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Server Setup Failures

Server setup runs when you add a new server to Appliku. It installs Docker, configures Nginx, sets up the deployment user, and prepares the server for application hosting. If any step fails, the server will show an error status.

You can view the setup log by going to Servers > click the server > Setup Logs.

Common Issues​

SSH Connection Failed​

Appliku cannot connect to the server via SSH.

Common causes:

  • Incorrect SSH credentials (wrong IP, user, or key)
  • Firewall blocking port 22
  • The server is not yet fully booted (cloud providers can take a few minutes)
  • SSH is not running on the server

Solutions:

  1. Verify you can SSH into the server manually: ssh root@<server-ip>
  2. Check that port 22 is open in your cloud provider's firewall/security group
  3. If using a custom SSH port, ensure it is correctly configured
  4. Wait a few minutes for newly created servers to finish their initial boot
note

For cloud provider integrations (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, etc.), Appliku manages SSH key configuration automatically. For custom servers, you need to add Appliku's public SSH key to the server's authorized_keys file.

Setup Stuck or Times Out​

The setup process starts but never completes.

Common causes:

  • Network issues between Appliku and the server
  • Cloud provider firewall blocking outbound connections
  • Package manager issues on the server (broken apt sources)
  • The server is under heavy load or has very limited resources

Solutions:

  1. Check the setup log for where it got stuck
  2. Verify the server has outbound internet access (it needs to download packages)
  3. Try restarting the setup from the Appliku dashboard
  4. SSH into the server and check for stuck apt or dpkg processes

Unsupported Operating System​

Appliku requires a specific set of operating systems.

Supported:

  • Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
  • Debian 12

Not supported:

  • CentOS, Fedora, Arch, Alpine
  • Ubuntu versions older than 22.04
  • Windows Server

If your server runs an unsupported OS, you will need to reinstall it with a supported version. Most cloud providers allow you to rebuild a server with a different OS image from their dashboard.

Server Already Has Docker Installed​

Appliku needs to install and manage its own Docker configuration. If Docker is already installed, the setup may conflict with the existing installation.

Solutions:

  • Use a fresh server with no prior Docker installation
  • If you must reuse a server, remove Docker completely first: 
    sudo apt-get purge docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin
    sudo rm -rf /var/lib/docker
    sudo rm -rf /var/lib/containerd
  • Then retry the setup from the Appliku dashboard
warning

Removing Docker will delete all existing containers, images, and volumes on the server. Only do this if you are sure no important data is stored in Docker volumes.

Other Pre-existing Software Conflicts​

If the server already has Nginx, Apache, or other web servers installed, they may conflict with Appliku's Nginx setup.

Solutions:

  • Remove existing web servers before running setup
  • Ensure ports 80 and 443 are not in use by other services
  • Use a fresh server whenever possible