How To Install Webmin on Ubuntu/Debian

Michail

Introduction

Webmin is a web interface that allows you to configure servers through a graphical interface. All you need is a browser to access the host.

With Webmin you can:

• manage user accounts;
• update and configure the system;
• install, update, and remove software packages;
• view system logs and emails;
• configure the firewall;
• adjust disk quotas to control the space that other users use;
• create virtual hosts.

In this guide we will install latest Webmin version on Ubuntu (starting from 20.04 version) and Debian (starting from 11 version).

Prerequisites

During installation, you will need some additional tools and adjust firewall settings. In this case you will need vi (text editor) and UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall). Usually they are installed by default, but if necessary, you can install them manually.

To install ufw, run this command:

apt install ufw

Then enable it:

ufw enable

If you just installed UFW, port 22 (SSH) will not be allowed by default. To allow it, enter this command:

ufw allow 22

To install vi run the following command:

apt install vim

Please note. In this tutorial, we use vi as the text editor. However, on Debian, the default vi editor is a minimal version that lacks some advanced features, making it difficult to handle tasks like pasting text from external sources. For a more user-friendly experience, consider using nano.

Installation Guide

1. Update the system

First, you need to update your system. Run the following command:

apt update

apt upgrade

2. Download Webmin repository script.

To download Webmin repository script run this command:

curl -o setup-repos.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/webmin/webmin/master/setup-repos.sh; bash setup-repos.sh

Agree to the changes by typing y.

Then run the script:

bash setup-repos.sh

3. Install Webmin

Now you can install Webmin:

apt install --install-recommends webmin -y

After installation, you can check the status of Webmin:

systemctl status webmin

If everything is correct and Webmin is running, you should see the following:

At this point, Webmin should already be accessible via your web browser. You can check this by entering your server's hostname and port 10000:

http://your_hostname:10000

However, the connection will not be secured by default. If you want to access Webmin via https, follow the steps below.

4. Secure Webmin with Let's Encrypt

First, we need to enable port 80 (HTTP) to run Let's encrypt:

ufw allow 80/tcp

Then, install certbot:

apt install certbot -y

Now you can generate SSL. It can be generated for your default VPS hostname or the domain that is pointed to the server. Run the following command (change your_domain to your actual domain and write your email instead of [email protected]):

certbot certonly --standalone -d your_domain -m [email protected] --agree-tos

The output will indicate where the certificate and key are stored.

Successfully received certificate.
Certificate is saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/your_domain/fullchain.pem
Key is saved at: /etc/letsencrypt/live/your_domain/privkey.pem

Use these paths to merge the certificate and key into .pem file (in our example webmin.pem):

cat /etc/letsencrypt/live/your_domain/fullchain.pem /etc/letsencrypt/live/your_domain/privkey.pem > webmin.pem

Next, move this file to the Webmin directory:

mv webmin.pem /etc/webmin/

Open Webmin configuration file:

vi /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf

Inside the file, find "keyfile" and replace its value with the path to the webmin.pem:

keyfile=/etc/webmin/webmin.pem

Save the file and exit (press "Esc", then type :wq and click "Enter").

Restart the Webmin:

systemctl restart webmin

5. Adjust Firewall Rules

Now you need to set up some firewall rules. First, allow Webmin port, which is port 10000:

ufw allow 10000

Then allow https for secure connection:

ufw allow https

Deny http connection:

ufw deny http

Next, check all firewall rules with the following command:

ufw status

It should look something like this:

6. Test Webmin

Now you can try to access Webmin through HTTPS via your web browser:

https://your_hostname:10000

You should see the login page:

You can enter the credentials of your root user or any other user created on your server.

Once connected, you can start using Webmin:

Now, you can manage your server via Webmin!