disk | 40 GB |
For servers hosting multiple applications or applications with heavy build processes, consider 4 GB RAM or more.
Network Requirements
Inbound Ports
| Port | Protocol | Purpose | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | TCP | SSH access for Appliku management | Yes |
| 80 | TCP | HTTP traffic (redirects to HTTPS) | Yes |
| 443 | TCP | HTTPS traffic | Yes |
Outbound Access
The server must have unrestricted outbound internet access to:
- Download system packages (
apt) - Pull Docker images from Docker Hub and other registries
- Clone your application repository
- Communicate with the Appliku API
Docker Swarm Ports (Cluster Mode)
If using Cluster Mode (Docker Swarm with multiple servers), the following additional ports must be open between cluster nodes:
| Port | Protocol | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 2377 | TCP | Cluster management |
| 7946 | TCP/UDP | Node communication |
| 4789 | UDP | Overlay network traffic |
Fresh Installation Required
The server must be a fresh installation with no pre-existing software that could conflict:
- No Docker -- Appliku installs and configures Docker
- No Nginx/Apache -- Appliku manages its own Nginx configuration
- No other container runtimes -- No Podman, containerd (standalone), etc.
If your server has any of these installed, either use a fresh server or remove them completely before adding the server to Appliku.
Supported Providers
Appliku works with any server provider. Some providers have built-in integrations for easier server provisioning:
| Provider | Integration |
|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | Automatic provisioning via API |
| Hetzner | Automatic provisioning via API |
| AWS EC2 | Custom server (manual setup) |
| Vultr | Custom server (manual setup) |
| Linode | Custom server (manual setup) |
| Any VPS provider | Custom server (manual setup) |
| Bare-metal | Custom server (manual setup) |
For providers without built-in integration, use the Custom Server option: Appliku provides you with an SSH key and setup command to run on your server.