What the setup wizard does

The first time you log in to WHM on a new server, the wizard walks you through the basic settings the server needs:

• Accepting the cPanel licence agreement.
• The contact email address that receives alerts about failed services, disk space and security.
• The nameservers that new accounts use, and whether the server runs its own DNS.
• Some service choices, depending on the cPanel version.

If you build many servers automatically, clicking through the wizard each time is slow and easy to get wrong. Automating it is reasonable, as long as the same settings are applied on purpose.

How WHM decides to show the wizard

WHM checks for the marker file /etc/.whostmgrft. If the file is missing, the wizard runs. When the wizard finishes, WHM creates the file. Creating it yourself skips the wizard, but it does not set any values, which is why the steps below come first.

Step 1: set the hostname

hostnamectl set-hostname server1.example.com
hostname -f            # must print the full hostname

The hostname must be a fully qualified name with an A record pointing to the server. Set it before installing cPanel, as described in our cPanel install guide.

Step 2: set the contact email and nameservers

These values are stored in /etc/wwwacct.conf, one setting per line. Open the file on a server that was set up through the wizard to see the exact keys your cPanel version uses, then set the same keys in your build:

CONTACTEMAIL admin@example.com
NS ns1.example.com
NS2 ns2.example.com

Use your own email address and nameservers. If the server should not run DNS for its accounts, plan that in your build as well, and check the DNS role in WHM afterwards.

Step 3: mark the wizard as done

touch /etc/.whostmgrft

Run this only after Steps 1 and 2. The next WHM login then opens the home screen directly.

Step 4: check the result in WHM

• ✓ Server Configuration > Basic WebHost Manager Setup shows the contact email and nameservers you set.
• ✓ Server Contacts > Contact Manager sends a test notification to the contact address.
• ✓ The licence is active (/usr/local/cpanel/cpkeyclt refreshes it).
• ✓ Creating a test account works, and the account gets the right nameservers.

Bring the wizard back

If a server was set up wrongly, remove the marker file and log in to WHM again to run the wizard:

rm -f /etc/.whostmgrft

This shows the wizard again. Review every value it shows, because your previous settings may be replaced.

A safer automation pattern

1. Choose the database and other install options with the installer profile in /root/cpanel_profile/cpanel.config.
2. Install cPanel.
3. Apply the contact, nameserver and other settings with your configuration tool.
4. Create /etc/.whostmgrft.
5. Run automatic checks: hostname, licence, contact email, a test account and a test email.
6. Only then add the server to production.

To choose MariaDB or MySQL during the install, see our database selection guide.

Troubleshooting