Install VorqulPanel on a Linux server

Requirements

Part 1 - Prepare the server

A clean server is a genuine requirement, not a recommendation. The panel manages nginx, Apache, BIND9, Postfix, Dovecot, MariaDB and nftables, and it is far easier on a machine where it installed them itself.

1. Step 01

   Start from a supported distribution

   Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04 or newer, or AlmaLinux 9, freshly provisioned, with root access over SSH.

   Installing onto a server that already runs someone else's web stack is possible - the panel can adopt existing vhosts and reads their config without rewriting it until you explicitly allow a takeover - but it is not the install to do first.

2. Step 02

   Install Java 17 or newer

   The panel is a single-file Java application and needs a JRE of 17 or above. Confirm the version before going further.

   java -version

3. Step 03

   Sort out SSH access before the firewall exists

   Know which port your SSH daemon listens on, and make sure you can get back in. The firewall comes later and it will need an explicit rule for it.

   Non-standard SSH port plus a default firewall rule set is the classic way to lock yourself out of a fresh panel install.

Part 2 - Install the panel

The archive contains a thin JAR, a lib directory and a helper script. There is nothing to compile.

1. Step 04

   Unpack the release

   Put the JAR and its lib directory somewhere permanent. The helper script expects them to stay together.

   Test access is provided by email, and the archive comes with the exact commands for the version you were sent. The steps here describe what those commands do rather than replacing them.

2. Step 05

   Run the helper script as root

   It creates the dedicated service user, registers the systemd unit, opens the panel port and starts the service.

   Watch the output. The installer prints the port the panel is listening on and how to reach it for the first time - that line is the one you need.

3. Step 06

   Confirm the service is up

   The panel runs as a hardened systemd service. Check that it started, and read the journal if it did not.

   systemctl status vorqulpanel
   journalctl -u vorqulpanel -n 50 --no-pager

   If package installs fail during setup, the usual cause is RestrictSUIDSGID=yes in the unit breaking post-install scripts.

4. Step 07

   Open the panel port

   The firewall needs an explicit rule for the panel port and for SSH on whatever port you actually use.

   Once the panel is reachable, its nftables interface takes over firewall management, and rules added by hand are visible there rather than lost.

Part 3 - First setup in the web interface

From here everything happens in the browser.

1. Step 08

   Create the administrator account

   Open the panel on the port the installer printed and create the first account. Do this immediately - a freshly installed panel waiting for its first account is not something to leave sitting on a public IP.

2. Step 09

   Add your first domain

   Point an A record at the server first, then add the domain in the panel and let it create the vhost.

   Certificates come from acme.sh or certbot and both need the DNS record resolving before they will issue. If the record was only just changed, wait for propagation rather than retrying in a loop.

   A certificate issued but the site still serving plain HTTP usually means an adopted vhost that has not had its takeover confirmed yet.

3. Step 10

   Run the config test

   Every Apply runs the web server config test with automatic rollback. Run it once deliberately, so you have seen what a passing result looks like.

   That rollback is the reason a bad vhost does not take the whole server down: the panel tests the new configuration before reloading and puts the old one back if the test fails.

4. Step 11

   Enable only the subsystems you need

   DNS, mail, databases, SFTP and monitoring are separate. A panel used only for web hosting does not need BIND9 or Postfix installed at all.

   • Web hosting - nginx and Apache vhosts, PHP-FPM version selection
   • DNS - BIND9 zones, validated with named-checkzone before reload
   • Mail - Postfix, Dovecot and Roundcube
   • Databases - MariaDB with Adminer behind panel authentication
   • SFTP - built-in, one account scoped to one directory
   • Monitoring - CPU, memory, disk, network, 30 days of history
5. Step 12

   Set up backups before you need them

   Database dumps have scheduling and retention. Configure them on the first day rather than after the first incident.

Troubleshooting

The failures that actually happen, and what causes them.

Questions about installing

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Reviewed 2026-09-19