Cobalt Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Cobalt hosting on xCloud gives you a self-hosted media downloader API on a server you control. Deploy Cobalt 11.7.1 and xCloud runs the pinned image as a single container behind managed HTTPS in minutes, with nothing stored on disk. Point the Cobalt web app or any API client at your instance URL; be aware that it is open to anyone until you restrict it.

Deploy your Cobalt

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Cobalt?

Self-hosted Cobalt is a media downloader that upstream describes as friendly and efficient, with no ads, trackers or paywalls: paste a link, get the file. Upstream says it works like a fancy proxy and never caches content, and that it only downloads free, publicly accessible content. It replaces ad-supported online video downloader sites with an API you run yourself, and the API is released under AGPL-3.0.

This template deploys the Cobalt processing API only. On xCloud it runs ghcr.io/imputnet/cobalt 11.7.1, pinned by digest, as one container with no volume, so downloads stream through the server and are not kept. Opening the address shows a short JSON description, not a web page. The web app is hosted separately by upstream and is not bundled here.

From Sign-Up to a Live Cobalt Instance In Just 3 Easy Steps

Self-hosting a Cobalt instance normally means a hardened container, a domain and a certificate before a single link can be processed. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account, pick Cobalt from the OneClick catalog, and choose a domain. There are no extra fields — xCloud generates everything needed.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the pinned Cobalt 11.7.1 image as a single hardened container — read-only filesystem, all capabilities dropped, no-new-privileges — and publish the API over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Point A Client At Your Instance
Copy the Instance URL from your installation credentials. Open it to see the instance's JSON description, or add it as a custom instance in the Cobalt web app under Settings, Instances.

Everything Cobalt Does, On Your Own Server

Cobalt runs in full here — the same media-download processing engine as any hosted Cobalt instance, on infrastructure you control.

Self-Hosted Media-Download Processing API
Send a link to a supported site and get a streamed download back from your own server.
Works With The Cobalt Web App Or Any API Client
Add your Instance URL as a custom instance under Settings, Instances in the Cobalt web app, or call the API directly.
Hardened Container By Default
Read-only filesystem, all capabilities dropped, and no-new-privileges, straight from the template.
Built-In Rate Limit
A per-visitor limit of 20 requests per minute is built into the template, out of the box.
Very Light Footprint
About 54 MiB of RAM after a real download round-trip in QA — a single, lightweight container.
Stateless, Nothing To Back Up
Cobalt stores nothing on disk, so a Restart loses no data and there is no backup to configure.

Everything You Need To Run Your Media Downloads 24/7

Managed hosting for Cobalt, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Cobalt 11.7.1 deployed instantly
Hardened container by default
Built-in 20 req/min rate limit
Stateless — nothing to back up
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Cobalt

Run your own Cobalt API instance
A developer adds a custom instance in the Cobalt web app's settings and points it at their own server's URL, so link processing runs on infrastructure they control rather than a shared public instance.
Call a media download API from your tools
A script or app POSTs a link to the root path of the instance and fetches the result from the tunnel address it returns, without bundling a downloader into the client.
Restrict an instance to your own users
An operator turns on API keys or Cloudflare Turnstile in the Environment editor, so only people holding a key or passing the challenge can use the bandwidth of their server.
Stream downloads without keeping files
A team that does not want media stored on its server relies on the single container with no volume, where tunnel information lives in memory for 90 seconds and downloads stream straight through.

Cobalt vs Alternatives

yt-dlp: Choose Cobalt as a yt-dlp alternative when you want a hosted API that clients call with a link, rather than a command-line tool on each machine. The template runs only the processing API, with no web page.
Online video downloaders: Upstream positions Cobalt as having no ads, trackers or paywalls. Running it yourself replaces ad-supported online video downloader sites, with the trade-off that your server's bandwidth and IP address do the fetching.
MeTube: In a Cobalt vs MeTube comparison, MeTube is a self-hosted downloader peer with its own OneClick page. Cobalt is the one that ships as a processing API for the Cobalt web app and API clients, storing nothing.
TubeSync: TubeSync is another self-hosted media tool on this site. Cobalt streams each download through the server and keeps no files, so there is no library or volume to manage.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Cobalt hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

Cobalt alongside other lightweight services.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Cloud VPS 24 GB

Cobalt alongside a whole self-hosted stack.

$84.99per month

24 GB RAM
8 vCPU cores
300 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Cobalt on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Own Your Media Pipeline?

Cobalt on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Is Cobalt free and open source?

Yes. Upstream releases the Cobalt API under AGPL-3.0, so the software has no licence fee. The Cobalt web frontend is licensed non-commercially and is not bundled in this template. Your cost is the dedicated Cloud VPS, whose bandwidth and IP address the downloads use.

How do I self-host a Cobalt instance?

Deploy this template. It runs the official Cobalt 11.7.1 image pinned by digest as one container, behind HTTPS on your domain, ready in about 30 seconds. It is Cobalt Docker hosting without a compose file; then add your instance URL under Settings, Instances in the Cobalt web app.

Does self-hosted Cobalt include the web interface?

No. The template ships the processing API only. Opening the address in a browser shows a short JSON description of the instance. Upstream publishes no image for the web app and its licence is non-commercial, so you use the hosted web app with a custom instance or call the API directly.

Does Cobalt store the media I download?

No. Upstream says Cobalt never caches content and works like a fancy proxy. In this template nothing is stored on disk: tunnel information lives in memory for 90 seconds and downloads stream straight through the server, which is why there is no volume to back up.

How do I protect a public Cobalt instance from abuse?

It is open by default, so anyone who knows the address can use your bandwidth and IP. Requests are limited to 20 per minute per visitor. To restrict it, set API_AUTH_REQUIRED with API_KEY_URL, or the three Cloudflare Turnstile settings. Basic Auth at the proxy does not suit Cobalt clients.

How much RAM does a Cobalt cloud server need?

The manifest asks for 256 MB of RAM, 1 CPU core and 2 GB of disk. The 6 GB Cloud VPS sold on this page is far above that. What grows with use is bandwidth and request volume rather than disk, since nothing is stored.

Can Cobalt use cookies for sites that need a login?

Upstream supports a COOKIE_PATH setting, but it needs a writable location and the container filesystem is read-only, so you would have to add a mount yourself. The template does not set this up, and it is not covered by the page's default configuration.

How do I update Cobalt?

Updates are deliberate. The template pins ghcr.io/imputnet/cobalt 11.7.1 by digest, and upstream tags no GitHub release, so the version is the one in api/package.json. To move on, read the upstream changes, then change the tag and digest together and test a download.

What happens to download links if I change the domain?

API_URL is filled in from the site's domain and written into every download link, so do not edit it by hand. You can change the domain from the Domain page, but links already issued stop working when you do, so change it when no downloads are in flight.

Is there any volume or backup to worry about?

No. The template declares no persistent volume, so there is nothing to back up. Your configuration is the optional settings in the Environment editor, such as keys and rate limits, so note those down. Redeploying recreates the container from the pinned image.

Can I use Cobalt for any content?

Upstream says Cobalt can only download free, publicly accessible content and is not a piracy tool; it takes zero liability and the end user is responsible. Check that hosting a download service is allowed by your provider's terms and the rules of the sites it fetches from.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.