Operate Services
After a Service is deployed, Coolify provides stack lifecycle actions, deployment output, container logs, terminal access, scheduled tasks, component controls, and resource operations.
Know where to look
| Page or control | Use it to |
|---|---|
| Configuration | Change the Compose definition, components, environment variables, storage, and automation. |
| Deployment output | Follow image pulls, generated configuration, Compose startup, and command failures for the current operation. |
| Logs | Read stdout and stderr from the Service containers. |
| Terminal | Open a shell in a selected running container when your role can access terminals. |
| Files | Browse and manage files in a running container. Requires an Owner or Admin role; edits affect the container filesystem. |
| Component Settings | Change domains, image, public database access, status exclusion, or log-drain behavior for one component. |
| Update Service | Change image versions and merge required Compose or environment updates. |
| Troubleshooting | Diagnose a failed deployment, degraded component, configuration difference, connection failure, or domain error. |
| Scheduled Tasks | Run a recurring command inside a selected component container. |
| Resource Operations | Clone the Service or move it between projects and environments. |
| Danger Zone | Permanently delete the Service and selected Docker resources. |
Choose a lifecycle action
| Goal | Action | What Coolify does |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy a new or stopped Service | Deploy | Pulls the configured images, writes the generated Compose and .env files, and runs the stack. |
| Recreate a running stack without intentionally updating images | Restart | Stops the current containers and starts the stack from the saved configuration without first running a Compose pull. |
| Pull the image tags saved in Compose and recreate the stack | Advanced > Pull Latest Images & Restart | Runs a Compose pull, then recreates the stack. |
| Take the stack offline without deleting its configuration | Stop | Stops and removes the component containers. Persistent volumes and the Service resource remain. |
| Recover from a stuck or degraded deployment | Advanced > Force Restart or Force Deploy | Marks active deployment records as failed when necessary and starts a forced deployment path. Use only after checking the current operation and logs. |
A mutable tag can resolve to different software than the currently running image. Read upstream release notes, back up stateful components, and confirm version compatibility before selecting Pull Latest Images & Restart in production.
Protect Service state
Data outside a declared persistent mount can disappear when Coolify recreates a container. Identify and back up every stateful component before relying on Service lifecycle actions.
Use database-aware backups for databases and storage backups for file data. Keep a tested copy outside the Service server.
Run recurring commands
Use Configuration > Scheduled Tasks for a command that must run inside one Service container on a schedule. A multi-container Service requires the Compose service name so Coolify can select the correct running container.
Follow Scheduled tasks for frequency, timeout, target, manual execution, and verification.
Continue operating the Service
Show a maintenance page
Open Domains > Maintenance mode to return a maintenance page with HTTP 503 while the containers keep running. The change applies without redeployment on supported Traefik and Caddy servers. See Maintenance and error pages.