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How to Set CPU and Memory Limits for Apps in Coolify

Set Coolify resource limits correctly: choose CPU and memory controls, enter valid Docker-style values, redeploy the app, verify Metrics and Runtime Logs, and troubleshoot restarts or failed health checks.
WorldCoolify Length8 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Set an app’s limits in Coolify under Resource Limits, save the changes, and then redeploy or restart the app so Coolify recreates its containers with the new Docker settings. Use CPU limit or CPU set to control processor access, and use memory limit, memory reservation, memory and swap limit, and swappiness to control RAM and swap behavior. Confirm the result in Metrics, inspect Runtime Logs, and test with representative traffic.

What Coolify’s resource limits control

Coolify converts the values you save into Docker runtime options for the application’s containers. The settings apply when those containers are created or recreated; changing a field without restarting or redeploying does not guarantee that the running container has changed.

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A limit is a boundary, not a performance guarantee. CPU settings determine how much processor time a container may use or how it competes with other containers. Memory settings determine how Docker accounts for RAM, where it places a hard ceiling, and whether swap may be used. The right values depend on measured usage, traffic, health-check behavior, and the capacity left on the host server.

CPU settings at a glance

Field Accepted value or default Effect Important boundary
CPU limit Whole or decimal number, such as 2 or 0.5; 0 means no configured limit Caps the CPU capacity available to the container A low cap can slow work enough for health checks to time out under load
CPU set CPU numbers or ranges, such as 0-2 or 0,1,3 Restricts execution to the selected logical CPUs It changes placement, not the total capacity of the selected CPUs
CPU weight Whole number of 0 or greater; default 1024 Changes relative priority when containers compete for CPU time It does not reserve CPU capacity

CPU weight matters only during contention. If the host has idle processor capacity, raising a container’s weight does not create additional CPU cycles. When several containers are busy, Docker uses the weights to divide available time proportionally. Treat weight as a priority signal, not as a quota.

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Memory settings at a glance

Field Accepted value or default What it controls
Memory reservation 0 or a number with b, k, m, or g; units are case-insensitive A reservation used for Docker’s memory-pressure accounting
Memory limit 0 means no configured limit, or a value such as 256m or 1g The hard RAM cap for the container
Memory and swap limit 0 or a value using the same units The combined maximum of RAM plus swap available to the container
Swappiness 0 through 100; the documented default is 60 How readily the kernel may move the container’s anonymous memory to swap

Enter units directly after the number: 256m, 1g, or another supported value. The unit letters are not case-sensitive. A bare 0 has a special meaning: it leaves that limit unconfigured rather than imposing a zero-byte allowance.

Set limits in Coolify

  1. Open the application. In the Coolify dashboard, select the application whose containers you want to constrain.
  2. Open Resource Limits. Locate the application’s Resource Limits section. This is where persistent CPU and memory settings belong.
  3. Enter CPU values. Use CPU limit for a capacity ceiling, CPU set to bind the container to particular logical CPUs, and CPU weight to change its priority relative to competing containers. Leave a limit at 0 when you intentionally want no configured cap.
  4. Enter memory values. Use Docker-style values such as 256m or 1g. Decide separately whether you need a pressure-accounting reservation, a hard memory limit, a combined memory-and-swap ceiling, or a specific swappiness value.
  5. Select Save changes. Saving stores the configuration in Coolify; it does not by itself prove that the currently running container has been recreated with those options.
  6. Redeploy or restart the application. Perform the redeploy or restart operation so Coolify recreates the container and applies the saved runtime settings.

If the application consists of multiple services, check which service the limits belong to before saving. A limit on one container does not automatically constrain every related worker, database, or proxy container.

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Choose values from measurements, not guesses

Begin with the application’s observed CPU utilization, peak memory, swap behavior, and health-check results. Establish a baseline during normal traffic and during the busiest realistic operation you can generate. Then set a boundary that leaves usable headroom for traffic bursts and the rest of the host.

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CPU decision path

  • Use a CPU limit when the application must not consume more than a defined amount of processor capacity.
  • Use a CPU set when isolating a workload to particular logical CPUs is more important than allowing it to run anywhere.
  • Use CPU weight when several containers share the host and you need one to receive a larger or smaller share during contention, while understanding that no capacity is reserved.
  • Keep enough CPU available for health checks, request handling, background jobs, and the other containers on the server.

Memory decision path

  • Use a memory limit as the hard ceiling only after you know the application’s working set. A ceiling below that working set can cause Docker to terminate the process for running out of memory.
  • Use a memory reservation when Docker’s pressure accounting should recognize a lower expected level before the hard cap is reached.
  • Use memory and swap limit when you need to bound the combined RAM-plus-swap footprint rather than RAM alone.
  • Set swappiness deliberately when swap latency is important. The allowed range is 0 to 100; the documented default is 60.

Do not treat a larger limit as a substitute for capacity planning. A container can remain below its own cap while the host runs out of RAM, CPU, storage, or network capacity. The host’s remaining headroom is part of the configuration decision.

Verify that the running container uses the settings

  1. Open Metrics. After the restart or redeploy, check CPU and memory consumption for the application. Look for the actual peak rather than relying only on an average.
  2. Inspect Runtime Logs. Search for out-of-memory exits, repeated restarts, and health-check failures. These events indicate that the selected boundary or the workload’s available capacity needs attention.
  3. Send representative traffic. Exercise the endpoints, jobs, or game-related services that normally create load. Watch response times while the workload is active.
  4. Compare against host headroom. Confirm that other services still have CPU and memory available and that swap is not growing unexpectedly.

A successful save is not the verification result. The useful result is a recreated container that stays healthy, serves representative traffic within an acceptable response time, and leaves the host with operating room.

Diagnose restarts, slowdowns, and failed health checks

The container exits with an out-of-memory error

This usually means the hard memory limit is below the application’s working set or that a traffic burst pushed usage over the cap. Check the peak in Metrics and the exact exit information in Runtime Logs. Raise the hard limit only if the host has enough RAM, or reduce the application’s working set and concurrency. If the host cannot supply the required memory, move or resize the resource rather than repeatedly increasing a container limit.

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Health checks time out after applying a CPU limit

A low CPU limit can delay both the application and the health-check process during load. Review CPU utilization and health-check failures together. Increase the CPU limit, adjust the workload, or remove the configured cap if the server has spare capacity. CPU weight may help the container win a larger share during contention, but it cannot provide a guaranteed amount of CPU.

The app restarted immediately after changing limits

Redeploying or restarting intentionally recreates the container, so one restart at that point is expected. Repeated restarts afterward are not: inspect Runtime Logs for out-of-memory exits, failed health checks, configuration errors, or another process-level failure.

The setting appears to have disappeared

Direct edits made with Docker commands are not a durable control plane for a Coolify-managed container. Coolify can recreate that container during a deployment, restart, or other lifecycle operation and replace the manual change. Put lasting values in Coolify’s Resource Limits or in the source Docker Compose file used to deploy the application.

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Swap use is unexpectedly high

Check the combined memory and swap limit and the swappiness value. A container can remain under its RAM limit while using swap, which may increase latency. Compare swap behavior with response times under representative traffic before deciding whether to alter the combined ceiling or swappiness.

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Coolify, Docker, and Compose boundaries

Coolify is the persistent configuration layer for applications it manages. Docker runtime changes made outside Coolify can be lost when Coolify recreates a container. If the application is defined by Docker Compose, values that must travel with the application should also be represented in the source Compose file, subject to the options Coolify supports for that deployment type.

Custom Docker Options are intended for supported runtime flags, such as --shm-size and --ulimit. Use the dedicated CPU and memory fields for CPU quotas, CPU placement, memory ceilings, reservations, swap limits, and swappiness whenever those fields are available. This keeps the configuration visible in Coolify and reduces the chance that a later recreation silently removes it.

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Illustrative configurations

The following examples demonstrate valid syntax and the distinction between controls. They are not universal recommendations; select values from the application’s measured peaks and the host’s capacity.

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Intent Example entries What the example does
Half a CPU with a modest RAM ceiling CPU limit 0.5; memory limit 256m Caps processor capacity at half a CPU and sets a 256-megabyte hard RAM cap
Allow two CPUs but restrict placement CPU limit 2; CPU set 0-2 Sets a two-CPU ceiling while allowing execution on logical CPUs 0, 1, and 2
Prioritize a busy service during contention CPU weight greater than the default 1024 Gives the service a higher relative share when containers compete; it does not reserve CPU
Bound RAM plus swap Memory limit 1g; memory and swap limit set to a value chosen for the total allowance Separates the hard RAM ceiling from the combined RAM-plus-swap ceiling
Leave a resource unconstrained CPU limit 0 or memory limit 0 Leaves that particular limit unconfigured; it does not mean the container receives zero resources

When the server itself is too small

Limits cannot create CPU cycles or RAM that the host does not have. If measured demand exceeds the current server’s available capacity, Coolify’s scaling guidance is to resize the existing server or move the resource to a larger server. Compare the candidate infrastructure by available CPU and RAM, storage and network limits, geographic location, reliability, and total cost before moving the application.

After a resize or migration, repeat the same verification sequence: inspect Metrics, review Runtime Logs, generate representative traffic, and confirm both response times and headroom. A larger host may justify higher limits, but the application still needs an observed working set and a tested health-check budget.

Practical checklist

  • Record normal and peak CPU and memory usage before setting a hard cap.
  • Choose CPU limit, CPU set, and CPU weight for different purposes; do not use weight as a reservation.
  • Enter memory values with supported units such as 256m or 1g.
  • Keep memory limit at or above the observed working set, with room for realistic bursts.
  • Decide whether a memory reservation, a combined memory-and-swap ceiling, or swappiness control is actually needed.
  • Save the values under Resource Limits.
  • Redeploy or restart so Coolify recreates the container.
  • Check Metrics, Runtime Logs, representative response times, and host headroom.
  • Store durable changes in Coolify or the source Compose file, not in ad hoc Docker commands.
  • Resize or move the server when the workload needs more capacity than the host can provide.

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