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. For servers that Appliku creates at a cloud provider, Appliku keeps retrying the connection for up to 15 minutes ("will keep retrying" in the setup log), then the setup fails and you can click Retry setup
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. Click Retry setup on the server page (shown when the setup failed). See When Setup Fails
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 26.04 LTS (recommended) - Ubuntu 24.04 LTS - Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - Debian 12
Not supported: - CentOS, Fedora, Arch, Alpine - Ubuntu 20.04 and older, for new servers - Windows Server
If your server runs an unsupported OS, you will need to reinstall it with a supported version. For Ubuntu 20.04 or older, the setup log shows "This server runs Ubuntu 20.04. Appliku does not set up new servers on Ubuntu 20.04 or older". Delete the server in Appliku, reinstall it with Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04 (or use a new server), then add it again. 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
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