Skip to main content
Dokku has no HTTP API for Levelrail to read, and Levelrail does not log in to a Dokku host over SSH. So this is the least automated path. What you can import is the app’s environment variables from a dump you create, or the running containers from a docker inspect snapshot. Everything else (image or repository, domains, ports, database data) you set or copy yourself. Read the migration overview first for the flow and the downtime table.

​
Prerequisites

  • Levelrail installed on the new server and the CLI signed in (levelrail-cli auth login).
  • Shell access to the Dokku host, to run dokku commands and docker inspect.
  • The app’s git repository, or a registry image, to deploy from.

​
What imports automatically

​
What needs a manual step

  • Image or repository, port and domains for the env dump route. Set them on the app after planning.
  • Domains on the snapshot route: they are read from Traefik Host rules only, and Dokku uses nginx, so add them by hand.
  • Build. Levelrail builds a Dockerfile with BuildKit, or detects the stack and builds with Railpack. It does not run Heroku buildpacks. See Importing apps for detection.
  • Databases from Dokku plugins (postgres, mysql, redis and others). The data is copied with the database copy step.
  • Persistent storage from dokku storage:mount: copy the files by hand.
  • Procfile process types, cron, and plugin config are not read.

​
What cannot be migrated

  • Live Dokku over SSH. There is no importer that connects to a Dokku host.
  • Dokku’s nginx config, certificates (Dokku’s Let’s Encrypt plugin), and deploy history. Certificates are issued here on first use.
  • Buildpack-specific behavior. Check that the app builds with a Dockerfile or Railpack.
The snapshot route has not been rehearsed against a Dokku host. Read the plan before you apply it.

​
Steps

1

Dump the env on the Dokku host

The file holds secrets. Delete it once the import is staged.
2

Plan and stage the app

Dashboard: Settings, Import from another platform, the Dokku env dump tab. The content stays in memory for the session and secret-looking values stay masked.
3

Set the image or repository, port and domains

Connect the repository (or a registry image) and set the port and domains on the app, then deploy. Or let Levelrail infer it: levelrail-cli up from a checkout of the repo. See Getting started.
4

Alternative: snapshot the containers

Images built on the Dokku host are flagged for the Move images step. See Migrate from Coolify for that step.
5

Copy databases

Create a managed database of the same engine on Levelrail (same or newer major version). On the Dokku host, make the database reachable from the new server and read its credentials:
Then copy:
Restrict the exposed port by firewall to the new server, and run dokku postgres:unexpose mydb afterwards. If you would rather use Dokku’s own tools, dokku postgres:export makes a dump you can restore with the restore tools.
6

Copy storage, check and switch

Copy dokku storage directories by hand (for example with rsync -aHAX) into the new volume. Then:

​
Databases and the downtime window

The copy is a full dump and restore with row counts compared and the source read-only. There is no incremental sync. Pause the Dokku app (dokku ps:stop APP), run the final copy, start the app here, switch DNS. The window is the final copy time plus a restart. A Dokku app that only serves from its image and has no database can move with no outage you would notice. See the downtime table.

​
Domains and TLS

Dokku’s nginx owns ports 80 and 443. Point DNS at a new server, or install Levelrail in coexist mode. Lower the TTL to 300 seconds a day ahead. Certificates are issued here on first use once DNS points here. See Domains and ingress.

​
Common problems and fixes

​
Choose to stay if

You want Dokku’s git push workflow with buildpacks and a very small footprint, and it already works. Levelrail builds from Dockerfiles or Railpack and has a beta push remote. See Dokku alternative and the comparison.
Last modified on October 20, 2026