Self-Host Uptime Kuma with Docker and Caddy

Uptime Kuma is a self-hosted alternative to UptimeRobot. It can monitor websites, servers, APIs, ports, SSL certificates, and also provides public status pages.

This setup will:

• Run Uptime Kuma with Docker
• Store its data permanently
• Keep port 3001 private
• Use Caddy with a custom domain and HTTPS

Step 1 — Configure DNS

Create an A record for your subdomain:

Type: A
Name: status
Value: YOUR_VPS_IP

Example:

status.example.com

Step 2 — Connect to the VPS

ssh root@YOUR_VPS_IP

Step 3 — Install Docker

For a quick installation, use Docker's convenience script:

curl -sSL https://get.docker.com | sh

Verify the installation:

docker --version
docker compose version

If both commands return version numbers, Docker is ready.

Step 4 — Create the Project Directory

mkdir -p /opt/uptime-kuma
cd /opt/uptime-kuma

Step 5 — Create the Docker Compose File

Create the file:

nano compose.yaml

Add:

services:
  uptime-kuma:
    image: louislam/uptime-kuma:2
    container_name: uptime-kuma
    restart: unless-stopped

    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:3001:3001"

    volumes:
      - ./uptime-kuma-data:/app/data

    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    networks:
      - web

networks:
  web:
    external: true

Caddy config

services:
  caddy:
    image: caddy:latest
    container_name: caddy
    restart: unless-stopped

    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"

    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile:ro
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_config:/config

    networks:
      - web

volumes:
  caddy_data:
  caddy_config:

networks:
  web:
    external: true

Make sure both uses the same network otherwise the cannot access each other

the external network we may not exit for this you can use to create one

docker network create web

Uptime Kuma is bound to:

127.0.0.1:3001

This prevents port 3001 from being directly exposed to the internet.

The data is stored permanently in:

/opt/uptime-kuma/uptime-kuma-data

Step 6 — Create the Caddyfile

nano Caddyfile

Add:

status.example.com {
    reverse_proxy uptime-kuma:3001
}

Replace status.example.com with your actual domain.

Caddy uses host networking so it can access Uptime Kuma through 127.0.0.1:3001.

Step 7 — Configure UFW

Docker can bypass some UFW rules when ports are published publicly. That is why Uptime Kuma is bound only to 127.0.0.1.

Allow SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS:

ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw allow 443/udp
ufw enable

Do not open port 3001.

Check the firewall:

ufw status

Step 8 — Start the Containers

docker compose up -d

Check their status:

docker compose ps

View logs:

docker compose logs -f

Step 9 — Open Uptime Kuma

Visit:

https://status.example.com

Create your administrator account and add your website or server monitors.

Create a Public Status Page

Inside Uptime Kuma:

1. Open Status Pages.
2. Click New Status Page.
3. Select the monitors you want to show.
4. Choose a page slug.
5. Save the page.

For example, with the slug public, the page will be:

https://status.example.com/status/public

Update Uptime Kuma

cd /opt/uptime-kuma
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
docker image prune -f

Your data will remain safe inside:

./uptime-kuma-data

Final Configuration

Uptime Kuma remains private:

127.0.0.1:3001

Caddy provides public access through:

https://status.example.com

Only ports 80 and 443 need to be publicly accessible.