Installing Plesk on your VPS, step by step

The short answer: Plesk installs with one command, as root, in around 15 minutes. Of the systems you can order, use AlmaLinux 8 or 9, Rocky Linux 8, Debian 12 or Ubuntu 22.04. Then you go to https://SERVER-IP:8443, paste the licence code, add the domain and install the free certificate in one click. The VPS is unmanaged: the panel is yours to look after.

What Plesk needs

Requirement	What Plesk says	On our VPS or Cloud
Operating system	Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, Debian 12 and 13, AlmaLinux 8, 9 and 10, Rocky Linux 8, among others.	Recommended: AlmaLinux 8 or 9, Rocky Linux 8, Debian 12 or Ubuntu 22.04. Ubuntu 24.04 is requested through a support ticket. Rocky Linux 9, Ubuntu 23.04 and Fedora are not on the list.
To avoid	Release 18.0.81 is the last one for Debian 11; Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 10 and CentOS 7 only with paid extended support.	Not advised: Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 10 and 11 and CentOS 7. Do not pick them for a new server.
Memory and disk	1 GB plus 1 GB of swap, and 20 GB, minimum.	Every plan is enough; for several sites, VPS2 or Cloud2 and up.
Licence	An activation code; without one, a 14-day trial with up to 3 domains.	Web Admin (up to 10 domains), Web Pro (up to 30) or Web Host (no limit), when you order or through a support ticket. First-line help is ours, through a support ticket, and we escalate to Plesk.

Installing, step by step

1	Start from a clean system, with no other panel (a reinstall is requested through a support ticket), and log in over SSH as root: first steps with your VPS.

2	Name the server, with an A record pointing at the VPS IP: hostnamectl set-hostname server.asuaempresa.ao Without a name that resolves, Plesk uses a temporary one ending in plesk.page.

3	On Debian only: Plesk asks you to disable AppArmor first: systemctl stop apparmor systemctl disable apparmor

4	Run the official installer, which puts in the latest stable release with the default components (others can be added later): sh <(curl https://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer \|\| wget -O - https://autoinstall.plesk.com/one-click-installer)

5	With a firewall, open port 8443 (the panel), 80 and 443 (the sites) and the mail ports.

First login to Plesk

1	Open https://SERVER-IP:8443 and log in as root, with the root password. According to the Plesk documentation, the server address without a port (https://SERVER-IP) may also open the panel.

2	Set the administrator's e-mail and password. From then on you log in as admin.

3	Paste the licence activation code, or carry on with the 14-day trial. Accept the agreement and press Enter Plesk. To have customers, use the Service Provider view (Web Pro and Web Host editions only).

The first domain and SSL

1	Under Websites & Domains, press Add Domain and follow the wizard.

2	Point the domain at the VPS IP, through the server's nameservers or with A records: pointing a domain at your VPS.

3	Install the free SSL once the domain opens on the server: on the domain, SSL/TLS Certificates, More options, Install, tick www and webmail, then Get it free. Also turn on Keep websites secured, to cover whatever you add later.

What goes wrong most: choosing a system off Plesk's list (Rocky Linux 9, Ubuntu 23.04), one of the ones not advised (Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 10 and 11, CentOS 7), forgetting AppArmor on Debian, or asking for the certificate before the domain points at the VPS: Let's Encrypt only issues it once the domain already answers from the server.

Torn between Plesk and cPanel? See what actually differs between panels and how cPanel is installed.

Need a Plesk licence on a server you already have, or a clean system reinstall? Ask us.

Open a support ticket

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