# panelOwl

> panelOwl is a lightweight, self-hosted web hosting control panel for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS servers and a cPanel alternative. One flat price per server ($39.95/month, unlimited accounts). It manages domains, Let's Encrypt SSL, email (Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd, DKIM, Roundcube), DNS (PowerDNS, Cloudflare or a cPanel DNS cluster), MariaDB databases with phpMyAdmin, SFTP/SSH, cron, a file manager, nightly backups, per-account resource limits (cgroups), and imports cPanel accounts (cpmove) with mailbox, database and login passwords intact.

Key facts
- Platform: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS only. Installs standard Ubuntu packages (Apache, PHP-FPM, MariaDB, Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd, Let's Encrypt); every config file is rendered from templates and validated.
- Architecture: two unprivileged web apps (client panel on port 8443, admin UI on port 2087, modelled on cPanel/WHM vocabulary) and a root helper daemon that only performs named, allowlisted, audited actions. Panel pages are server-rendered with no JavaScript.
- Install: `curl -fsSL https://panelowl.com/install.sh | sudo bash` on a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 server.
- Updates: signed release feed (Ed25519), checked daily, installed only on confirmation.
- Licensing: $39.95 USD per month per server, unlimited hosting accounts, paid by Stripe or PayPal; the key is verified on the server itself; without a valid key only the creation of new accounts and domains stops (after a 7-day grace).
- Migration from cPanel: `panelctl import remote root@old.server USER` or import a cpmove/full backup file; keeps mailbox passwords, database user passwords and the account login password.

## Docs
- [Documentation home](https://panelowl.com/docs/): admin and client guides.
- [Installation guide](https://panelowl.com/docs/admin/install.html): requirements, DNS prerequisites, installer flags.
- [Operations guide](https://panelowl.com/docs/admin/operations.html): daily health, DNS, licence, backups, moving accounts from cPanel, troubleshooting.
- [Admin UI guide](https://panelowl.com/docs/admin/web-ui.html): the port-2087 interface.
- [panelctl reference](https://panelowl.com/docs/admin/panelctl.html): the admin command line.
- [Upgrades](https://panelowl.com/docs/admin/upgrade.html): release feed and update procedure.
- [Security model](https://panelowl.com/docs/admin/security.html): trust boundaries and what the helper allows.

## Comparisons
- [panelOwl vs cPanel](https://panelowl.com/vs-cpanel/): price, weight, stability, security model, migration, and where cPanel still fits better.

## Optional
- [Pricing](https://panelowl.com/#pricing)
- [Release feed](https://panelowl.com/releases/latest.json): the signed manifest of the current release.