How to Install CoreControl on Debian VPS (5 Minute Quick-Start Guide)

Here’s a detailed how-to guide to install CoreControl on Debian VPS.

What is CoreControl?

CoreControl is a web-based server management tool that gives you a GUI for handling Docker containers, server stats, logs, and other system utilities—all from a browser.

✅ Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• A Debian VPS (Debian 11 or later recommended)
• Root or sudo access
• A registered domain or IP (optional, but useful)
• SSH access to the VPS

How to Install CoreControl on Debian VPS

To install CoreControl on Debian VPS, follow the steps below:

1. ⚙️ Update Your System

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
   

   This ensures all your system packages are up to date.

2. 🐳 Install Docker & Docker Compose

   1. Install Docker

      curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
      sudo sh get-docker.sh
      

   2. Add your user to the Docker group

      sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
      newgrp docker
      

   3. Install Docker Compose (plugin version)

      sudo apt install docker-compose-plugin -y
      

      Test Docker installation:

      docker version
      docker compose version
      

3. 📁 Set Up Directory Structure

   Create a directory for CoreControl:

   mkdir -p ~/corecontrol
   cd ~/corecontrol
   

4. 🧰 Create docker-compose.yml

   Create and open the file:

   nano docker-compose.yml
   

   Paste the following (replace ports, paths, or env vars as needed):

   services:
     web:
       image: haedlessdev/corecontrol:latest
       ports:
         - "3000:3000"
       environment:
         JWT_SECRET: RANDOM_SECRET # Replace with a secure random string
         DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://postgres:postgres@db:5432/postgres"
   
     agent:
       image: haedlessdev/corecontrol-agent:latest
       environment:
         DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://postgres:postgres@db:5432/postgres"
       depends_on:
         db:
           condition: service_healthy
   
     db:
       image: postgres:17
       restart: always
       environment:
         POSTGRES_USER: postgres
         POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
         POSTGRES_DB: postgres
       volumes:
         - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
       healthcheck:
         test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
         interval: 2s
         timeout: 2s
         retries: 10
   
   volumes:
     postgres_data:
   

   ⚠️ Security Tip: Choose a strong admin password. You can also store it in a .env file and use ${CORECONTROL_ADMIN_PASS} in the docker-compose.yml.

5. 🚀 Start the CoreControl Container

   docker compose up -d
   

   Check logs:

   docker logs -f corecontrol
   

   You should see something like Listening on port 80.

6. 🌐 Access CoreControl

   Open your browser and visit:

   http://localhost:3000
   

    

   
   Login with:

   • Username: admin@example.com
   • Password: admin

🔁 Useful Docker Commands

• Restart CoreControl: docker restart corecontrol
• Stop CoreControl: docker stop corecontrol
• Update image:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Conclusion

You now know how to install CoreControl on Debian VPS.