Install Softaculous on a cPanel & WHM server (root)

On MdmHost shared and reseller hosting, Softaculous is already installed and licensed for you. If you run your own cPanel & WHM server (a VPS or dedicated server), you install it yourself as root. The installer is a single script; this guide covers the requirements, the install and the first checks.

Before you start

• A working cPanel & WHM installation with a valid cPanel licence. See install cPanel on AlmaLinux.
• A Softaculous licence for the server's main IP address, bought from Softaculous or a licence reseller. Without a licence only the free/limited edition runs.
• Root SSH access to the server.
• The ionCube Loader enabled for the PHP used by cPanel's internal PHP. On cPanel this is normally already present; if not, enable it in WHM → Tweak Settings → PHP → cPanel PHP loader (choose ioncube) and save.

Install Softaculous

1. Log in to the server as root over SSH.
2. Download and run the official installer:
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   wget -N https://files.softaculous.com/install.sh && chmod 755 install.sh && ./install.sh

3. Wait for the script to finish. It downloads the app scripts, registers the WHM and cPanel plugins and prints Congratulations, Softaculous was installed successfully.
4. If you bought a licence after installing, refresh it:
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   /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/php /usr/local/cpanel/whostmgr/docroot/cgi/softaculous/cli.php -l

Check the installation in WHM

1. Log in to WHM at https://server-hostname:2087.
2. Open WHM → Plugins → Softaculous - Instant Installs.
3. The dashboard shows the version, licence status and number of available scripts. If it reports the licence as invalid, check the IP and run the refresh command again.
4. Log in to any cPanel account and confirm Software → Softaculous Apps Installer appears.

Make Softaculous available to packages

If an account does not see Softaculous, the feature may be disabled for its package. Open WHM → Packages → Feature Manager, edit the feature list used by the package and tick Softaculous. See WHM Feature Manager.

Updating Softaculous

Softaculous updates itself and its scripts through a daily cron job it installs. You can also update from WHM → Plugins → Softaculous → Updates. Configure update behaviour in the admin settings; see Softaculous admin settings in WHM.

Troubleshooting

• "ionCube loader not installed": set the cPanel PHP loader to ionCube in Tweak Settings and re-run the installer.
• Licence invalid: the licence IP does not match the server's main IP, or outbound connections to Softaculous are blocked by the firewall.
• Plugin missing in WHM: run the installer again; it re-registers the plugin.

Next steps

• Configure Softaculous as admin
• How users install apps
• Create cPanel accounts in WHM