Here is how to install cPanel on AlmaLinux. Before anything else, one thing worth knowing: cPanel’s installer only runs on RHEL-based distributions, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, and CloudLinux. It will refuse to run on Ubuntu or Debian entirely, that is not a workaround situation, it is a hard requirement baked into the installer itself. If you want a control panel on Ubuntu or Debian, look at DirectAdmin or Plesk instead, both of those run on more than one distro family.
What you need
- A Hostner dedicated server running a fresh AlmaLinux install (no other control panel installed)
- Root access via SSH
- A cPanel license (a 15-day free trial is available, a paid license is required after that)
- A resolvable hostname pointed at your server’s IP
Step 1: Prepare the server
Log in via SSH as root, then set a proper hostname. cPanel needs a real fully qualified domain name, not just a plain hostname:
~ $ hostnamectl set-hostname server.yourdomain.com
Update the system before installing anything else, this avoids the installer running into outdated dependencies partway through, which is a common source of failed installs on servers that have sat unused for a while:
~ $ dnf -y update
Step 2: Install cPanel on AlmaLinux
Move into the /home directory and run the official installer:
~ $ cd /home ~ $ curl -o latest -L https://securedownloads.cpanel.net/latest ~ $ sh latest
This downloads the current cPanel & WHM release directly from cPanel’s own servers and starts the install. It compiles a large number of packages, so expect this step to take 30 to 60 minutes depending on your server’s hardware. Do not close the session or interrupt the script while it runs.
Step 3: Access WHM
Once the script finishes, it prints a confirmation message along with the WHM login address. Open your browser and go to:
~ $ https://your-server-ip:2087
Your browser will warn you about an untrusted certificate, since cPanel generates a self-signed one during install. That warning is expected on a fresh install. Click through it, then log in with your root credentials.
Step 4: Finish the setup wizard
WHM opens a setup wizard on first login. Accept the license agreement, add a contact email for security and outage alerts, and confirm your server’s networking details (hostname and main IP). From here, WHM is ready to create accounts and manage your server.
Keep in mind the free trial runs for 15 days. After that, cPanel requires a paid license to keep functioning, WHM will show you the exact pricing and renewal options from inside the interface once the trial period is active.
If it does not work
If the script exits early with an error about your operating system, double check you are actually running AlmaLinux and not Ubuntu or Debian, that is the single most common reason this installer fails outright. If the install hangs partway through with no visible progress for a long stretch, resist the urge to interrupt it, package compilation genuinely takes time and the installer does not always print continuous output during that phase. For the current list of supported distributions and versions, check cPanel’s official system requirements.
No ticket needed to get this running. A license and thirty minutes of patience, and WHM is yours to configure. Once you are in, the rest of your account and hosting setup happens entirely inside WHM, no more command line needed for day-to-day management.
See more guides in Docs, or check out Install DirectAdmin on Linux if your server runs Ubuntu or Debian instead.