cPanel provides a set of command-line tools and scripts that help you manage hosting accounts, services, and system tasks.
Using these commands can save time when you need to work on the server directly or automate routine operations.
This guide covers the most useful cPanel and WHM commands you will need.
Prerequisites
Before you begin:
- Root or sudo access on the server
- Basic command-line skills
- cPanel & WHM installed
1. Account Management Commands
Use these scripts to create, suspend, or list accounts:
- Create a new account
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/createacct userdomain.com username password - Suspend an account
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/suspendacct username - Unsuspend an account
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/unsuspendacct username - List all accounts
whmapi1 listaccts
2. Service Management Commands
Restart or check status of key services:
- Restart Apache
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_httpd - Restart cPanel service
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_cpsrvd - Restart Exim (mail)
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_exim - Check service status with systemctl
systemctl status cpsrvd
3. System Update and Maintenance
Keep cPanel up to date and check system health:
- Update cPanel to the latest version
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp - Check for security updates
yum check-update - Apply all available updates
yum update -y
4. Email Management Commands
Manage email accounts and queues:
- List email accounts for a user
uapi --user=username Email list_pops - Remove an email account
uapi --user=username Email delete_pop email=user@domain.com - Check Exim mail queue
exim -bpc - Flush the mail queue
exim -qff
5. Database Management Commands
Work with MySQL and MariaDB:
- List all databases
mysql -e "SHOW DATABASES;" - Create a database
uapi --user=username Mysql create_database name=dbname - Backup all databases
mysqldump --all-databases > /root/all_databases.sql
6. DNS and Domain Commands
Handle DNS zones and domain settings:
- List DNS zones
whmapi1 listzones - Add a DNS record
whmapi1 addzonerecord zone=domain.com name=sub.domain.com type=A address=1.2.3.4 - Update user domains
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/updateuserdomains
7. Backup and Restore Commands
Control cPanel backups:
- Run a full backup for an account
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/pkgacct username - Restore a full backup
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restorepkg username
Conclusion
Mastering these common commands will help you manage cPanel servers more efficiently.
Always test scripts in a safe environment before using in production.
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