The One-Click Apps feature lets you browse an extensive app catalog and deploy apps directly through your VPS web interface. In this guide, you’ll learn how to prepare your server, choose the right installation type, install and manage apps, and use advanced settings and troubleshooting tools when needed.
Before using One-Click Apps, your VPS must meet the minimum requirements and run a supported operating system.
Minimum requirements The Apps feature requires your VPS to be online and configured with enough resources to reliably run both the platform services and your installed apps.
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Server status | Online | Online |
| Storage | 30 GB | 50 GB |
| RAM | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| CPU | 2 cores | 4 cores |
| Operating system | Debian or Ubuntu LTS | Debian 13 |
A fresh operating system is recommended We strongly recommend setting up the Apps feature on a fresh operating system installation. This helps you avoid conflicts with existing services, occupied ports, Docker setups, or custom configurations already on the server.
If you need to reinstall your VPS, use a fresh, supported Debian or Ubuntu LTS image from your VPS management interface.
After deployment, your installed apps are listed in the management section of the tab. From here, you can monitor and control your services without having to work with the underlying containers manually.
The installed apps section lets you perform common lifecycle actions directly from the tab.
| Action | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Start | Starts a stopped app |
| Stop | Stops a running app |
| View logs | Opens the app logs for troubleshooting |
| Reinstall | Reinstalls the app |
These tools make it easier to manage all your apps in one place, especially if you prefer simple web-based controls over manual command-line work.
Projects and environments help you structure your deployments clearly. You can use them to separate:
- Personal and production apps
- Test and live environments
- Deployments for multiple customers or teams
- Different stacks on the same VPS
This organization becomes increasingly important as your app catalog grows and you manage more services on one or more nodes.
The One-Click Apps feature supports custom domains and ZAP Cloud integration. This lets you make apps securely accessible and provide SSL certificates for your deployments.
Domain and SSL support You can use custom domains for your apps and benefit from automatic SSL certificate provisioning, provided the platform supports the setup.
When assigning a domain, make sure your DNS records point to [deine_server_ip]. If your domain isn’t configured correctly, the app may not be accessible from the internet.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
[deine_domain] | The domain or subdomain assigned to your app |
[deine_server_ip] | The public IP address of your VPS |
DNS must point to your VPS
If the DNS for [deine_domain] doesn’t point to [deine_server_ip], domain validation and app access may fail.
If the dashboard shows a degraded status, it means the platform can’t reach the instance running the One-Click Apps feature or retrieve data from it. Follow the troubleshooting steps in order.
The troubleshooting popup may show the following indicators:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Coolify Status: Active | The panel service appears to be running |
| API Status: Reachable | The API is currently reachable |
| Service Status: Online | Your VPS itself is online |
If one or more components aren’t working correctly, continue with the steps below.
First, make sure your VPS is online in the ZapX dashboard. If the server is offline, the Apps platform can’t work.
Use the Refresh status action to run the health check again with the latest data. This may resolve temporary connection issues.
Temporary connection issues A degraded state can sometimes be caused by brief communication issues. Refreshing the status is the quickest first check.
If the status remains degraded, use the Restart Docker action. This restarts the platform instance. After the action succeeds, wait 1-2 minutes and refresh the status again.
Restarting services Restarting Docker may temporarily interrupt running apps while the services restart.
As a final step, use Refresh credentials. This is especially important if the status shows that the service is online, but dashboard features such as app installation aren’t working.
This action:
- does not delete your data
- refreshes the root user credentials
- renews the API token used by the dashboard
- automatically updates the panel credentials if successful
Safely refreshing credentials Refreshing credentials won’t remove installed apps or deployment data. It only renews the credentials required for access and communication.
If the issue persists after you’ve completed all the troubleshooting steps, please create a support ticket through the ZAP-Hosting website.
To keep One-Click Apps stable and easy to manage, follow these recommendations:
| Best practice | Reason |
|---|---|
| Use a fresh OS installation | Avoids conflicts with existing services and ports |
| Meet the recommended resource requirements | Improves performance and reliability |
| Organize apps into projects and environments | Keeps deployments organized |
| Configure DNS before assigning a domain | Prevents access and SSL issues |
| Use advanced settings carefully | Avoids unsupported custom changes |
Keep deployments organized
If you plan to host many apps, create a clear naming scheme for [dein_projektname], [dein_umgebungsname], and [dein_appname] before your first deployment.
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