Port Management

Host ports are opt-in. By default an app can be Running but not public — Project → Overview shows Private by default until you add a domain/subdomain or enable Publish host ports and redeploy.

Prefer a custom domain: raw IP:port reveals your origin server and is easier to scan. Preferred path: domain on nginx-proxy → project network → container_name:internal_port.

Dashboard vs apps

Port	Use
8080	Docklift dashboard gateway (docklift-nginx)
80	Custom domains HTTP + ACME (docklift-nginx-proxy)
443	Custom domains HTTPS
5500–5600	Optional published app host ports (default pool)
8000	Backend (internal / local dev)
3600	Vite frontend (local bun run dev)

Managed databases also keep host ports off by default — link them on the Docker network instead.

Publish host ports

1. Open Project → Build Settings
2. Enable Publish host ports
3. Redeploy

Ports are taken from the pool below.

Setting	Default	Description
PORT_RANGE_START	5500	First host port when publish is enabled
PORT_RANGE_END	5600	Last host port in the pool

Configure in /opt/docklift/.env and recreate Compose services to apply.

View allocations

Open /ports in the dashboard to see host ports reserved for projects that opted in. Running apps/databases with host publish off stay private — they appear under Running without a host port, not as Allocated pool rows.

Host diagnostics

sudo ss -tulpn | grep -E ':(80|443|8080|550[0-9])\b'

# Free a stuck port (example)
sudo fuser -k 5500/tcp

# Free the whole default app pool
for port in {5500..5600}; do sudo fuser -k ${port}/tcp 2>/dev/null; done

docker network inspect docklift_network
docker network ls --filter label=com.docklift.managed=true