Tutorial · 6 min read

Uptime Kuma is a popular open-source monitoring dashboard for HTTP endpoints, TCP ports, DNS records, and more. Running it on your own VPS keeps alert data under your control and avoids SaaS per-monitor fees.

Plan sizing

Uptime Kuma is lightweight. A Pulsar Nano ($3/mo equivalent, 1 TB transfer) handles dozens of monitors comfortably. Move to Pulsar Starter ($5/mo, 2 TB) if you run hundreds of checks or store long retention history on the same disk.

Prerequisites

Deploy Ubuntu 24.04 or Debian 12 from the client portal. Install Docker and Docker Compose, then open ports 80 and 443 in your firewall for the web UI.

Quick Docker deploy

docker run -d --restart=always -p 3001:3001 \
  -v uptime-kuma:/app/data --name uptime-kuma \
  louislam/uptime-kuma:1

Visit http://your-ip:3001, create the admin account, and add your first monitors. Put Nginx or Caddy in front for TLS once DNS points at your VPS.

Backups and persistence

Monitor state lives in the Docker volume. Optional daily snapshots are available as a paid add-on from the dashboard — useful before major upgrades, but not a substitute for exporting your config periodically.

Why Tampa?

Hosting the monitor close to the services you care about reduces false positives from long-haul latency. Tampa VPS hosting offers strong Southeast US and Caribbean routes if your workloads live in that region.

Next steps

Point status widgets at your public endpoints, configure Discord or email notifications, and keep the container updated with docker pull on a maintenance schedule.