Install Mautic 7 on Coolify in 5 Minutes (2026 Setup)

Why use Docker Compose for Mautic on Coolify?

Mautic is more than a single PHP website. A reliable installation needs a web process for the dashboard, scheduled jobs for campaigns and segments, a background worker for queued jobs, and a database that all of those services can reach consistently.

That is why this guide uses an explicit Docker Compose stack instead of treating Mautic like a one-container WordPress install. The advantage is predictability: each job has one responsibility, the services restart independently, and Coolify still handles deployment, networking, logs, domains, and the reverse proxy.

Before you start

You should already have the following in place:

• A VPS with Coolify installed and accessible.
• A domain or subdomain you control.
• DNS access so you can create an A record pointing to the VPS.
• At least 2 GB of free RAM; 4 GB is a better production starting point.
• An SMTP provider or a self-hosted mail server if you want to actually deliver campaigns.

The Mautic architecture you are deploying

All three Mautic services use the same Docker image, but each container has a different role. The database stores contacts, campaign data, settings, and Doctrine queue records. Coolify’s proxy only exposes the web container to the internet.

The cron service works alongside this flow by continuously triggering scheduled Mautic jobs.

Doctrine queue or RabbitMQ?

1Create a Docker Compose resource in Coolify

Open your Coolify project, click + New, and choose the empty Docker Compose option. Name the resource something simple such as mautic.

2Paste the Docker Compose stack

This version deliberately avoids custom Docker networks. Coolify creates and manages the deployment network and connects its proxy to it automatically.

services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:11.4
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
      MYSQL_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - mautic_db:/var/lib/mysql
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "healthcheck.sh", "--connect", "--innodb_initialized"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 10
      start_period: 20s

  mautic_web:
    image: mautic/mautic:7-apache
    restart: unless-stopped
    expose:
      - "80"
    environment:
      DOCKER_MAUTIC_ROLE: mautic_web
      DOCKER_MAUTIC_RUN_MIGRATIONS: "true"
      MAUTIC_DB_HOST: db
      MAUTIC_DB_PORT: 3306
      MAUTIC_DB_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
      MAUTIC_DB_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
      MAUTIC_DB_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
      PHP_INI_VALUE_MEMORY_LIMIT: 512M
      PHP_INI_VALUE_UPLOAD_MAX_FILESIZE: 128M
      PHP_INI_VALUE_POST_MAX_FILESIZE: 128M
    volumes:
      - mautic_config:/var/www/html/config
      - mautic_logs:/var/www/html/var/logs
      - mautic_media_files:/var/www/html/docroot/media/files
      - mautic_media_images:/var/www/html/docroot/media/images
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy

  mautic_cron:
    image: mautic/mautic:7-apache
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      DOCKER_MAUTIC_ROLE: mautic_cron
      MAUTIC_DB_HOST: db
      MAUTIC_DB_PORT: 3306
      MAUTIC_DB_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
      MAUTIC_DB_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
      MAUTIC_DB_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - mautic_config:/var/www/html/config
      - mautic_logs:/var/www/html/var/logs
      - mautic_media_files:/var/www/html/docroot/media/files
      - mautic_media_images:/var/www/html/docroot/media/images
    depends_on:
      - mautic_web

  mautic_worker:
    image: mautic/mautic:7-apache
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      DOCKER_MAUTIC_ROLE: mautic_worker
      MAUTIC_DB_HOST: db
      MAUTIC_DB_PORT: 3306
      MAUTIC_DB_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
      MAUTIC_DB_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
      MAUTIC_DB_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - mautic_config:/var/www/html/config
      - mautic_logs:/var/www/html/var/logs
      - mautic_media_files:/var/www/html/docroot/media/files
      - mautic_media_images:/var/www/html/docroot/media/images
    depends_on:
      - mautic_web

volumes:
  mautic_db:
  mautic_config:
  mautic_logs:
  mautic_media_files:
  mautic_media_images:

Why this Compose file is structured this way

• Only the web container is public. MariaDB does not need a public host port.
• All Mautic roles share the same persistent config and media volumes.
• MariaDB gets its own persistent data volume. Recreating a container does not erase your database.
• The database healthcheck runs before the web app begins depending on it.
• The Apache image is easy to route through Coolify because the web service listens on port 80.

3Add the environment variables

In the Coolify resource, open Environment Variables. Add these four values. Use a different, long random password for each password field.

MYSQL_DATABASE=mautic
MYSQL_USER=mautic
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=replace-with-a-long-random-root-password
MYSQL_PASSWORD=replace-with-a-different-long-random-app-password

Generate a strong password on the server

If you want a fast terminal-based method, run this twice and save each result separately:

openssl rand -hex 32

4Point your domain to the VPS and enable HTTPS

At your DNS provider, create an A record for the subdomain you want to use. A typical setup looks like this:

Next, return to the Mautic Docker Compose resource in Coolify, select the mautic_web service, and assign a domain in full HTTPS format:

https://mautic.yourdomain.com

When the DNS record resolves to the correct server and the resource is configured with an https:// domain, Coolify’s integrated proxy can route the service and obtain TLS automatically.

5Deploy the stack

Click Deploy and watch the service logs. On the first deployment:

1. Coolify pulls MariaDB and the Mautic image.
2. MariaDB initializes the new database and passes its healthcheck.
3. The Mautic web role starts and performs initial migrations.
4. The cron and worker roles start using the same persistent configuration.
5. Coolify routes your configured domain to the Mautic web container.

6Finish the Mautic web setup

Open your new Mautic URL in a browser. If the installer appears, complete the environment/database check, create your administrator account, and continue to the dashboard.

If the installer already sees the database correctly, do not change the database host to a public IP. Inside the Compose stack, the database hostname should remain db.

Connect SMTP so Mautic can send email

Installing Mautic gives you marketing automation software; it does not automatically give you a high-quality outbound mail service. You still need a sending provider or your own SMTP infrastructure.

Basic SMTP workflow

1. Open Mautic settings.
2. Go to the email configuration area.
3. Enter the SMTP/transport credentials supplied by your provider.
4. Save the settings and use Mautic’s connection test.
5. Send a test message to an inbox you control.

Back up your Mautic installation

A proper backup plan has two parts: database backups and persistent Mautic files. The database is the most important piece because it contains contacts, campaign state, configuration, and historical records.

1. Schedule database backups

In Coolify, open the MariaDB service and configure scheduled backups. An off-server S3-compatible destination is preferable to keeping every copy on the same VPS.

2. Protect persistent volumes

Your Docker volumes contain Mautic configuration, logs, and uploaded media. Include those volumes in your server-level snapshot or volume-backup strategy.

3. Test restoration

A backup you have never restored is only a theory. Periodically restore a recent database backup into a test environment and confirm Mautic can read it.

Production security checklist

Once Mautic is working, harden the surrounding server before collecting real subscriber data.

• Use SSH keys and disable password-based root login when your access workflow is tested.
• Keep Coolify, your operating system, Mautic, and MariaDB updated on a controlled schedule.
• Use unique secrets for Mautic, MariaDB, Coolify, SMTP, and your VPS provider.
• Do not expose MariaDB’s port publicly unless you have a specific and secured reason.
• Enable MFA/2FA wherever supported.
• Store off-site backups and test them.
• Use HTTPS only for the public Mautic domain.
• Monitor disk usage; Mautic logs and Docker images can grow over time.
• Protect forms and lists from abuse, and follow applicable email/consent rules.

Common Mautic + Coolify problems

Database connection failed

Confirm the database container is healthy and make sure every Mautic role uses the same database variables. The internal hostname should be db, not your VPS IP.

The site loads over HTTP but HTTPS fails

Confirm that the domain is entered in Coolify with the https:// prefix, DNS points to the correct server, and ports 80/443 can reach the Coolify proxy. Then redeploy or retry certificate provisioning.

Cron tasks appear to do nothing

Open the mautic_cron logs. If the container is restarting, compare its database environment variables with the web service. A wrong password or database name can make the UI work while cron fails.

The worker is not draining queued jobs

Inspect the mautic_worker logs. Database connectivity is the first thing to verify because the Doctrine queue depends on the same database used by Mautic.

Uploads fail or large imports stop

Review PHP memory, upload, and POST limits. This guide sets higher values on the web container, but large CSV imports may still require tuning based on your VPS size and workload.

502 / 504 gateway errors

Check whether mautic_web is actually running and whether it listens on port 80. Avoid adding a custom Docker network unless you understand how it interacts with Coolify’s proxy network.

Disk space keeps shrinking

Check Docker images, build cache, Mautic logs, database growth, and backup retention. Configure sensible log rotation and remove old backups only after confirming off-site copies exist.

Build a useful internal-link cluster around this guide

A tutorial like this becomes more useful — for readers and for SEO — when it is connected to supporting pages. Good companion articles include installing Coolify, hardening a VPS, deploying MinIO, configuring SMTP, Docker backup strategies, and troubleshooting reverse-proxy errors.