Manage every DirectAdmin server from one place.
You run DirectAdmin on more than one box, so your day starts with logging in to port 2222 again and again. ctapanel connects to each server with a full-privilege login key and puts users, resellers, DNS zones, mail queues and Brute Force Monitor blocks in one list. Your DirectAdmin interface keeps working. A change you make here goes through the panel’s own API and shows up there too.
Why DirectAdmin management needs one screen
A DirectAdmin fleet grows one server at a time. First there is one box on port 2222, then four, then a reseller who wants space on the newest one. Each server has its own login, its own users and its own mail queue. Finding one customer means guessing which machine holds them. A blocked IP means opening Brute Force Monitor on each server in turn. None of this is hard. It is slow, and slow work is where mistakes creep in.
ctapanel reads every connected DirectAdmin server and puts the results side by side. You search users by domain or username across the fleet, then narrow the list by server or package. The screens keep DirectAdmin’s own words, so a user stays a user and a reseller stays a reseller. Creating a user, suspending one, fixing a DNS record or changing a PHP version goes through the panel’s own API. Log in to DirectAdmin afterwards and you see the same result. A change made by hand in DirectAdmin shows up in ctapanel on the next lap.
ctapanel sits on top of DirectAdmin and does not replace it. Your DirectAdmin licence stays yours, and the panel’s own interface keeps working. Some work stays with DirectAdmin or SSH. Node.js and Python run under systemd with no panel integration, so they count as partial. .NET is not managed on DirectAdmin at all. Backups can’t be taken on DirectAdmin servers yet, though one with the agent can store backups of your cPanel and Plesk servers. The browser terminal is built for inspection, so package installs and file editing still mean an SSH session.
Connect a DirectAdmin server in three steps
No root password is asked for. The connection uses DirectAdmin’s own port, 2222, and all you need is the server address and a login key.
- Step 1 / 3
Create a login key
In DirectAdmin, create a login key with full privileges. ctapanel does more than read. It creates users, resets passwords and manages mail, so a read-only key is not enough. Your root password is never needed.
- Step 2 / 3
Add the server
Enter the IP address, pick DirectAdmin as the panel type and keep port 2222. Test the connection before you save. The key is stored encrypted and never shown again, and the same IP and port cannot be added twice.
- Step 3 / 3
Let the agent do a lap
The new server opens in maintenance with every counter at zero. Once the agent reports its first reading, real numbers replace them and the lists of users, zones, queues and findings fill themselves in.
What you can do on DirectAdmin
Most rows in the capability table are managed from the panel on DirectAdmin. One row works over SSH without panel integration, and two are not possible. Here is where each one stands.
| Capability | On this panel | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts | ||
| Account and package management | yes | Managed from the panel |
| Reseller management | yes | Managed from the panel |
| Account transfer and import | yes | Remote DirectAdmin migrations connect on port 2222, so the other host does not need to open SSH for you. |
| Platform | ||
| DNS zone editor | yes | Managed from the panel |
| PHP version and settings | yes | Managed from the panel |
| Node.js and Python apps | partial | Node.js and Python run under systemd with no DirectAdmin integration, so they show as installable rather than installed. |
| .NET apps | no | DirectAdmin has no panel support for .NET. The screen says so and shows no action button. |
| Database management | yes | New databases need the DirectAdmin user prefix, and a name cannot be reused on the same server. |
| Mail queue and mailboxes | yes | Managed from the panel |
| SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks | yes | Managed from the panel |
| Security | ||
| Firewall rules | yes | Managed from the panel |
| Login protection thresholds | yes | The engine is DirectAdmin’s Brute Force Monitor. Unblock an IP and add it to the allow list in one step. |
| WAF (ModSecurity) state | yes | The WAF state reads ModSecurity with OWASP CRS, or Imunify360 where the imunify service runs. |
| Root access and SSH keys | yes | Managed from the panel |
| Operations | ||
| Service control (start/stop) | yes | Managed from the panel |
| Backup plans | no | Backups can’t be taken on DirectAdmin yet. A DirectAdmin server with the agent can still store backups of your cPanel and Plesk servers. |
| Terminal and command assistant | yes | Managed from the panel |
| Audit log | yes | Managed from the panel |
Managed from the panel Works over SSH, without panel integration Not possible on that panelCompare all panels
Screens that matter on DirectAdmin
- 01Details
Find any DirectAdmin user
Search users by domain or username across every server, then narrow by server or package. Click a row and disk, mailboxes, databases and SSL open in a side panel. Suspend several users at once. - 02Details
DirectAdmin resellers with real limits
Usage is counted from the reseller’s own users, so the figures cannot drift. A quota cannot go below current use. Suspend a reseller and their users follow; lift it and only those users come back. - 03Details
Migrate over port 2222
Pull accounts from a remote DirectAdmin on its own port, 2222. Each migration has a step plan with live progress, and a second one waits in the queue instead of slowing the first. - 04Details
DirectAdmin Brute Force Monitor
See attempts and blocked sources from Brute Force Monitor next to the other engines in your fleet. Unblock a locked-out customer and add their IP to the allow list in the same step. - 05Details
DirectAdmin Node.js, stated plainly
Node.js and Python work on DirectAdmin under systemd, with no panel integration. The runtime screen marks those servers installable rather than installed and names systemd as the manager, so you know what to promise a customer. - 06Details
Databases that follow DirectAdmin rules
New databases take the required user prefix, so the name you pick is one DirectAdmin accepts. See size, reclaimable space, slow queries and last backup, and type the name before anything is dropped.
Questions about DirectAdmin management
Q.01How do I manage multiple DirectAdmin servers from one place?
Connect each server to ctapanel with a full-privilege login key on port 2222. Users, resellers, DNS zones, mail queues and security findings from every server then sit in shared lists you can filter by server. The work still goes through DirectAdmin’s own API, so each panel stays in step with what you change.
Q.02Do I need to give ctapanel my DirectAdmin root password?
No. A root password is never asked for and never stored. DirectAdmin connects with a login key that has full privileges. The key is stored encrypted, is not shown again after you save it, and you can revoke it from DirectAdmin at any time. Removing a connection never touches your panel.
Q.03Can I run Node.js apps on DirectAdmin servers?
Yes, but without panel integration. On DirectAdmin, Node.js and Python run under systemd, so ctapanel marks those servers as installable rather than installed. The runtime works; DirectAdmin just does not manage it. The same list shows which other servers in your fleet do manage Node.js from the panel.
Q.04Does ctapanel replace DirectAdmin?
No. It works on top of DirectAdmin. Your licence stays yours and the DirectAdmin interface keeps working. Changes you make in ctapanel go through the panel’s API and appear in DirectAdmin, and changes made in DirectAdmin show up in ctapanel on the next lap. ctapanel is an independent product, not affiliated with DirectAdmin.
Q.05Can I migrate accounts from another DirectAdmin host?
Yes. Pick the remote panel method and ctapanel connects on the other server’s DirectAdmin port, 2222, so nobody has to open SSH for you. FTP, SSH and moves within your own fleet are the other methods. Each transfer shows its current step, speed and time left. If one stops, the log says why and you start it again.
Running another panel too?
Most fleets mix panels. Each one connects in its own way and supports a slightly different set of screens.
cPanel management
Manage multiple cPanel servers from one screen. Connect each WHM with an API token on port 2087, then run accounts, resellers, PHP, mail and security.
Read the pagePlesk management
Manage multiple Plesk servers from one panel: subscriptions, resellers, .NET apps, Fail2Ban jails, Plesk Firewall and mail queues, all with an admin key.
Read the pagePanel-less server management
Manage a VPS without cPanel. Connect bare Linux servers with an SSH key on port 22 and run systemd services, firewalld or ufw, PHP and SSH keys in one list.
Read the page
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