HF PanelDocsv1.0.0

Uninstalling

Remove HF Panel and keep the websites running, delete the hosting accounts too, or wipe everything HF Panel added.

You can remove HF Panel in three ways: remove only the panel and keep every website running, delete the hosting accounts too, or remove absolutely everything. Run the commands on the server as root.

Command What it removes Websites, email, DNS
hf-panel uninstall the control panel, HF Mail and the panel's own services keep running
hf-panel uninstall --purge the panel and every hosting account with its data deleted
hf-panel uninstall --purge --packages as above, plus the server software HF Panel installed deleted
hf-panel delete everything HF Panel put on the server, and all data deleted

Warning: --purge and hf-panel delete delete every customer's websites, mailboxes and databases. This can't be undone. Copy your backups off the server first.

Remove only the panel

bash
sudo hf-panel uninstall

The uninstaller says how many accounts the server has and asks Continue? [y/N]. Then it:

  1. saves the panel's settings and database to /root/hostfog-uninstall-<date>.tar.gz (root only)
  2. stops and removes the panel, HF Mail, the panel's background services, scheduled jobs and web server sites
  3. reloads the web server, PHP and mail so everything carries on without the panel

What stays:

  • every website, database, mailbox and DNS zone, running as before; you manage them by hand from now on
  • the certificates websites and mail use (/etc/hostfog/ssl), the website settings (/etc/hostfog/sites) and Node.js apps (/etc/hostfog/node)
  • mailing lists and what people saved in webmail (/var/lib/hostfog-lists, /var/lib/hostfog-webmail)

Note: after a plain uninstall, normal certificates still renew, but wildcard certificates (*.domain) can no longer renew by themselves. MongoDB databases are no longer served; their data stays in PostgreSQL.

To install HF Panel again later, run the install command. Existing accounts are not re-imported automatically, so keep the saved .tar.gz file.

Delete the hosting accounts too

bash
sudo hf-panel uninstall --purge

Type DELETE EVERYTHING to confirm. Every hosting account is deleted with its website files, databases, mail, DNS zone, backups and Linux user. Then the panel is removed as above. The panel's settings and database are still saved to /root/hostfog-uninstall-<date>.tar.gz first.

Add --packages to remove the server software as well: Nginx, Apache, PHP, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Postfix, Dovecot, BIND and the others, with the package sources added under Software versions. --packages works only together with --purge, because websites can't run without their web server. Use it only on a server that runs nothing but HF Panel.

Remove everything

bash
sudo hf-panel delete

hf-panel delete removes everything HF Panel put on the server, and all data:

  • every hosting account: websites, databases, mailboxes, DNS zones and backups
  • all database files (MariaDB, PostgreSQL with the MongoDB databases, Redis), all mail, every SSL certificate and all logs
  • the server software (web, PHP, mail, database, DNS, FTP, fail2ban, certbot) and HF Panel's own tools
  • the package sources HF Panel added, the swap file made by Server health, and the firewall rules; only SSH stays open
  • earlier uninstall copies (/root/hostfog-uninstall-*.tar.gz)

Nothing is saved this time. It asks you to type DELETE EVERYTHING. Off-server backup copies in your own cloud storage are not touched. Use it only on a server that runs nothing but HF Panel.

Options

Option What it does
--purge also delete every hosting account and its data
--packages also remove the server software (needs --purge)
--yes don't ask Continue? (for scripts); --purge and hf-panel delete still need DELETE EVERYTHING
--help show the options

Remove one app instead

Apps installed with the App installer (WordPress and others) can each be removed from the customer's Control Panel under Websites › Apps, which deletes their files and database.