Configure Softaculous in WHM: admin settings, updates and disabled scripts

After installing Softaculous on your cPanel & WHM server, the admin panel in WHM controls what your users see: which apps are offered, how updates work, where backups go and which emails users receive. This guide walks through the settings worth changing on a new server.

Before you start

• Root access to WHM at https://server-hostname:2087.
• Open WHM → Plugins → Softaculous - Instant Installs. All settings below are in its left-hand menu.

General settings

1. Open Settings → General Settings.
2. Useful options:
   • Title and Default Language shown to users.
   • Default Theme of the Softaculous interface.
   • Show Ratings / Reviews / Demos: turn off if you want a cleaner interface.
   • Disable Email for installations and From Email address used for notices. Use an address on a domain with valid SPF and DKIM.
   • Enable automatic upgrades by default and Auto Upgrade plugins/themes defaults for new WordPress installs.
3. Click Edit Settings to save.

Updates

• Settings → Updates: choose how Softaculous itself updates (Stable recommended) and whether app scripts update automatically. Enabling script updates keeps new versions available to users for one-click upgrades.
• Updates page: shows pending updates; run them manually if automatic updates are off.
• Auto Upgrade settings: decide whether Softaculous may upgrade user installations automatically when the user enabled it. Keeping this on reduces hacked sites on your server.

Disable or hide apps

1. Open Disable Scripts.
2. Untick apps you do not want offered, such as outdated or resource-heavy ones, and save.
3. Use Script Requirement Checks to confirm PHP and MySQL versions meet each app's needs.

Backups

• Settings → Backup Settings (or Backups): set the default backup directory, maximum backups per user and whether users may add remote backup locations.
• Keep user backups modest: they count toward account quotas. Server-wide protection should come from a proper backup system such as JetBackup.

Email templates

Open Email Templates to edit the messages users receive after installs, upgrades, backups and auto-upgrades. Add your brand name and support link, and keep the placeholders intact.

Limits for resellers and packages

• Feature access: in WHM → Packages → Feature Manager, include or exclude Softaculous per feature list. See WHM Feature Manager.
• Resellers can apply their own branding where your licence allows it; see the Softaculous Reseller Settings in the admin panel.

Troubleshooting

• Users see outdated versions: script updates are disabled; run Updates.
• Install emails go to spam: set a proper From address and check the server's mail authentication.
• Auto-upgrades not running: check that the Softaculous cron job exists in root's crontab (crontab -l).

Next steps

• Install Softaculous on WHM
• How users configure auto-upgrades
• How users back up apps