Lakeer Kukadia · Cloud Guide & Setup
Oracle Cloud Free Server: 12 GB RAM, ₹0, Full Setup
Oracle gives every account an Arm server with 2 CPUs and 12 GB RAM for free, with no end date. The complete guide to getting it from India, card rules, two-firewall setup, Docker, and Coolify / n8n deployment.
> instance: 2 OCPUs · 12 GB RAM
> storage: 200 GB NVMe · 10 TB egress
> firewalls: VCN + iptables [80, 443]
> stack: Docker · Coolify · n8n
Get your server: 12 GB RAM, 2 CPUs, ₹0
Official Oracle Always Free resources stay free for the life of your account.
Automated Setup Prompt
Build this with your AI Agent
Want your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) to configure the VM over SSH without exposing credentials? Copy this prompt:
Read this guide: https://lakeer.ai/resources/oracle-cloud-free-server and the official Oracle, Docker, Coolify and n8n docs it links to. I already created my Oracle Cloud account and an Ubuntu VM on the VM.Standard.A1.Flex shape. Help me get my first app live on it. Ask me for the server's public IP and the path to my SSH key, then connect with ssh as the ubuntu user. Check which ports are open in Ubuntu's iptables and tell me exactly which ingress rules I still need to add in my VCN security list (I will click those myself in the Oracle console). Open ports 80 and 443 in iptables the way the guide shows and save the rules. Install Docker, then install either Coolify or n8n, whichever I pick. Never print or store my passwords or keys. When it is done, show me the URL that loads in my browser, how to log in, and anything still incomplete. Ask before anything that costs money, like upgrading my Oracle account.
What you get inside Always Free
Verified from Oracle's official Always Free resources documentation. These stay free with no expiration date.
Arm Compute (Ampere A1)
2 OCPUs + 12 GB RAM
Split into 1 or 2 VMs
NVMe Block & Boot Storage
200 GB combined
50 GB default boot disk
Outbound Network Egress
10 TB / month
Fast Indian CDN routes
Automated Backups
5 Volume Backups
Point-in-time recovery
Small Extra Micro VMs
2 AMD instances
1/8 OCPU, 1 GB RAM each
Pricing & Duration
₹0 / month
No expiration date
Payment Card Compatibility
Oracle asks for a card solely to verify identity. It places a temporary verification hold that reverses automatically.
Visa / Mastercard Credit Card
Passes verification seamlessly.
Debit Card (Visa / Mastercard)
Needs international payments & e-mandate on.
RuPay Card
Not supported by Oracle's payment gateway.
Prepaid / Virtual / Single-use
Declined by banking security checks.
Choose Your Home Region
Warning: Your home region is permanent and cannot be changed after registration. Your free server can only be created here.
India West (Mumbai)
✓ Fastest response across India
⚠ Highest demand; free Arm machines exhaust quickly
India South (Hyderabad)
✓ Low latency, community reports better Arm availability
⚠ Capacity still fluctuates during peak hours
Singapore
✓ Reliable fallback if Indian regions show zero capacity
⚠ Extra 40–60ms latency to Indian users
Create the Instance & Connect
Image: Canonical Ubuntu 24.04 (Arm build automatically picked with A1 shape).
Shape: Ampere → VM.Standard.A1.Flex (2 OCPUs, 12 GB RAM).
Networking: Create new VCN with Public Subnet + assign Public IPv4.
SSH Key: Save the private key on your laptop (cannot download again later).
chmod 400 ~/Downloads/your-key.key ssh -i ~/Downloads/your-key.key ubuntu@YOUR_PUBLIC_IP
*Replace YOUR_PUBLIC_IP with the IPv4 copied from Oracle Console.
Open Ports 80 & 443: Two Firewalls, Not One
This is where almost every deployment gets stuck. Oracle isolates your VM behind two independent firewall tiers. Traffic will be dropped unless opened in both.
Oracle VCN Security List (Cloud Tier)
Configured inside the Oracle Web Console outside your server:
- Open Networking → Virtual Cloud Networks.
- Click your subnet → Default Security List.
- Click Add Ingress Rules:
Source CIDR: 0.0.0.0/0
Protocol: TCP
Port Range: 80, 443 (and 8000 for Coolify, 5678 for n8n)
Ubuntu iptables (VM Tier)
Oracle's Ubuntu images have a catch: a default REJECT rule sits at line 6. You must use -I INPUT 6 so your ACCEPT rule sits above it:
sudo iptables -I INPUT 6 -m state --state NEW -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT sudo iptables -I INPUT 6 -m state --state NEW -p tcp --dport 443 -j ACCEPT sudo netfilter-persistent save # Verify your ACCEPT rules sit ABOVE the REJECT line: sudo iptables -L INPUT -n --line-numbers
Install Docker & Ship Your App
Step A: Install Docker (Arm64)
Runs each application in an isolated container without dependency clashes.
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh sudo sh get-docker.sh sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
Coolify is a free, open-source dashboard that turns your server into your own private Vercel/Heroku. Deploy Next.js apps, databases, WordPress, and Git repos with automatic HTTPS.
curl -fsSL https://cdn.coollabs.io/coolify/install.sh | sudo bash
http://YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:8000 to create your admin account.What to host on 12 GB RAM
- •Builders: Mini Vercel with Coolify for client web demos, Ghost blogs, Postgres & Redis.
- •Businesses: Self-hosted Twenty CRM paired with n8n for automated lead scoring and follow-ups.
- •Students: 24/7 personal Linux lab for Docker, SSH security, and portfolio showcase.
The 7-Day "Idle Rule"
Oracle reserves the right to reclaim instances that stay idle for 7 consecutive days (95th percentile CPU < 20%, network < 20%, memory < 20%).
How to prevent reclamation:
• Running real Docker containers like n8n or Coolify apps with periodic cron jobs naturally satisfies the activity threshold.
• Always maintain automated backups using Oracle's 5 free volume snapshots.
Common Hiccups & Quick Fixes
"Out of host capacity"
Means free Arm slots in that datacenter are full. Try retrying early morning (5–7 AM IST) or late night, create a 1 OCPU/6 GB instance first, or upgrade to Pay As You Go (Always Free limits stay free).
App runs but browser times out
Port is blocked in one of the two firewalls. Verify the VCN ingress rule exists in Oracle Console AND run sudo iptables -L INPUT -n --line-numbers to ensure your rule is above REJECT.
Permission denied (publickey)
Run chmod 400 your-key.key to lock permissions. Always SSH as ubuntu@IP, not as root.
Container crashes or won't start
Verify the Docker image supports linux/arm64. Most modern apps (Node, Python, Go, Coolify, n8n) offer native arm64 builds.
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