Forking Coolify For Complete White-Label Branding

Dec 4, 2025 by Tom Lembong 50 views

Hey everyone! I'm stoked to share something I've been working on: forking Coolify to add complete white-label branding! For those of you who aren't familiar, Coolify is an awesome open-source platform that simplifies the deployment and management of web applications. It's a real game-changer for anyone who wants to self-host their projects on a cloud server or with Docker. But I needed a bit more control, especially when it came to branding. I wanted to make Coolify completely my own, to customize everything from the logo to the color scheme. So, I took the plunge and forked the project to achieve my goal of complete white-label branding. The goal was to provide a fully customizable environment, something that could be adapted for different businesses and clients, making it a perfect fit for a wide range of web application deployment scenarios.

The Need for White-Label Branding

White-label branding is essential when you're building a platform that you want to offer to others. Maybe you are a DevOps consultant, a SaaS provider, or someone who builds applications for clients. In these cases, you want the platform to reflect your brand, not the brand of the underlying tool. Think about it: you wouldn't want your clients to see the Coolify logo and branding; you want them to see your brand, your colors, and your logo. This builds trust and reinforces your brand identity. Also, it allows you to maintain consistency across all aspects of your service and gives you full control over the user experience. This level of customization ensures a professional and seamless experience for your end-users. With the changes I made, it's now possible to completely overhaul the UI and UX of Coolify to match any brand guidelines. You could call it a massive improvement, something that transforms the platform into a powerful, brand-able tool.

Diving into the Coolify Fork and Customization

So, where did I start? Well, first off, forking Coolify was pretty straightforward thanks to its open-source nature. I grabbed the code from GitHub and got to work. The main challenge was identifying all the places where branding elements were hardcoded. This involved a deep dive into the codebase, looking for any references to the original Coolify branding. This task, while time-consuming, was the most important step in the project. My primary focus was on the UI and UX, as that's where the branding is most visible to the end-user. I started by modifying the configuration files to allow for dynamic branding, such as the ability to upload a custom logo, change the color scheme, and update the application name. It was also important to go through the code meticulously to make sure that no traces of the original brand remained. This meant replacing the logo, changing the color scheme, and adjusting the text to fit my needs. This attention to detail ensured that the platform would look and feel completely customized.

Step-by-Step Customization Guide

Okay, let's break down the step-by-step customization process. This guide will help you, especially if you're thinking about forking Coolify and doing the same. First, you'll need to grab the Coolify source code from GitHub and set up your development environment. Make sure you have Docker and Docker Compose installed, as Coolify relies heavily on them. Then, go through the code, searching for the branding elements. Look for the logo images, the color definitions, and any text strings that contain the original Coolify name. Replace these with your own branding assets. For instance, in the configuration files, you could add variables for the application name, logo URL, and primary color. These variables can then be used throughout the application to dynamically load the branding. Next, update the UI components to use the new branding variables. This will change the look and feel of the platform, from the header and footer to the login page and dashboard. Finally, test everything thoroughly. Deploy your forked version of Coolify, and make sure that all the branding elements are correctly displayed and that the application functions as expected. Repeat this process until your changes give you the desired branding.

Key Areas of Customization

Here are some of the key areas of customization I focused on during the Coolify fork:

Logo and Favicon: This is the most visible branding element. You'll want to replace the default Coolify logo with your own. I added the functionality to upload a custom logo through the admin panel, making it easy to change it whenever necessary. Adding your favicon is essential for branding consistency.
Color Scheme: The color scheme is the foundation of your branding. I made it possible to adjust the primary and secondary colors of the UI, and add other elements to match the client's brand. The customization options should be versatile to accommodate any brand style.
Application Name: Change the application name in the header, title, and throughout the UI. This provides a personal touch and makes it seem like your platform.
Custom CSS: I added the ability to inject custom CSS. This gives you complete control over the UI, so you can tweak any element to your liking. It means full control over the platform's visual presentation.
Login Page: Brand the login page to provide a consistent experience. This step reinforces your branding.
Email Templates: Customize email templates to match your brand. Update the