These steps install cPanel & WHM on a VPS or dedicated server. Start with a freshly installed, supported operating system: AlmaLinux 8, 9 or 10, CloudLinux 8 or 9, or Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS. cPanel no longer supports CentOS. For the latest list of supported systems, see cPanel's installation guide: https://docs.cpanel.net/installation-guide/install/
Before you start
- You'll need a cPanel licence for the server's IP address.
- Set the server's hostname to a fully qualified domain name, such as
server.yourdomain.co.nz. Don't use a domain you plan to host websites on. - You'll need root access over SSH.
Install cPanel
- Connect to your server over SSH as root, using a client such as PuTTY, Windows Terminal or macOS Terminal.
- Install
screen, so the installation keeps running if your connection drops:
AlmaLinux or CloudLinux:dnf install -y epel-release && dnf install -y screen
Ubuntu:apt install -y screen - Start a screen session:
screen - Download and run the installer:
cd /home && curl -o latest -L https://securedownloads.cpanel.net/latest && sh latest
The installation can take up to an hour, depending on the server. Leave it to finish without interrupting it.
If your SSH connection drops
Reconnect over SSH, then enter screen -r to return to the installation. If you have more than one screen session, enter screen -ls to list them, then screen -r followed by the session ID, for example screen -r 19501.pts-0.server.
After installation
Open https://your-server-ip:2087 in your browser and log in to WHM as root. Your browser may warn about the certificate on first login, which is expected. Then follow the setup wizard to finish configuring the server.
