How to Install and Configure GoCD on a Linux VPS

Run GoCD as a server-and-agent pair: the server coordinates pipelines, while at least one agent performs the build work. On a VPS, install the signed package for your Linux family, expose GoCD’s default port 8153 only where agents and administrators need it, approve each new agent, and keep artifacts on storage separate from the operating-system disk. This guide covers Debian 11+, Ubuntu 22+, RHEL/CentOS 8-compatible systems, HTTPS termination, authentication, backups, upgrades, and the failure modes that most often stop a first deployment.

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What a GoCD VPS deployment contains

A usable GoCD installation has two roles:

• GoCD server: stores configuration, coordinates pipelines, schedules work, and presents the web dashboard.
• GoCD agent: checks in with the server and executes jobs, including source checkout, compilation, tests, packaging, and artifact publication.

You need one server and at least one agent. They may share a VPS for a small game-project build system, or run on separate nodes when builds need isolation or more CPU. A server without an enabled agent can display pipelines but cannot execute their jobs.

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Choose the VPS size and operating system

The current GoCD system requirements list Debian 11 or newer, Ubuntu 22 or newer, and RHEL/CentOS 8 or compatible distributions such as AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux. The server minimum is 1 GB RAM, two CPU cores running at 2 GHz, and 1 GB of free disk space; 2 GB RAM is recommended. An agent minimum is 128 MB RAM and a 2 GHz CPU. These are GoCD’s floor values, not a promise that a busy build will be comfortable at that size.

Artifact files are the storage risk most likely to be underestimated. GoCD warns that artifacts can fill the system disk, so reserve a separate partition or mounted volume for /var/lib/go-server/artifacts. Make that volume persistent across VPS reboots and snapshots. Also install the source-control clients required by your repositories on both the server and the agents; GoCD cannot invoke a client that is absent from the machine running the relevant task.

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Prepare the VPS before installing GoCD

1. Apply operating-system updates. Start with the normal security and package updates for your distribution.
2. Create DNS. Point the public hostname you will use for the dashboard and agents to the VPS address. Decide whether the public endpoint will be HTTP during initial testing or HTTPS through a reverse proxy.
3. Reserve artifact storage. Mount the dedicated volume before GoCD starts writing artifacts. Confirm that the mount survives a reboot and that the GoCD service account can write to it.
4. Set firewall rules. Permit SSH only from trusted administration networks. Allow GoCD’s backend port from the agent nodes and administrators, or allow only the reverse proxy to reach it when TLS is terminated in front.
5. Install build prerequisites. Add compilers, SDKs, Git or other source-control clients, and any game-engine command-line tools that your pipelines will call. Install them on every agent that may receive those jobs.

Keep the GoCD server’s public hostname stable. Agents identify the server by its configured hostname or IP, and changing that endpoint later requires updating agent configuration and the externally advertised URL.

Install the GoCD server on Debian or Ubuntu

Use GoCD’s signed APT repository rather than an unsigned package copied from an unrelated mirror. The repository key is published at https://download.gocd.org/GOCD-GPG-KEY.asc, and the package repository is https://download.gocd.org.

1. Create the keyring directory and import the signing key:

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.gocd.org/GOCD-GPG-KEY.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/gocd.gpg

2. Add the signed repository entry:

echo 'deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/gocd.gpg] https://download.gocd.org /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/gocd.list

3. Refresh package metadata and install the server with recommended dependencies:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --install-recommends go-server

The GoCD project says this Debian package is tested on LTS Ubuntu and Debian releases. Recommended dependencies normally bring in a compatible Java runtime. If your distribution cannot provide one, install a supported JRE and point GoCD to it through /usr/share/go-server/wrapper-config/wrapper-properties.conf; the current release requires Java 21 or newer when you supply the runtime yourself.

Install the GoCD server on an RPM-based system

For RHEL/CentOS 8-compatible systems, including AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux, install the repository definition supplied by GoCD. The file is available at https://download.gocd.org/gocd.repo.

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1. Download the repository file:

sudo curl -fsSL https://download.gocd.org/gocd.repo -o /etc/yum.repos.d/gocd.repo

2. Install the server and weak dependencies:

sudo dnf install -y --setopt=install_weak_deps=true go-server

yum and microdnf are also supported package managers for the RPM family. The RPM instructions are tested on AlmaLinux as a proxy for RHEL. As with APT, the package normally supplies a compatible Java runtime; configure a manually installed Java 21-or-newer runtime in the wrapper properties only when the package dependencies cannot do so.

Start the server and verify the dashboard

Manage the service with the distribution service command:

sudo service go-server start

For a restart after configuration changes, use sudo service go-server restart. To stop it, use sudo service go-server stop. The console mode, sudo service go-server console, is useful when startup fails and you need the wrapper’s foreground error output.

After a successful start, the dashboard normally listens at http://localhost:8153/go on the server itself. From another machine, replace localhost with the VPS hostname or address after your firewall permits access. Port 8153 is GoCD’s default HTTP endpoint; it is not encrypted by itself.

Install a GoCD agent

Install the agent from the same signed repository used for the server. A server can coordinate several agents, but at least one must be installed and enabled before a pipeline can run.

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Debian and Ubuntu agent

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --install-recommends go-agent

RPM-family agent

sudo dnf install -y --setopt=install_weak_deps=true go-agent

After installation, edit /usr/share/go-agent/wrapper-config/wrapper-properties.conf. Set the GoCD server hostname or IP address used by this agent, then start or restart the service:

sudo service go-agent start

If you changed the server address on an existing installation, use sudo service go-agent restart after saving the file.

Approve the agent on the GoCD server

Installation alone does not authorize an agent. Sign in to the GoCD dashboard, locate the newly registered agent in the agent administration view, and enable it. GoCD’s documentation states: “For security reasons, all newly installed GoCD agents need to be enabled on the GoCD server before work is assigned to them.” This approval prevents an untrusted machine from receiving source code and build instructions.

If the agent does not appear, first verify that it can resolve the server hostname and reach the configured endpoint. Then check the agent log under /var/log/go-agent and confirm that the server URL in wrapper-properties.conf has no typo or stale address. A visible but disabled agent is an approval problem; an absent agent is usually a connectivity, DNS, or startup problem.

Open the right ports and plan the network

The default server endpoint is HTTP port 8153. An agent on another node must be able to reach that port, unless a fronting reverse proxy exposes an alternative HTTPS port. GoCD describes the requirement this way: “The only requirement is that port 8153 of the GoCD Server (or an alternative HTTPS port, if using a fronting reverse proxy) is accessible from the node that the agents are installed on.”

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• Permit TCP 8153 from agent addresses and trusted administrators when GoCD is accessed directly.
• When using a reverse proxy, allow the proxy to reach the GoCD backend and block public access to 8153.
• Allow the public HTTPS port only to the proxy; keep SSH restricted to administration networks.
• Use private networking between separate server and agent VPSs when your provider offers it, reducing exposure of the backend service.

Do not assume that opening a port on the VPS is enough: check the provider’s security group or cloud firewall as well as the operating-system firewall. Test from an agent node with a TCP connection to the exact hostname and port configured in the agent wrapper properties.

Put GoCD behind HTTPS with a reverse proxy

A public GoCD dashboard should normally be served through a TLS-terminating reverse proxy. The proxy presents the certificate and public hostname, forwards requests to the GoCD server, and keeps the backend port private. Configure the proxy to preserve the GoCD path and the websocket or HTTP upgrade behavior required by your proxy implementation; without upgrade forwarding, dashboard and agent communication can fail even though a basic page loads.

In GoCD’s configuration, set both <siteUrl> and <secureSiteUrl> to the externally visible base URL, including the public hostname and scheme. These values should describe the proxy URL, not an internal address such as http://127.0.0.1:8153/go. A typical arrangement is:

• Public URL: https://ci.example.net/go
• Proxy-to-backend connection: the VPS-local GoCD HTTP listener on port 8153
• Agent configuration: the reachable HTTPS endpoint when agents are outside the private network, or the private backend endpoint when policy permits it

After changing the site URLs, restart the server and test both an administrator browser session and an agent reconnection. Mixed HTTP and HTTPS addresses, incorrect proxy base paths, and missing upgrade forwarding are common causes of redirects, login loops, or agents that repeatedly disconnect.

Enable authentication and authorization

If the <security> element is absent from GoCD configuration, anyone who can reach the server can use GoCD without logging in. Treat that default as suitable only for an isolated, temporary test network.

For a shared or public VPS, enable an authorization plugin and configure an appropriate identity source, such as LDAP or a password file, through the bundled plugins. The configuration reference marks the older in-configuration LDAP and password-file tags as deprecated, so use the plugin-based approach rather than copying legacy XML examples. Grant administrative rights only to the accounts that need them, and keep the dashboard behind HTTPS so credentials and session cookies are not sent over plain HTTP.

Know the important Linux paths

Protect configuration, database, and artifact paths with the normal filesystem permissions for the GoCD service accounts. Backups that include only the database but omit artifacts may leave pipelines unable to retrieve outputs, while copying artifacts without the corresponding server state can make them difficult to associate with builds.

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Back up before upgrades

1. In the GoCD dashboard, enable Admin > Server Maintenance Mode so new work is not started while you change the server.
2. Create a backup from Admin > Backups.
3. Verify that the backup exists on storage outside the VPS disk being upgraded. A snapshot on the same underlying failure domain is not a substitute for an independent copy.
4. Keep regular backups of /var/lib/go-server/artifacts. GoCD notes that artifact backup is not essential to the upgrade procedure itself, but retaining artifacts is good operational practice.

Test that you can read the backup before scheduling a production upgrade. Retention should cover the period in which a broken pipeline or accidental configuration change might need to be restored.

Upgrade GoCD packages safely

Debian and Ubuntu

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install --install-recommends go-server

RPM-family systems

sudo dnf upgrade go-server

If you downloaded an RPM directly, GoCD also documents upgrading with rpm -Uvh. Keep maintenance mode enabled until the server has restarted and you have checked the dashboard, pipelines, agent connectivity, and artifact volume. Agents do not normally need a manual package upgrade: GoCD says they generally reconnect automatically, and builds in progress are completed or rescheduled according to the server’s state.

Size and scale the installation from workload evidence

The documented server minimum is enough for a small controller, not for unlimited build concurrency. Agents consume the CPU, memory, disk, and network needed by the tools they run, so a compiler-heavy game build can outgrow the nominal 128 MB agent minimum immediately. Separate agents let you isolate workloads and prevent one build from exhausting the server’s resources; a same-host agent is simpler and cheaper but increases contention and the blast radius of a failed build tool.

GoCD’s performance guidance lists default server JVM heap settings of -Xms512m and -Xmx1024m. Increase heap, CPU, memory, or file-descriptor limits only after observing workload needs in the server logs and operating-system metrics. Raising heap on a VPS that is already swapping can make response time worse; first establish whether the bottleneck is Java memory, artifact I/O, build CPU, or network throughput.

Troubleshoot the common first-deployment failures

The dashboard will not load

• Confirm the service was started with sudo service go-server start.
• Use sudo service go-server console to expose wrapper or Java startup errors.
• Check /var/log/go-server and verify that port 8153 is allowed by both the VPS firewall and provider security group.
• If a reverse proxy is involved, test the backend locally first, then test the public hostname and certificate separately.

The agent is installed but never appears

• Verify the server hostname or IP in /usr/share/go-agent/wrapper-config/wrapper-properties.conf.
• Check DNS resolution and TCP reachability to port 8153 or the proxy’s HTTPS port from the agent node.
• Restart the agent and inspect /var/log/go-agent.
• Confirm the server is not presenting an internal URL that the remote agent cannot reach.

The agent appears but receives no work

New agents are disabled until an administrator enables them. Approve the agent in the dashboard, then verify that the pipeline can select its resources and that required source-control clients and build tools are installed on that agent.

Agents disconnect behind HTTPS

Check that the agent uses the externally reachable HTTPS endpoint, that the proxy forwards websocket or HTTP upgrade traffic as required, and that <siteUrl> and <secureSiteUrl> match the proxy’s public base URL. A proxy that forwards ordinary HTTP requests but drops upgrade traffic can show a working login page while agent communication fails.

The server disk fills unexpectedly

Inspect /var/lib/go-server/artifacts and move it to the dedicated volume promised in your capacity plan. Add retention and monitoring policies appropriate to your pipelines, and include the artifact volume in the backup schedule. Do not solve a full artifact disk by deleting files blindly while builds are running; preserve a consistent backup first.

Authentication is unexpectedly open

If users reach the dashboard without a login prompt, inspect whether the <security> element and an authorization plugin are configured. Restrict network access immediately, then configure plugin-based authentication and authorization before exposing the service publicly.

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Pre-launch checklist

• Server runs a supported Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL/CentOS-compatible, AlmaLinux, or Rocky Linux release.
• Server has at least 1 GB RAM, two 2 GHz CPU cores, and 1 GB free disk; 2 GB RAM is the recommended starting point.
• Artifact storage is a separate persistent partition or mount with monitoring.
• Source-control clients and build tools are installed on every eligible agent.
• The signed APT or RPM repository was used for installation.
• The agent’s wrapper properties point to the correct server hostname, IP, or HTTPS proxy endpoint.
• Every new agent is explicitly enabled in the GoCD dashboard.
• Firewall and security-group rules expose only the required backend or proxy port.
• Public deployments use HTTPS, correct proxy upgrade handling, and matching site URL settings.
• Authentication and authorization are enabled before broad access is granted.
• A tested backup exists before the first upgrade, and artifact storage is included in regular backups.

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