Hetzner

Hetzner Cloud provides cost-effective virtual machines and storage in European and US data centres. It's an excellent choice for VM-based deployments where you need more control than managed platforms offer.

Authentication

Set your Hetzner Cloud API token as an environment variable:

export HCLOUD_TOKEN="your-token"

Generate a token at console.hetzner.cloud under your project's Security → API Tokens.

Virtual machines

Hetzner VMs (called "servers") offer excellent price-to-performance ratio for self-managed deployments.

Configuration

{
  "apps": [
    {
      "name": "api",
      "type": "golang",
      "path": "./apps/api",
      "infrastructure": {
        "provider": "hetzner",
        "type": "vm",
        "config": {
          "size": "cx22",
          "location": "nbg1",
          "image": "ubuntu-22.04"
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Server types

Hetzner offers shared (CX) and dedicated (CCX/CPX) CPU options:

Shared vCPU (CX series)

Type	vCPUs	Memory	Storage	Monthly cost
cx22	2	4GB	40GB	~€4
cx32	4	8GB	80GB	~€7
cx42	8	16GB	160GB	~€14
cx52	16	32GB	320GB	~€29

Dedicated vCPU (CCX series)

Type	vCPUs	Memory	Storage	Monthly cost
ccx13	2	8GB	80GB	~€13
ccx23	4	16GB	160GB	~€25
ccx33	8	32GB	240GB	~€50
ccx43	16	64GB	360GB	~€100

ARM64 (CAX series)

Type	vCPUs	Memory	Storage	Monthly cost
cax11	2	4GB	40GB	~€4
cax21	4	8GB	80GB	~€6
cax31	8	16GB	160GB	~€12
cax41	16	32GB	320GB	~€24

ARM servers offer excellent value for compatible workloads.

Locations

Code	Location	Region
nbg1	Nuremberg	Germany
fsn1	Falkenstein	Germany
hel1	Helsinki	Finland
ash	Ashburn	USA East
hil	Hillsboro	USA West

Images

Image	Description
ubuntu-22.04	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
ubuntu-24.04	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
debian-12	Debian 12 (Bookworm)
rocky-9	Rocky Linux 9
fedora-40	Fedora 40

SSH configuration

WebKit configures SSH access to Hetzner VMs. Ensure your SSH public key is available:

{
  "infrastructure": {
    "provider": "hetzner",
    "type": "vm",
    "config": {
      "ssh_keys": ["your-key-name"]
    }
  }
}

SSH keys are managed at the Hetzner project level.

Volumes

Hetzner Volumes provide additional block storage for your VMs.

Configuration

{
  "resources": [
    {
      "name": "data",
      "type": "volume",
      "provider": "hetzner",
      "config": {
        "size": 100,
        "location": "nbg1",
        "format": "ext4"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Volume sizes

Volumes range from 10GB to 10TB. Pricing is ~€0.05/GB/month.

Size	Monthly cost
10GB	~€0.50
50GB	~€2.50
100GB	~€5
500GB	~€25
1TB	~€50

Mount points

Volumes are automatically attached to the associated VM. Configure the mount point:

{
  "config": {
    "mount_point": "/data"
  }
}

WebKit configures the VM to mount the volume at boot.

Outputs

Output	Description
data.id	Volume ID
data.size	Volume size in GB
data.mount_point	Mount path on VM

Networking

Private networks

Enable private networking between VMs:

{
  "infrastructure": {
    "provider": "hetzner",
    "type": "vm",
    "config": {
      "network": {
        "enabled": true,
        "ip_range": "10.0.0.0/24"
      }
    }
  }
}

VMs in the same network can communicate over private IPs.

Firewalls

Configure firewall rules:

{
  "config": {
    "firewall": {
      "rules": [
        {
          "direction": "in",
          "protocol": "tcp",
          "port": "22",
          "source_ips": ["0.0.0.0/0"]
        },
        {
          "direction": "in",
          "protocol": "tcp",
          "port": "80",
          "source_ips": ["0.0.0.0/0"]
        },
        {
          "direction": "in",
          "protocol": "tcp",
          "port": "443",
          "source_ips": ["0.0.0.0/0"]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Deployment

Unlike managed platforms, Hetzner VMs require deployment configuration. WebKit generates:

• Ansible playbooks for initial setup
• GitHub Actions workflows for deployment
• Docker configuration for containerised apps

Ansible provisioning

WebKit generates Ansible playbooks to configure your VM:

• Install Docker and required packages
• Configure firewall rules
• Set up SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt)
• Deploy your application

Run provisioning:

webkit infra apply  # Creates VM
# Ansible runs automatically via GitHub Actions

Manual deployment

For manual deployments, SSH into your VM:

ssh root@your-vm-ip
cd /opt/app
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Example: Self-hosted application

A Go API deployed on Hetzner with attached storage:

{
  "project": {
    "name": "my-api",
    "title": "My API",
    "repo": "github.com/myorg/my-api"
  },
  "apps": [
    {
      "name": "api",
      "type": "golang",
      "path": "./apps/api",
      "build": {
        "dockerfile": true,
        "port": 8080
      },
      "infrastructure": {
        "provider": "hetzner",
        "type": "vm",
        "config": {
          "size": "cx22",
          "location": "nbg1",
          "image": "ubuntu-22.04"
        }
      },
      "domains": {
        "primary": "api.example.com"
      }
    }
  ],
  "resources": [
    {
      "name": "uploads",
      "type": "volume",
      "provider": "hetzner",
      "config": {
        "size": 50,
        "location": "nbg1",
        "mount_point": "/data/uploads"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Comparison with DigitalOcean

Feature	Hetzner	DigitalOcean
Managed apps	No	Yes (App Platform)
VM pricing	Lower	Higher
Managed DB	No	Yes
European locations	Excellent	Good
US locations	2	Many
ARM servers	Yes	No
Setup complexity	Higher	Lower

Choose Hetzner when:

• Cost is a priority
• You need ARM servers
• You're comfortable with VM management
• Your users are primarily in Europe

Choose DigitalOcean when:

• You want managed services
• Simplicity is important
• You need managed databases
• Your users are globally distributed

Further reading

• Hetzner Cloud documentation
• Server types
• Volumes documentation
• Pricing calculator