How to Install CloudPanel on a VPS?

Key highlights 

• Learn the OS and hardware requirements for running CloudPanel on Ubuntu and Debian. 

• Discover how to run the official checksum-verified installer with MySQL or MariaDB. 

• Configure firewall rules to secure port 8443 and protect your admin panel. 

• Explore the difference between CloudPanel’s 2 GB minimum spec and recommended production VPS sizing. 

• Understand why Bluehost NVMe VPS hosting provides the ideal performance foundation for CloudPanel. 

CloudPanel makes everyday VPS management easier by bringing websites, databases and application settings into one dashboard. You can handle common hosting tasks through its interface while keeping control of the server underneath. 

This guide covers the requirements, installation commands and security settings for an Ubuntu or Debian VPS. It also explains how to get CloudPanel preinstalled on Bluehost. 

What is CloudPanel and why install it on a VPS? 

CloudPanel is a free, lightweight control panel designed for managing web applications on Linux servers. Installing CloudPanel on a virtual private server gives system administrators full root control without high commercial licensing costs. 

CloudPanel uses NGINX for web serving and supports PHP-FPM and database services for web applications. It is an option for users who want to manage their hosting environment through a control panel without paying commercial control panel licensing fees. 

Using a pre-configured LEMP stack VPS hosting environment or lightweight control panel keeps your server fast. Deploying CloudPanel on a clean Linux instance lets you host fast websites while maintaining full server control. Before running the installation script, you must verify that your virtual server meets CloudPanel’s operating system and hardware requirements. 

What operating systems and minimum specs does CloudPanel require? 

CloudPanel requires a clean, freshly installed Linux operating system without pre-installed web servers or database packages. Running the installer on an existing web server causes package conflicts and installation failure. 

CloudPanel’s official minimum requirements are: 

• Processor: 1 64-bit CPU core 

• Memory: 2 GB RAM 

• Storage: 10 GB available disk space 

These are the minimum resources required to install and run CloudPanel. For Bluehost VPS deployments, we recommend starting with more capacity to support the operating system, database services and production workloads. 

For Bluehost, consider: 

• Processor: 2 vCPUs minimum; 4 vCPUs recommended 

• Memory: 2 GB RAM minimum; 8 GB DDR5 recommended 

• Storage: 20 GB minimum; 200 GB NVMe recommended 

This gives you more headroom for websites, databases and traffic growth while keeping CloudPanel responsive. 

Which Linux distributions and architectures are supported? 

CloudPanel supports specific 64-bit Linux distributions across x86_64 and ARM64 processor architectures: 

• Supported Ubuntu releases: Ubuntu 26.04 (Resolute Raccoon), Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble Numbat) and Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish) 

• Supported Debian releases: Debian 13 (Trixie) and Debian 12 (Bookworm) 

• Unsupported operating systems: Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 11, CentOS, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux 

The installer targets the releases above, so running it on an unsupported distribution such as Ubuntu 20.04 or AlmaLinux is not supported. 

What is the difference between minimum specs and production requirements? 

CloudPanel’s 2 GB RAM minimum requirement is strictly a floor for sandbox testing and light development. Running production sites, database servers and PHP workers on a 2 GB instance risks out-of-memory errors during traffic spikes. 

Review the CloudPanel system requirements guide to evaluate hardware allocation and database engine demands before provisioning server resources. For production workloads, choosing a self-managed NVMe VPS hosting plan with 4 GB RAM provides headroom for caching. 

Bluehost’s NVMe 4 plan (2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM and 100 GB NVMe) serves as an ideal starting point. Multi-site deployments or busy stores should scale to the NVMe 8 tier with 8 GB DDR5 RAM. After selecting your operating system and plan, you can prepare your server environment for installation. 

How do you prepare your VPS before installing CloudPanel? 

Preparing your Linux server ensures that package dependencies are up to date and required ports remain accessible. Complete these initial commands from your terminal before executing the main installer script. 

Step 1: Connect to your VPS as root 

Open your terminal or SSH client and establish an SSH connection using root credentials: 

ssh root@your_server_ip 

Root access is required because CloudPanel installs system services, configures NGINX and manages firewall rules. 

Step 2: Update system packages and install prerequisites 

Refresh package index files, upgrade existing software packages and install required command-line utilities: 

apt update && apt -y upgrade && apt -y install curl wget sudo ufw 

This single command ensures package repositories are fresh and installs curl, wget and sudo packages. 

Step 3: Configure initial firewall rules 

Ensure your firewall allows traffic on CloudPanel’s core network ports: 

ufw allow 22/tcp 
ufw allow 80/tcp 
ufw allow 443/tcp 
ufw allow from YOUR_ADMIN_IP to any port 8443 proto tcp 
ufw enable 

These rules open SSH port 22, web ports 80 and 443 and CloudPanel admin port 8443. With package utilities installed and ports open, you are ready to execute the official installer script. 

Step 4: Run the official CloudPanel installer script 

CloudPanel provides an automated installation script that sets up NGINX, PHP-FPM, Node.js, Python and database engines. Verifying script integrity prior to execution protects your server from corrupted downloads. 

While Docker container hosting isolates applications inside containers, CloudPanel configures native system services directly on your Linux instance. 

1. Download the installer script 

Retrieve the installation script from CloudPanel’s official repository using curl: 

curl -sS https://installer.cloudpanel.io/ce/v2/install.sh -o install.sh 

Saving the script locally allows you to inspect contents and verify its hash before execution. 

2. Verify the installer checksum for security 

Downloading scripts directly into bash without verification creates security risks. Cryptographic hash verification ensures that the downloaded file matches official release checksums exactly. 

Execute this command to verify the installer SHA256 hash: 

echo "8146dbe0a488e7088b04071b0c34d59aa0ab1fe9dcec382d395fd155c9e6c476 install.sh" | sha256sum -c 

The terminal must return install.sh: OK. If the checksum check fails, delete the file and inspect your network connection. 

3. Select and install your preferred database engine 

CloudPanel allows you to choose your database engine during installation using the DB_ENGINE variable. Selecting the right database engine depends on your web application requirements. 

Choose your database engine 

Select from these supported database parameters: 

• MySQL: DB_ENGINE=MYSQL_8.4 or DB_ENGINE=MYSQL_8.0 

• MariaDB: DB_ENGINE=MARIADB_12.3, MARIADB_11.8, MARIADB_11.4, MARIADB_10.11 or MARIADB_10.6 

Which engines are offered depends on your OS release and CloudPanel lists a separate installer command per release. Copy the command for your exact OS from CloudPanel’s installation page rather than assuming an engine is available. 

4. Run the installation command 

Execute the installer with your chosen database parameter using sudo: 

sudo DB_ENGINE=MYSQL_8.4 bash install.sh 

The automated script configures system services, creates database users and sets up PHP versions. When it finishes, open CloudPanel at https://your-server-ip:8443 to create the admin user. After installation completes, you must access the web panel to set up your administrator account. 

Step 5: Complete initial CloudPanel setup and secure port 8443 

Completing account setup immediately after installation prevents unauthorized access to your control panel. Securing port 8443 restricts administrative access exclusively to trusted network locations. 

1. Open CloudPanel in your web browser 

Navigate to https://yourIpAddress:8443 in your web browser, replacing yourIpAddress with your server IP. Because CloudPanel generates a self-signed SSL certificate, your browser displays a security warning. Accept the browser warning to proceed to the setup dashboard. 

2. Create your admin user account 

Fill out the administrator creation form immediately upon landing on the login page. Enter your admin user credentials, email address, timezone and master password. Creating this initial user account locks the setup wizard and secures the administration panel. 

3. Restrict port 8443 in your firewall 

Exposing port 8443 to the public internet leaves your admin panel vulnerable to brute-force attempts. Limit access to port 8443 by restricting incoming connections to your specific IP address: 

ufw delete allow 8443/tcp 
ufw allow from YOUR_ADMIN_IP to any port 8443 proto tcp 

Replace YOUR_ADMIN_IP with your own public IP address. CloudPanel warns that there is a short window after install where a bot could claim the admin account, so restrict 8443 before you install rather than after.  

If your home IP changes, CloudPanel’s security documentation covers enabling basic authentication on the panel instead of locking it to one address. Choosing a reliable server infrastructure ensures your CloudPanel instance remains fast and accessible. 

Why choose Bluehost VPS for hosting CloudPanel? 

Bluehost Self-Managed VPS combines full root access with AMD EPYC processors, DDR5 RAM and NVMe storage. You can choose the capacity that fits your websites and databases. 

Here are three plans to compare: 

Plan	vCPUs	DDR5 RAM	NVMe storage	Introductory price	Renewal price
NVMe 4	2	4 GB	100 GB	$9.49/mo	$11.99/mo
NVMe 8	4	8 GB	200 GB	$12.99/mo	$28.99/mo
NVMe 16	8	16 GB	450 GB	$25.99/mo	$49.99/mo

Prices shown in USD for a 24-month introductory term, paid upfront. Checked October 27, 2026. Prices and offers may change; applicable taxes and optional add-ons are extra. 

Our CloudPanel setup guide recommends 4 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM and 200 GB NVMe storage, matching NVMe 8. Use that as a reference and assess your application’s needs before choosing a plan. 

What do you get with Bluehost Self-Managed VPS? 

Along with the server resources you choose, Bluehost VPS includes features that support CloudPanel workloads: 

• Full root SSH access: Configure the operating system, install dependencies and manage CloudPanel directly. 

• NVMe storage: Support faster access to website files, databases and application data. 

• AMD EPYC and DDR5: Provide the compute and memory foundation for active websites and applications. 

• DDoS protection: Network-level filtering helps protect your VPS from volumetric attacks. 

• Unmetered bandwidth: Handle growing website traffic without a fixed monthly transfer allowance. 

• 99.99% uptime SLA: Run CloudPanel on infrastructure designed for consistent availability. 

Our CloudPanel setup guide recommends 4 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM and 200 GB NVMe storage, matching NVMe 8. Use this as a reference and assess your application requirements before choosing a plan. 

How do you get CloudPanel preinstalled? 

You can also select CloudPanel while configuring a new Bluehost Self-Managed VPS: 

1. Choose your VPS plan and data center location. 

2. Open the Software section in the server configurator. 

3. Select OS With Panel, then choose CloudPanel. 

4. Review your configuration and complete checkout. 

After provisioning, connect through SSH and retrieve your administrator credentials: 

cat /root/.app_passwords 

Open https://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8443 and sign in with the credentials shown. 

This option includes a pre-created administrator account. You can move directly to reviewing access settings and adding your sites.  

Final thoughts 

A successful CloudPanel setup starts with a clean server, the right resources and secure admin access. Once your server is running, regular updates and resource monitoring help keep your websites stable as traffic grows. 

If you want to skip the manual setup, you can deploy CloudPanel on a Bluehost VPS directly during checkout and start with a preconfigured environment. 

FAQs