The short answer: CloudPanel is a free control panel, with no licence, built for PHP sites (WordPress included), Node.js and Python apps, and static sites. It installs on a clean VPS or Cloud server running Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12, with a single command over SSH, and opens in the browser at https://server-IP:8443. It has no mail server: mailboxes live with another service. And there is one thing you must not forget: the administrator is created by whoever opens the panel first, so open it straight after the install. The VPS is unmanaged: installing and maintaining the panel is your job.
What you need before you start
| Requirement |
What CloudPanel asks for |
On our VPS and Cloud servers |
| Operating system |
Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 or 26.04; Debian 12 or 13 |
Choose Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 when you order. Ubuntu 24.04 and Debian 13 are requested in a support ticket. |
| Server |
Empty, with just the operating system |
If the server already has another panel or sites, ask for a clean reinstall of the system in a support ticket. |
| Processor, memory, disk |
At least 1 core, 2 GB and 10 GB |
All of them, from VPS1 and Cloud1 (2 GB) up. |
| Access |
root over SSH |
Every VPS and Cloud server comes with root access. |
Installing, step by step
| 1 |
Log in to the server over SSH as root, with the server's IP and password (or key): ssh root@server-IP First time? See first steps with your VPS.
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| 2 |
Update the system and install the tools the installer uses: apt update && apt -y upgrade && apt -y install curl wget sudo
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Run the installer. The command downloads the script, checks its checksum and only installs if it matches: curl -sS https://installer.cloudpanel.io/ce/v2/install.sh -o install.sh; \
echo "8146dbe0a488e7088b04071b0c34d59aa0ab1fe9dcec382d395fd155c9e6c476 install.sh" | \
sha256sum -c && sudo DB_ENGINE=MYSQL_8.0 bash install.sh MYSQL_8.0 works on both Ubuntu 22.04 and Debian 12 (so does MARIADB_11.4). The checksum (the long number) changes with every new installer: copy the current command from cloudpanel.io/docs/v2/getting-started/other, under the tab for your system.
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Wait for the installer to finish, without closing the SSH session, and have your browser ready.
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Open the panel straight away at https://server-IP:8443. The browser warns that the certificate is self-signed: click Advanced and proceed. Create the administrator user with a strong password, kept in a password manager.
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Connecting your first domain, and SSL
| 1 |
Point the domain at the server: the domain's A record, and the www one, set to the server IP. Our VPS servers have no nameservers of their own; the route is in pointing a domain at your VPS.
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| 2 |
In CloudPanel, click Add Site and choose the type: WordPress, PHP, Node.js, Python, Static HTML or Reverse Proxy. Enter the domain; PHP asks for the PHP version, Node.js and Python ask for the version and the App Port.
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Upload the files by logging in over SSH as the Site User that CloudPanel created, not as root.
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Once the domain reaches the server, open SSL/TLS on the site, click Actions, New Let's Encrypt Certificate, enter the domains and click Create and Install. The site now opens over https.
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Whoever opens the panel first creates the administrator. Between the end of the install and your first visit there is a small window in which a bot can create the administrator before you do (CloudPanel's documentation warns about it). Only run the installer when you can open the panel right after, and, if you have a fixed IP, leave port 8443 open to that IP only in the firewall. If the panel no longer asks you to create the administrator when you open it, do not use the server: check who exists with clpctl user:list and, if there is a user that is not yours, ask for a clean reinstall in a support ticket and install again.
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No fixed IP? Protect port 8443 with a second password (Basic Auth) in front of the panel: in Admin Area, Security, Basic Auth, or over SSH with clpctl cloudpanel:enable:basic-auth --userName='a-name' --password='another-strong-password' And e-mail? CloudPanel leaves it out on purpose: use a separate e-mail service and point the domain's MX records at it. If you need mailboxes on the server itself, compare the panels in which panel to install on your VPS.
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Need a clean reinstall of the system, or another Ubuntu or Debian version, before installing CloudPanel? Ask us.
Open a support ticket
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