How to Set Up a Free Oracle Cloud VM for Web Development

1. Register an OCI account

Go to the Oracle Cloud website and click Sign Up.

• Enter your name, email, and country.
• Verify your email, then set a password.
• Choose a Home Region (pick one close to you for lower latency).

Oracle requires a valid card for identity verification. You will not be charged while you stay inside the Always Free tier.

2. Create an instance and pick the free shape

In the Cloud Portal, open Instances → Create Instance.

• Give the instance a name.
• Pick a placement that supports Ampere (ARM) processors. Free shapes only appear on ARM — the default x86 shapes are not part of Always Free.
• Select the free shape (e.g. VM.Standard.A1.Flex) and, if offered, configure OCPUs/RAM within the free allowance.

3. Configure OS, SSH key, and storage

Operating system

Choose an OS image such as Oracle Linux or Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a common choice for web development.

SSH access

Upload your public key (.pub) so you can log in securely. If you do not have a key pair yet, generate one:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "[email protected]"

Then upload the contents of ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub in the instance setup screen.

Storage

Oracle includes 200GB in the free tier. Set a custom boot volume size of 200GB to avoid running out of space later.

4. Launch the instance

Review all settings, then click Create. The instance appears in your instance list. Wait until its state changes to Running before you connect.

5. Connect over SSH

From the Cloud Portal, copy the instance's public IP address, then connect from your terminal:

ssh ubuntu@<server-public-ip>

If you chose Oracle Linux, replace ubuntu with opc. Confirm the host key when prompted.

6. Open ports 80 and 443

For web hosting you must allow HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Two main options:

Option A — ufw (simpler)

sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw enable

Option B — iptables with persistence

sudo apt install iptables-persistent
sudo netfilter-persistent save

You must also open the matching ports in the OCI Console security list (Ingress rules for 80 and 443). Both the OS firewall and the cloud security list must allow the traffic.

7. Get the most out of your free VM

• Dev playground: test installs and CLI workflows safely.
• Lightweight app hosting: run small services, bots, or APIs.
• Always free, no card expiry: stays active without the 1-year limits of other providers (as of April 2025).

This is the same setup the diyyourdata showcase runs on — a free Oracle Ampere VM, hardened, with a firewall, Nginx, and container services.