How to Get Free Hosting with Railway and Docker

In this tutorial, we will learn how to get a completely free hosting environment using the Railway platform to run an Ubuntu server via a ready-made Docker file. You can use this hosting for many projects or even for training and experimentation!

Prerequisites

• A GitHub account
• A Railway account
• The Docker repository we will use: docker-ubuntu

What is Railway?

Railway is a cloud platform that allows you to deploy your applications quickly and easily. The platform features Docker support, which makes it easy to run any custom environment without worrying about complex server configurations.

Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your Free Hosting

1. Prepare the Docker File (GitHub Repository)

Go to our docker-ubuntu repository and Fork (copy) the repository to your personal GitHub account. This ensures that the files are yours and you can edit them in the future. This repository contains a ready-to-use Dockerfile based on Ubuntu.

2. Sign Up on Railway

Go to the Railway website and log in using your GitHub account. The application will ask for some permissions to read your repositories; approve them so the platform can build the project.

3. Create a New Project

• From the Railway dashboard, click on New Project.
• Choose Deploy from GitHub repo.
• Search for the docker-ubuntu repository you copied earlier, and click on it.

4. Build and Auto-Deploy

Once the repository is selected, the Railway platform will automatically start building the Docker image based on the Dockerfile present in the repository. This process may take a few minutes. Once finished, the project status will appear green (Active), which means the hosting is ready and running successfully!

5. Add a Free Domain

To access your server from the outside easily:

• Go to the project Settings.
• Look for the Domains section.
• Click on Generate Domain to get a free direct link that works on the internet and allows you to access your services.

Security and Performance Optimization

• Make sure to update the packages periodically within the Ubuntu environment.
• Change default passwords if you rely on services like SSH or VNC.

Conclusion

Now you have a free hosting running Ubuntu via Docker in a powerful cloud environment. You can use it to test applications, upload your projects, or as an integrated development environment. Thank you for following along, and don't forget to check out more tutorials on our website!