Deployment Options

Dokploy gives you three ways to run your applications. All of them use the same deployment engine — the difference is where your apps run and how the servers relate to each other.

1. Dokploy Server: everything runs on the same machine where the Dokploy UI is installed.
2. Remote Servers: independent servers connected via SSH, each running its own apps.
3. Swarm Nodes (Cluster): servers joined to the Dokploy server's Docker Swarm to replicate applications across machines.

Dokploy Server

This is the default. When you install Dokploy, the UI, the builds, and your applications all run on the same server.

• No extra configuration: deploy immediately after installation.
• Scaling: vertical — add more CPU and RAM through your VPS provider.
• Best for: most users. It's the simplest option and the recommended starting point; only move to the other options when a single server is no longer enough.

Remote Servers

Remote Servers are independent machines that Dokploy manages over SSH. Each remote server runs its own standalone Docker and its own Traefik instance — they don't form a cluster and don't know about each other.

• Isolation: each server is independent. If one goes down, apps on other servers are unaffected, and your apps don't compete for resources with the Dokploy UI.
• Two types: deployment servers run your apps, and build servers only build images and push them to a registry.
• Requirements: SSH access to each server. A Docker registry is only needed if you use build servers.
• Best for: separating apps per environment, region, or customer; keeping the Dokploy UI on a small server while apps run elsewhere.

Swarm Nodes (Cluster)

The Cluster feature joins additional servers as worker or manager nodes of the Dokploy server's Docker Swarm. Traefik on the manager load-balances traffic to the nodes where your application replicas run.

• Replication: run multiple replicas of the same application across machines, with load balancing handled by Traefik.
• Requirements: a Docker registry (images must be pushed so other nodes can pull them) and servers with the same architecture as the Dokploy server.
• Trade-offs: more setup and operational complexity, and Dokploy does not perform automatic storage cleanup on the extra nodes.
• Best for: horizontally scaling the same application for high availability.

Comparison

Which one should I choose?

• Start with the Dokploy Server and scale vertically (more CPU/RAM). It covers the vast majority of use cases with zero extra configuration.
• Use Remote Servers when you want isolation: production apps separated from the Dokploy UI, different servers per project or region, or a dedicated build server.
• Use Swarm Nodes only when you need the same application replicated across multiple machines with load balancing.