Self-host Traefik

updated Jul 2026deployed & timed by usprices checked · Aug 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Jul 2026 · how we test

A cloud-native reverse proxy that auto-discovers your Docker containers via labels and provisions TLS for them automatically. More setup than a UI proxy, but unbeatable once your stack grows.

Key facts

CategoryReverse proxy

LicenseMIT

StackGo

Min RAM256 MB

Dockeryes

Difficulty

What you need

Any VPS with at least 256 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
About an afternoon — budget time for troubleshooting

Install with Docker Compose

Save this as compose.yml and run docker compose up -d:

# Traefik — reverse proxy; reads Docker labels, ACME via Let's Encrypt
services:
  traefik:
    image: traefik:v3
    command:
      - --providers.docker=true
      - --providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false
      - --entrypoints.web.address=:80
      - --entrypoints.websecure.address=:443
      - --certificatesresolvers.le.acme.email=you@example.com
      - --certificatesresolvers.le.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json
      - --certificatesresolvers.le.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web
    ports: ["80:80", "443:443"]
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - ./letsencrypt:/letsencrypt
# docker compose up -d — then label each app: traefik.http.routers.<n>.rule=Host(`app.example.com`)

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