Deploy Dokploy on Ubuntu 24.04 and Route the Panel

Dokploy on Ubuntu 24.04 gives you a self-hosted deployment platform for Docker workloads with a clean web panel, built-in Traefik routing, database support, and Docker Swarm orchestration. It is a practical choice when you want a PaaS-style workflow on infrastructure you control instead of relying on a hosted control plane.

In this guide, we restore a fresh Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS server on Shape.Host, verify the current Dokploy release from the official project, install Dokploy 0.28.7 with the official installer, publish the panel on tutorials.shape.host, and validate the final platform from both the terminal and a browser.

What Is Dokploy?

Dokploy is a self-hosted application platform designed around Docker and Docker Swarm. It provides a web interface for deployments, databases, routing, and infrastructure tasks while still running directly on your own server. That makes it useful for teams or individual operators who want simpler application delivery without giving up control of the machine itself.

Versions Used in This Tutorial

Why Use Dokploy on Ubuntu 24.04?

• Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS gives you a modern and widely supported Linux base for production services.
• Dokploy bundles a simple Docker Swarm platform model that is easy to understand and manage.
• The built-in Traefik layer makes it straightforward to expose the panel and application routes on real hostnames.
• A dedicated VM keeps the control plane, routing, and app workloads on infrastructure you own.

Prerequisites

• A fresh Ubuntu 24.04 server
• Root or sudo access
• A hostname pointed to the server IP, in this example tutorials.shape.host
• At least 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and 50 GB storage
• Ports 80, 443, and 3000 available

1. Verify the Operating System

Start by confirming that the rebuilt server is actually running Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS.

cat /etc/os-release

2. Install Dokploy with the Official Script

On this validated Ubuntu 24.04.1 deployment, Dokploy’s official installer completed successfully on a fresh server and installed Docker automatically. To keep the article reproducible, the current stable Dokploy release is pinned explicitly before the install starts.

export DOKPLOY_VERSION="v0.28.7"
export ADVERTISE_ADDR="51.89.69.216"

curl -fsSL https://dokploy.com/install.sh | sh

After the installation finishes, Dokploy tells you to open the panel on port 3000. Confirm the first redirect locally with:

curl -I http://127.0.0.1:3000/

On the live Shape.Host run, the installer brought up Dokploy successfully and the local panel redirected to /register, which is the expected first-run flow.

3. Check the Platform Services

Dokploy uses Docker Swarm and starts its own platform services. Validate the service list and running containers before adding the public hostname route.

docker --version
docker compose version
docker service ls
docker ps --format '{{.Names}}\t{{.Image}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}'

On this deployment, Dokploy brought up:

• dokploy as the main panel service
• dokploy-postgres on PostgreSQL 16
• dokploy-redis on Redis 7
• dokploy-traefik on Traefik 3.6.7 for public routing

4. Set the ACME Email and Route the Panel on tutorials.shape.host

Dokploy’s default Traefik configuration used test@localhost.com for ACME on this server, so that was updated first to match the tutorial workflow. After that, a file-provider route was added for the panel hostname.

sed -i 's/email: test@localhost.com/email: contact@shape.host/' /etc/dokploy/traefik/traefik.yml
docker restart dokploy-traefik

cat >/etc/dokploy/traefik/dynamic/tutorials-panel.yml <<'EOF'
http:
  routers:
    dokploy-panel-http:
      rule: Host(`tutorials.shape.host`) && PathPrefix(`/`)
      service: dokploy-panel-service
      entryPoints:
        - web
      middlewares:
        - redirect-to-https

    dokploy-panel-https:
      rule: Host(`tutorials.shape.host`) && PathPrefix(`/`)
      service: dokploy-panel-service
      entryPoints:
        - websecure

  services:
    dokploy-panel-service:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: http://dokploy:3000
        passHostHeader: true
EOF

5. Validate the Local Panel and the Public Route

Run these checks to confirm the base panel, the hostname redirect, and the HTTPS route:

curl -sI http://127.0.0.1:3000/ | grep -E '^(HTTP/|Location:|Server:)'

curl -sI --resolve tutorials.shape.host:80:127.0.0.1 \
  http://tutorials.shape.host/ | grep -E '^(HTTP/|Location:|Server:)'

curl -skI --resolve tutorials.shape.host:443:127.0.0.1 \
  https://tutorials.shape.host/register | grep -E '^(HTTP/|Location:|Server:)'

On the tested Ubuntu deployment, the local panel returned an HTTP 308 Permanent Redirect to /register, the hostname route redirected HTTP to HTTPS, and the HTTPS registration page returned HTTP/2 200.

6. Open the Browser and Complete the Initial Setup

Open https://tutorials.shape.host/register in a browser to reach the Dokploy registration page and complete the initial panel setup.

Important SSL Note for This Shared Tutorial Hostname

On March 18, 2026, tutorials.shape.host was still under Let’s Encrypt’s exact-set weekly issuance limit from recent tutorial runs. Because of that, Traefik could route the panel correctly but could not obtain a fresh trusted certificate for this hostname during the validation window. The HTTPS route still loaded successfully with the temporary certificate, and on a fresh hostname or after the rate-limit window resets, the same Traefik route should be able to obtain a normal trusted certificate automatically.

Troubleshooting Notes

• If the installer stops immediately, make sure ports 80, 443, and 3000 are not already in use.
• If the installer cannot detect the correct IP address automatically, export ADVERTISE_ADDR manually before running it.
• If the panel works on port 3000 but not on the public hostname, verify the Traefik route file and confirm that tutorials.shape.host still resolves to the server IP.
• If HTTPS serves a temporary or self-signed certificate, inspect docker logs dokploy-traefik for ACME rate-limit or validation errors.
• If you want to validate the routed hostname directly from the server, use the curl --resolve checks from the validation section.

Conclusion

You now have a working Dokploy installation on Ubuntu 24.04 with Docker Swarm, Traefik routing, and a live panel route on tutorials.shape.host. On this validated Shape.Host deployment, Dokploy installed successfully at version 0.28.7.

The next sensible steps are creating the first admin account, connecting your first project, and testing an application deployment through the Dokploy panel.

Christian Wells