KarnakPanel is a self-hosted web hosting control panel for Ubuntu. One install command, full mail/web/DNS stack, no license server, no lock-in. Unlimited domains, mailboxes, FTPS accounts and databases — free forever.
We need VPS owners, resellers & WordPress devs to break things before launch. Fresh Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 + root SSH is all you need. Early access, direct input, founder credit.
Modern Platform tools · Sky blue / dark theme · Ubuntu + OpenLiteSpeed stack
KarnakPanel is a self-hosted web hosting control panel for Ubuntu. One install command, full mail/web/DNS stack, no license server, no lock-in. Host unlimited websites with per-domain PHP pools, free SSL, maintenance mode, parked aliases and traffic stats — plus mail, files, databases, DNSSEC, apps, automation, backups and security, all in one sky-blue / dark UI.
All open source, no license fees. Every feature below ships in v1.0. No pro tier, no domain caps, no phone-home.
| KarnakPanel | cPanel | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free forever | $20–$80/mo |
| Web server | OpenLiteSpeed | Apache / paid LSWS |
| Accounts / domains | Unlimited | Metered / tiered |
Nine modules, one panel. This is the exact v1.0 scope — no hidden pro tier.
Unlimited addon domains, per-domain PHP 8.1/8.2/8.3 pools, free Let's Encrypt SSL, maintenance mode, parked (alias) domains, traffic stats.
Unlimited mailboxes, IMAP/SMTP, webmail (:8091), SpamAssassin + optional ClamAV antivirus, SPF/DKIM wizards, forwarders, catch-all, quotas enforced.
Browser file manager (edit, unzip, chmod), TLS-only FTP with sub-accounts, per-user isolation. Cleartext FTP refused.
MariaDB wizard, gated phpMyAdmin (:8092), per-user grants — least privilege by default.
Authoritative BIND9, inline DNSSEC signing with DS records shown. A / CNAME / MX / TXT / SPF / DKIM editor.
WordPress, phpBB, Vvveb — CLI-completed and tracked in panel. More apps after launch.
Cron with run history, supervised always-on daemons, watchdog auto-recovery, bandwidth auto-suspend with monthly reset.
Scheduled full backups + selective restore — single file, single mailbox, single database. Offsite target on roadmap.
2FA/TOTP, login-as support sessions, hashed API tokens, fail2ban (6 jails), firewall manager, notifications center, self-update with rollback.
Native Ubuntu packages + framework-free PHP panel with audited Bash backend. No Docker maze, no license server.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04 fresh | same |
| RAM | 2 GB | 4 GB+ (with ClamAV) |
| Disk | 20 GB SSD | 50 GB+ SSD |
| Access | root SSH | root SSH + key |
22 SSH · 25/587/465 mail · 53 DNS · 80/443 web · 143/993 IMAP · 21 FTPS · 8090 panel · 8091 webmail · 8092 phpMyAdmin. Everything else stays firewalled by default.
A panel runs as root, so we treat it like it. bcrypt + rate-limited logins, TOTP 2FA, CSRF everywhere, prepared statements, per-user isolation (FPM pools, chrooted FTP, DB grants), TLS-only data paths, hashed API tokens, self-update with snapshot + auto-rollback. Independently audited (see docs; pentest pending).
All 9 modules + reseller + API + unlimited domains, mailboxes, FTPS, databases. No license server. No phone-home. If you can run Ubuntu, you can run a hosting business for $0 in software costs.
v1.0 ships the spec above. Then — free updates forever.
Offsite backup target (S3/SFTP), rotation, one-click selective restore.
Email autoresponders, sieve filters, queue analytics, Roundcube SSO polish.
PHP 8.4 pool, 8.1 deprecation path, extension manager.
Nextcloud, Laravel, WooCommerce presets beyond WP/phpBB/Vvveb.
Stripe/PayPal webhooks + API for external invoicing (no built-in billing).
Clustering / multi-server (explicitly not in v1.0).