A hosting account is the container for a client's websites, email, databases, and files. Each account maps to a Linux system user on the server. This guide walks through creating your first one.
Before You Start
- You must be logged in as admin in Server Mode
- You should have at least one package created, or use the default package
- The domain you're adding doesn't need to point at this server yet — you can create the account and set up DNS/SSL before the domain transfers
Steps
- In Server Mode, click Accounts in the sidebar
- Click New Account
- Fill in the form:
Username — the Linux system username. Must be lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores only. This becomes the directory name under /home/. Keep it short (8 characters or fewer works best for readability).
Main Domain — the primary domain for this account (e.g. example.com). This is the only top-level domain the account gets. Additional domains are added as subdomains. See Understanding Accounts for why Opterius uses this model.
Email — the account owner's email address. Used for password resets and notifications.
Password — the account password. This is used for the Opterius Panel login, FTP, and SSH (if enabled). Set a strong one.
Package — the resource package to assign. If you haven't created packages yet, there's a default. Packages define disk space, bandwidth limits, maximum email accounts, maximum databases, and maximum subdomains. See Account Quotas.
- Click Create Account
The panel sends a signed request to the Agent, which:
- Creates a Linux user (
useradd) - Sets up the home directory structure:
/home/{username}/{domain.com}/public_html/ - Creates a PHP-FPM pool for this account (isolated socket, runs as the account's user)
- Creates an Nginx vhost pointing to the document root
- Creates DNS records for the domain (A, MX, TXT/SPF)
- Reloads Nginx and the PHP-FPM service
This takes a few seconds. When it completes, you'll land on the account's detail page.
After Creating the Account
The account is ready. DNS records exist in PowerDNS on this server. To go live:
-
Point the domain's nameservers at your server's nameservers (e.g.,
ns1.yourdomain.comandns2.yourdomain.com). See Pointing Nameservers. -
Issue an SSL certificate — in Hosting Mode for this account, go to SSL → Issue Certificate. See Issuing Certificates.
-
Upload files or deploy a WordPress/Laravel application.
-
Create email accounts if needed — in Hosting Mode, go to Email → New Account.
Account Count Limits
The Free plan allows up to 5 hosting accounts per server. The Starter, Business, and Datacenter plans have no account limit. If you hit the Free plan limit, the Account creation button will be disabled and the Agent will block new account creation.
See Activating Your License to upgrade.