← Back to Docs

Control Panel guide

Control Panel mode generates a setup.sh preflight script plus individual installer scripts for five popular web hosting panels. You run one setup script, then pick which panel to install.

Available panels

aaPanel

Lightweight, open-source panel popular in Asia. Supports Nginx, Apache, and OpenLiteSpeed. Easy to use, low resource usage.

Installer: installers/aapanel.sh

CyberPanel

Powered by OpenLiteSpeed. High-performance panel especially suited for WordPress. Includes LiteSpeed Cache integration.

Installer: installers/cyberpanel.sh

HestiaCP

Modern, actively maintained fork of VestaCP. Clean UI, stable, and feature-complete. Supports Nginx + Apache, multiple PHP versions, DNS, and email.

Installer: installers/hestiacp.sh

CloudPanel

Fast Nginx-only panel built for modern cloud VPS. Minimal overhead, supports PHP, Node.js, Python, and static sites.

Installer: installers/cloudpanel.sh

FastPanel

License required

Free hosting panel focused on quick VPS setup and daily operations. Simple UI for managing sites, databases, and backups.

FastPanel requires activating a free license before you can log in for the first time. See the note below.

Installer: installers/fastpanel.sh

What's in the generated package

your-project-deploy.zip
├── README.md                    ← Read this first
├── setup.sh                     ← Preflight script (run this first)
└── installers/
    ├── aapanel.sh
    ├── cyberpanel.sh
    ├── cloudpanel.sh
    ├── hestiacp.sh
    └── fastpanel.sh

setup.sh runs shared preflight tasks (system update, timezone, hostname). After that, run only the installer for the panel you want.

Installation steps

  1. 1

    Upload to a fresh VPS

    scp your-project-deploy.zip root@your-server-ip:~/
    ssh root@your-server-ip
    unzip your-project-deploy.zip

    Panel installers require root access. Use a fresh VPS; do not install on a server already running other software.

  2. 2

    Review and run the preflight script

    cat setup.sh
    chmod +x setup.sh
    sudo ./setup.sh
  3. 3

    Run your chosen panel installer

    # Example for aaPanel:
    chmod +x installers/aapanel.sh
    sudo ./installers/aapanel.sh
    
    # Or for HestiaCP:
    chmod +x installers/hestiacp.sh
    sudo ./installers/hestiacp.sh

    Only run one panel installer. Running multiple will conflict.

  4. 4

    Access your panel

    Each installer will print the panel URL and login credentials at the end of the install. Note them down immediately.

FastPanel: license activation

FastPanel requires you to activate a free license before the panel becomes accessible. After the installer finishes:

  1. Open the FastPanel URL shown after install (usually https://your-server-ip:8888).
  2. You'll be prompted to enter a license key.
  3. Create a free account at fastpanel.direct and get your free license key.
  4. Enter the key to activate, then log in.

Important notes

  • Panel installer scripts fetch and run remote scripts from official panel sources. This is normal behavior for all major panels, but means you should trust the panel's official distribution.
  • Panel installations require root access; the server user setting from the form is not used in panel mode.
  • Always take a VPS snapshot before installing a control panel; it is easier to roll back from a snapshot than to uninstall a panel.
  • Control panels manage Nginx/Apache configuration themselves; do not manually edit web server config after panel installation without going through the panel.