1Preparation
To avoid problems, read the whole guide before you start the installation.
No uninstaller. CWP cannot be removed once installed: removing it means reinstalling the server’s operating system.
Important notices
- Fresh OS only: install CWP on a clean, freshly installed operating system without any prior configuration or modifications.
- Static IP only: dynamic, sticky or internal IP addresses are not supported.
- Recommended hardware: for the best performance and stability, run CWP on a VPS or dedicated server from one of our official NOC partners.
2System requirements
1. Configure the hostname
The hostname must be a unique fully qualified domain name (FQDN) and must not be the same as any domain hosted on the server. If example.com is hosted on the server, use for example srv1.example.com:
hostnamectl set-hostname srv1.example.com
2. Configure the server IP addresses
Set up the primary and any additional IP addresses with their subnet mask and default gateway. If you do not have these details, ask your hosting or network provider. You will need:
- Static IP address
- Subnet mask
- Default gateway
3. Operating system
CWP needs a clean, minimal installation of a supported operating system.
| Operating system | Installation type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 8, 9 & 10 | Minimal / Boot | Recommended. The best overall choice for CWP. |
| CentOS 7 | Minimal | Most features, including the CWP Secure Kernel. |
| CentOS 8 & 9 Stream | Minimal / Boot | Stable with the custom CWP repositories. |
| Rocky Linux 8, 9 & 10 | Minimal / Boot | Compatible, some issues may occur; AlmaLinux is recommended. |
| Oracle Linux 7, 8 & 9 | Minimal / Boot | Supported; AlmaLinux remains the preferred choice. |
4. Hardware
- Minimum: 2 GB RAM on a 64-bit operating system.
- Recommended: 4 GB RAM or more, needed for features such as real-time antivirus scanning of e-mail.
Operating system downloads (optional)
If your provider does not offer a ready OS image, download the official ISO:
3Server update
The installer installs everything it needs by itself (EPEL, wget and the other tools) and on CentOS 7 it also moves the repositories to the vault. Updating the operating system first is recommended.
1. Update the system
AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS 8/9 Stream (EL8 / EL9 / EL10):
dnf -y update
CentOS 7: the CentOS 7 mirrors are closed, move the repositories to the vault first, then update with yum:
curl http://centos-webpanel.com/centos7_fix_repository|sh yum -y update
2. Reboot
Reboot so the server runs the latest kernel and all updates take effect.
reboot
4Installation
The installation takes about 3 minutes on AlmaLinux / Rocky Linux (EL8 / EL9 / EL10) and about 10 minutes on CentOS 7: the panel, Apache, PHP 8.3, MariaDB 10.11, phpMyAdmin and Roundcube are installed from ready-made packages. One installer for all supported systems, it detects the operating system. The full installation log is /var/log/cwp-install.log.
AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS Stream 8 / 9 and CentOS 7 (EL7, EL8, EL9, EL10)
cd /usr/local/src curl -Lo cwp-latest http://centos-webpanel.com/cwp-latest sh cwp-latest
EL9 and EL10 support PHP 7.4 and newer; older PHP versions were removed for security and performance.
The older per-system commands (cwp-el7-latest, cwp-el8-latest, cwp-el9-latest) still work and download the same installer.
Optional installer arguments
| Long | Short | Effect |
|---|---|---|
--restart yes |
-r yes |
Reboot automatically after a successful install |
--phpfpm 7.4,8.3 |
-p 7.4,8.3 |
Also install PHP-FPM versions, comma separated: PHP 5.6 to 8.5 on EL7 / EL8, PHP 7.4 to 8.5 on EL9 / EL10. Ready-made packages on EL7 – EL10, installed in seconds |
--phpcgi 7.4,8.1 |
-c 7.4,8.1 |
Also install PHP Selector (PHP-CGI) versions, comma separated: PHP 5.6 to 8.5 on EL7 / EL8, PHP 7.4 to 8.5 on EL9 / EL10. Ready-made packages on EL7 – EL10, installed in seconds |
--mariadb 10.11 |
-d 10.11 |
MariaDB version: 10.11 (default, LTS), 11.4 (EL8 / EL9 / EL10) or distro |
--softaculous yes |
-s yes |
Install the Softaculous script installer |
--modsecurity yes |
-m yes |
Install ModSecurity with the CWAF rules |
Short and long names can be combined, for example:
sh cwp-latest -r yes --phpfpm 8.3,8.4 --phpcgi 7.4,8.1 --softaculous yes --modsecurity yes
More versions can be added at any time from CWP admin → PHP-FPM Selector and PHP Selector.
PHP versions
Every website runs on the default PHP (the PHP Switcher version, PHP 8.3) unless another version is chosen for it. These versions can be added with --phpfpm and --phpcgi or later from the CWP admin panel; the installer always installs the newest release of each branch:
| PHP | Version | EL7 / EL8 | EL9 | EL10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | 5.6.40 * | yes | – | – |
| 7.0 | 7.0.33 * | yes | – | – |
| 7.1 | 7.1.33 * | yes | – | – |
| 7.2 | 7.2.34 * | yes | – | – |
| 7.3 | 7.3.33 * | yes | – | – |
| 7.4 | 7.4.33 * | yes | yes | yes |
| 8.0 | 8.0.30 * | yes | yes | yes |
| 8.1 | 8.1.34 * | yes | yes | yes |
| 8.2 | 8.2.35 | yes | yes | yes |
| 8.3 | 8.3.36 | yes | yes | yes |
| 8.4 | 8.4.27 | yes | yes | yes |
| 8.5 | 8.5.12 | yes | yes | yes |
* End-of-life PHP version: CWP builds it with a security backport (PHP2Shell, CVE-2026-109618 / 109619). Its version shows as X.Y.Zpl-cwpsec and is marked CWP security patch in the PHP Selector, PHP-FPM Selector and PHP Switcher.
All of these can also be installed later from the CWP admin panel.
Reboot
When the installer finishes, reboot the server so all services start correctly.
reboot
+CloudLinux (optional)
CloudLinux needs a valid CloudLinux license. Supported: CentOS, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, Oracle Linux and Red Hat 7/8/9.
wget https://repo.cloudlinux.com/cloudlinux/sources/cln/cldeploy sh cldeploy -k YOUR-KEY cd /usr/local/src/ wget https://dl1.centos-webpanel.com/files/c_scripts/cloudlinux.sh sh cloudlinux.sh
The CloudLinux installer reboots the server automatically. After the reboot, build and enable CageFS:
/usr/sbin/cagefsctl --init cagefsctl --enable-all
5Configuration
Log in to the CWP admin panel with the link shown at the end of the installation:
| URL | http://SERVER-IP:2030/ |
| Username | root |
| Password | your root password |
Essential first steps
- Root e-mail: set the administrator e-mail to receive system alerts.
- Hosting packages: create at least one package (or edit the default one) to set account limits.
- Shared IP: set the server’s public IP as the shared IP.
- Nameservers: configure your nameservers (e.g. ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com).
Ready to host. For detailed guides see the user documentation and the wiki, or ask on the forum.