HF PanelDocsv1.0.0

Quick start

From a fresh server to your first live website with SSL and a mailbox, in eleven steps.

This guide takes you from a freshly installed server to a customer website that is live with HTTPS and email. It takes about 30 minutes, most of it waiting for the installer and for DNS. Each step links to the full page when you want more detail.

You need:

  • a fresh 64-bit server running Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 or 26.04 LTS, or Debian 12 or 13, with at least 1 GB of memory and 5 GB of free disk, and root access over SSH
  • a domain for the server itself, for example yourdomain.com
  • a licence key, or an email address for a free 14-day trial
  • the customer's domain, for example example.com

1. Point your domain at the server

At your domain's DNS provider, add A records pointing at the server's public IPv4 address for server., panel., reseller., files., db., api., webmail., mail., smtp., imap. and ftp.yourdomain.com.

You don't have to finish this before you install: the installer shows exactly which records are still missing, and each name gets its SSL certificate by itself once it points at the server. Full list: DNS setup.

2. Open the firewall ports at your provider

If your server provider has a cloud firewall or security group, open TCP ports 22, 80, 443, 8443 and 2087, plus 21 and 40000–40100 (FTP), 25, 465, 587, 993, 995 (email) and 53 TCP and UDP (DNS). The installer opens the same ports in the server's own firewall. See Ports.

3. Run the installer

Log in to the server over SSH as root (or run sudo -i), then run:

bash
cd /home && curl -o latest -L https://get.hostfog.io/latest && bash latest
  1. At Licence key, type your key, or T for a free 14-day trial.
  2. Enter your Domain (yourdomain.com), your Email and your Company name.
  3. Check the summary and the DNS list, then press Enter to start.
  4. When the steps finish, choose the username, email and password of the first administrator.

The installation takes 10–15 minutes. See Install.

Important: the summary shows the password of the admin mailbox admin@yourdomain.com once. It is also kept in /root/hostfog-mailboxes.txt. Sign in at https://webmail.yourdomain.com with the full address, or open it from Server Admin › Email › Server mailboxes.

4. Sign in to Server Admin

Open https://server.yourdomain.com:8443 and sign in with the admin login you just made. Remember the :8443: without it, the name opens your website.

5. Check the server's health

Open Server Admin › Server › Server health. Fix anything shown in yellow or red; many items have a one-click fix. Then set the reverse DNS (PTR) of the server's IP to mail.yourdomain.com in your server provider's control panel, so the server's email isn't marked as spam. See After installation.

6. Turn on two-factor sign-in

Open your username at the top right › Password & security and switch on two-factor login with an authenticator app. Keep the backup codes somewhere safe.

7. Check the packages

Open Server Admin › Accounts › Packages. A new server has three example packages, Starter, Business and Pro. Edit them, or click New package to make your own with disk space, domains, mailboxes, databases and a monthly price.

8. Create the customer's account

  1. Open Server Admin › Accounts › Accounts.
  2. In New account, enter the Username (3–16 lowercase letters and numbers), the Customer email and the Main domain (example.com).
  3. Choose the Package. Leave Password blank to generate one.
  4. Tick Email login details to the customer to send them a welcome email with everything they need.
  5. Click Create account.

The website, the DNS zone and the mail domain for example.com are set up straight away.

9. Point the customer's domain at the server

At the registrar of example.com, either:

  • change its nameservers to ns1.yourdomain.com and ns2.yourdomain.com, or
  • keep its DNS where it is and point its A record (and www) at the server's IP, plus its MX record at mail.yourdomain.com for email.

The customer's DNS setup page in the Control Panel lists the exact records and checks each one live.

10. Upload the website, or install WordPress

Use Log in next to the account to open the customer's Control Panel. Then either:

  • upload the site with Files › File Manager, SFTP or FTP into web/example.com/public_html, or
  • install WordPress or another app under Websites › Apps.

SSL: nothing to do. AutoSSL adds a free Let's Encrypt certificate within minutes of the domain pointing at the server, and renews it. Domains › SSL/TLS shows its status.

11. Create a mailbox

In the customer's Control Panel, open Email › Email accounts, enter the Address and a Password under New mailbox, and click Create. The mailbox works in HF Mail at https://webmail.yourdomain.com and in mail apps straight away. Phone & Outlook setup shows the settings for mail apps.

Your first website is live.

What next