Self-hosted Elixir applications offer control, cost efficiency, and privacy. This session outlines a modern workflow for deploying Elixir apps sustainably and securely, using Raspberry Pi as a server paired with Cloudflare and Coolify.
Elixir Leverages BEAM’s concurrency, fault tolerance, and real-time capabilities, amplified by Phoenix’s tooling. By combining this with Cloudflare’s protections and using Coolify to manage a Raspberry Pi server, turning it into a PaaS, we can create a product with minimum recurrent running costs yet the ability to concurrently service close to a million requests.
Talk objectives:
**Reasons to consider Raspberry Pi **
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Low-cost, energy-efficient hardware for edge deployments.
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Perfect for small-to-medium apps (e.g., IoT, personal projects, microservices).
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Full control over data with no cloud vendor lock-in.
** Cloudflare’s Role **
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Tunnels: Securely expose apps on Raspberry Pi without port-forwarding or static IPs.
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DNS & CDN: Mask Pi’s residential IP and optimize global traffic.
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Zero Trust: Protect admin interfaces (e.g., Coolify dashboard).
** Coolify on Raspberry Pi **
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Deploy Coolify (open-source PaaS) on Pi via Docker—supports ARM64.
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Automate Elixir app deployments using Git: Build mix release or Docker images directly on the Pi.
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Manage databases (Postgres/Redis), cron jobs, and SSL (via Cloudflare).
Target audience:
BEAM Enthusiasts, Hobbyists, Engineers, CTOs