cPanel Quick Start Guide

Preface:
To use cPanel, you must first create a cPanel account within the WHM (WebHost Manager) panel. However, accessing WHM requires the system’s root account. Since Ubuntu disables the root account by default, you need to log in to the server using the default administrator account first, and then follow the steps below to enable the root account.

1. Enabling the root user on Ubuntu 22.04

Run the following commands over SSH (logged in as your sudo user):

# 1. Set a password for the root account
sudo passwd root

# 2. Enable root login in SSH configuration
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Inside the file, find and edit these lines (or add them if missing):

PermitRootLogin yes
PasswordAuthentication yes

Then restart the SSH service:

sudo systemctl restart ssh

Now you can log in as root using the password you set:

ssh root@your-server-ip

Once logged in, you can access WHM via:

https://your-server-ip:2087

using:

Username: root
Password: <the same root password>

2. Accessing WHM and cPanel after installation

⚠️ You must log in to WHM first, since no cPanel accounts exist yet.

3. Initial WHM setup wizard steps

When you log in for the first time, WHM will guide you through these steps:

1. Accept license agreement
2. Add contact email (for alerts)
3. Set a hostname (e.g., server1.yourdomain.com)
4. Configure the main shared IP
5. Choose a DNS nameserver type (BIND recommended)
6. Save settings

4. Create your first cPanel account

Inside WHM:

Account Functions → Create a New Account

You’ll need:

• Domain name
• Username
• Password
• Contact email

Once created, log in to the cPanel user interface at:

https://yourdomain.com:2083

5. Activate your cPanel license

If you installed cPanel manually, it starts in Trial Mode (valid 15 days).
To activate your license:

1. Log in to WHM

2. Go to License Verification page, or run:

   /usr/local/cpanel/cpkeyclt

3. The system will fetch and activate the valid license.

6. Advanced Resources

For more information, please refer to the official cPanel website.