Reimage Your Server for AdminBolt Installation

Use our one-click installer to quickly set up AdminBolt on your Self-Managed VPS and Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS). This guide shows you how to clear your current server and deploy AdminBolt directly from your dashboard. Just keep in mind that this quick setup permanently deletes all current data on your server, so you should back up your files first or install it manually using SSH instead if you want to keep your existing server template.

System Requirements

Before deploying, ensure your server meets the following minimum hardware requirements. For a stable production deployment, we recommend using higher specifications than the minimum requirements.

How to Reimage Your Server for AdminBolt Installation

This guide walks you through installing and setting up AdminBolt using the Bluehost Portal.

1. Log in to your Bluehost Portal.
2. In the left-hand menu, click the Hosting tab.

   
    

3. Click the Manage button on the hosting package you want to reimage.

   
    

4. Click the Reimage button.

   
    

5. Select the Applications tab.

   
    

6. From the list, locate AdminBolt and click Select.

   
    

7. To confirm, type "reimage" and then click Proceed to start the process.

   
    

8. Wait a few minutes while the installation completes.

   
    

9. Once completed, you will see AdminBolt listed in the Server Image section.

   
    

Getting Started with AdminBolt Web Hosting Control Panel

AdminBolt is a modern web hosting control panel that helps you manage websites, databases, email accounts, DNS records, and SSL certificates through an intuitive visual interface. Follow this step-by-step guide to access your AdminBolt panel and set up your account for the first time.

Step 1: Access your AdminBolt Dashboard

After installation completes:

1. Log in to your Bluehost Portal.
2. In the left-hand menu, click the Hosting tab.

   
    

3. Look for the server you want to manage then click the View Details to see more options.

   
    

4. Click the Reset Password.

   
    

5. In the pop-up window, type your new root password, then click Reset Password again to confirm and save the changes.

   
    

6. Connect to your VPS via SSH.
   Use your VPS IP and credentials with an SSH client, follow the prompts, and enter your root password when asked:
   Replace your_server_ip with your actual server IP address.

   ssh root@your_server_ip

   Example Output:

   ********************************************************************************
   
     AdminBolt Hosting Control Panel
   
     The firewalld firewall is enabled.
     All ports are BLOCKED except:
       22  (SSH), 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), 8443 (AdminBolt Panel)
       25/465/587 (Mail), 110/143/993/995 (IMAP/POP3), 53 (DNS), 21 (FTP Control), 20 (FTP data), 49152-65535 (FTP Passive)
   
     Panel access:
       https://your-server-ip.myboltip.com:8443          (AdminBolt Admin Panel)
       https://your-server-ip.myboltip.com:8443/client   (Client Panel)
       https://your-server-ip.myboltip.com:8443/webmail  (Roundcube Webmail)
       https://your-server-ip.myboltip.com:8443/phpmyadmin (phpMyAdmin)
   
     First-time setup:
       Username : admin
       The SSO login link expires after 5 minutes. Generate a fresh one:
         bolt-cli admin-sso-generate
   
     Common commands:
       systemctl status bolt-agent         # check panel status
       systemctl status httpd              # check Apache
       systemctl status mariadb            # check MariaDB
       systemctl status postfix dovecot    # check mail services
       journalctl -u bolt-agent -f         # live panel logs
       bolt-cli admin-sso-generate         # generate new login link
   
     Key directories:
       Panel logs    : /var/log/adminbolt/
       Apache logs   : /var/log/httpd/
       Mail logs     : /var/log/maillog
       Web root      : /home/<user>/public_html/
   
     For details please refer to /root/README.md
   
   ********************************************************************************
   To delete this message of the day: rm -rf $(readlink -f ${0})
   
   Welcome to AdminBolt!
   If you want to access the AdminBolt control panel, you can run the following command:
   
   bolt-cli admin-sso-generate

7. If you ever need to quickly review the system's deployment notes directly inside your server terminal, you can print out the original README file by running:
   Copy

   cat /root/README.md

Step 2: Retrieve Your Admin Login Link

To log in for the first time, you need to grab your unique Single Sign-On (SSO) login URL from your server.

Run the following command to view your initial admin credentials and login link:

Example Output:

[root@your-server-ip ~]# cat /root/.app_passwords
AdminBolt Admin Panel
=====================
Panel URL : https://your-server-ip.myboltip.com:8443
SSO Login : https://your-server-ip.myboltip.com:8443/admin/sso-login/hwrjakN9jwG4iTnbiHSZ8UMqwCbp22muExQJTnMCykkY2OLzxUemi0Sf3p7h

To generate a new login link at any time:
  bolt-cli admin-sso-generate

Step 3: Access the Panel in Your Browser

Because your fresh AdminBolt panel uses a temporary, self-signed certificate, your browser will flag it during your first visit.

1. From the output of the command above, look for the SSO Login URL. It will look something like this: https://your-server-ip:8443/admin/sso-login/{unique_token}
2. Copy that entire URL and paste it into your web browser.
3. Bypass the SSL Warning: Because the panel is freshly installed, it uses a temporary, self-signed SSL certificate. Your browser will show a warning ("Your connection is not private"). Click Advanced, and then click Proceed to [your IP] (unsafe).

   
    

4. Your AdminBolt dashboard will open.

   If prompted with the Force Password Change screen, choose a strong password (or click Generate Password), confirm it, and click Change Password.

   
    

   If you are not prompted with the Force Password Change screen, proceed directly to step 4 to set your permanent password.

Step 4: Set Your Permanent Password

1. Run the Admin Creation Command

   Execute the following command to update or overwrite your admin account password:

   Copy

   bolt-cli create-admin-account
2. Follow the On-Screen Prompts

   Enter your administrator username, email address, and your new secure password when prompted by the terminal. The system will activate your new password immediately.

   Example Output:

   Creating admin account...
    Enter name:
    > JC
    Enter username:
    > JC
    Enter password:
    >
   Admin account created successfully

Step 5: Access Your Panel in the Future

Now that you have configured your permanent password, you no longer need to use SSH to generate login links. You can access your panel directly at any time:

Navigate to your panel URL:

https://your-server-ip:8443

Enter your standard credentials:

1. Username: The username you created in Step 4.
2. Password: The permanent password you created in Step 4.

   
    

Verify Server Health (Optional but Recommended)

Before you start hosting websites, it's a good practice to ensure all backend engines are running smoothly. You can check them directly from your command line:

• Check the Admin panel backend:

  Copy

  systemctl status bolt-agent

• Check the Web Server (Apache):

  Copy

  systemctl status httpd

• Check the Database Server:

  Copy

  systemctl status mariadb

From this point forward, you can handle tasks like adding domains, installing Let's Encrypt SSL certificates, creating databases, and setting up email routing completely from the visual AdminBolt web interface.

Managing Your Server

You can manage your complete hosting ecosystem directly from the interface. Use the sidebar menu to:

• Manage Websites & Files: Create hosting accounts, configure multi-PHP versions, and upload files via the built-in file manager.
• Secure Your Sites: Issue one-click SSL certificates via Let's Encrypt or ZeroSSL.
• Handle Email: Create email mailboxes, access Roundcube webmail, and rely on built-in Rspamd spam filtering.
• Control Databases & DNS: Add MariaDB databases (managed via phpMyAdmin or Adminer) and configure DNS records via PowerDNS.

Additional Information and Example Documentation Output

You can run cat /root/README.md to see more information and useful commands:

[root@123456 ~]# cat /root/README.md
# AdminBolt

## Description

AdminBolt is a modern web hosting control panel that lets you manage websites, databases, email accounts, DNS records, and SSL certificates from a visual interface. It supports Apache-based hosting, one-click SSL via Let's Encrypt, multi-PHP version management, Roundcube webmail, and built-in spam filtering with Rspamd, providing a complete hosting environment without complex command-line setup.

## Services

| Service    | Description                                                                | Managed By |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- |
| bolt-agent | AdminBolt core backend engine (port 3030)                                  | systemd    |
| bolt-nginx | AdminBolt panel web server (port 8443)                                     | systemd    |
| bolt-php   | AdminBolt PHP engine                                                       | systemd    |
| httpd      | Apache web server for hosted websites (ports 80, 443)                      | systemd    |
| mariadb    | Database server                                                            | systemd    |
| postfix    | Outgoing mail server (ports 25, 465, 587)                                  | systemd    |
| dovecot    | Incoming mail server (ports 110, 143, 993, 995)                            | systemd    |
| pdns       | PowerDNS authoritative DNS server (port 53)                                | systemd    |
| rspamd     | Spam filtering service                                                     | systemd    |
| vsftpd     | FTP server (port 21)                                                       | systemd    |
| fail2ban   | Brute-force protection                                                     | systemd    |
| firewalld  | Firewall (allows 22, 80, 443, 8443, 21, 20, 49152-65535, 25, 465, 587, 53) | systemd    |

## Stack

| Component   | Details                             |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Web server  | Apache (httpd)                      |
| Database    | MariaDB                             |
| Mail        | Postfix + Dovecot                   |
| Spam filter | Rspamd                              |
| Webmail     | Roundcube                           |
| DNS         | PowerDNS                            |
| FTP         | vsftpd                              |
| SSL         | Let's Encrypt + ZeroSSL via acme.sh |
| Firewall    | firewalld                           |
| Panel       | AdminBolt (port 8443)               |

## Accessing AdminBolt

Retrieve your admin login link:

```bash
cat /root/.app_passwords
```

Copy the SSO Login URL and open it in your browser:

```
https://{server_ip}:8443/admin/sso-login/{token}
```

Your browser may show a certificate warning during first access because the panel initially uses a self-signed certificate. Click **Advanced** and continue to proceed.

After opening the SSO link:

1. Open your profile (top right)
2. Set a permanent password

After that, log in any time using:

```
https://{server_ip}:8443
```

Username:

```
admin
```

Password:

```
The password you set above
```

## Manage

From the admin panel you can:

- Create and manage hosting accounts and reseller accounts
- Add domains and configure DNS records
- Issue SSL certificates via Let's Encrypt
- Create and manage email accounts
- Manage databases via phpMyAdmin or Adminer
- Access webmail via Roundcube
- Monitor server metrics and services
- Manage files via the built-in file manager
- Configure PHP versions per hosting account
- Set up FTP accounts

## Useful Commands

```bash
# View admin credentials and login link
cat /root/.app_passwords

# Generate a new admin login link
bolt-cli admin-sso-generate

# Check panel status
systemctl status bolt-agent

# Check Apache
systemctl status httpd

# Check MariaDB
systemctl status mariadb

# Check mail services
systemctl status postfix dovecot

# Check DNS
systemctl status pdns

# Live panel logs
journalctl -u bolt-agent -f

# First boot log
journalctl -t adminbolt-firstboot -n 100 --no-pager
```

## Ports

| Port        | Service                          |
| ----------- | -------------------------------- |
| 22          | SSH                              |
| 80          | HTTP (Apache - hosted websites)  |
| 443         | HTTPS (Apache - hosted websites) |
| 8443        | AdminBolt panel (bolt-nginx)     |
| 21          | FTP (vsftpd)                     |
| 20          | FTP Active Data (vsftpd)         |
| 49152-65535 | FTP Passive Data (vsftpd)        |
| 25          | SMTP (Postfix)                   |
| 465         | SMTPS (Postfix)                  |
| 587         | SMTP Submission (Postfix)        |
| 110         | POP3 (Dovecot)                   |
| 143         | IMAP (Dovecot)                   |
| 993         | IMAPS (Dovecot)                  |
| 995         | POP3S (Dovecot)                  |
| 53          | DNS TCP/UDP (PowerDNS)           |

## Minimum Resources

| Resource | Minimum |
| -------- | ------- |
| vCPUs    | 2       |
| RAM      | 4 GB    |
| Disk     | 20 GB   |

## Links

- Manage: [https://{server_ip}:8443](https://{server_ip}:8443)
- AdminBolt documentation: [https://docs.adminbolt.com](https://docs.adminbolt.com)

Summary

You can now easily manage your websites, databases, and emails by installing the AdminBolt control panel using our one-click tool. This installation automatically configures the recommended operating system for you directly from your dashboard. Because this quick process completely wipes the server, please back up your data before you begin or choose a manual SSH installation to keep your current files.