Why Do You Need 1Panel?

You might have experienced this:

You just bought a VPS and want to set up a website. You spend half an hour reading documentation — Nginx config, SSL certificates, Docker Compose, reverse proxies… you type a bunch of commands, and the site still returns 404.

Manually configuring every service is tedious. Most commercial panels (like aaPanel/BT Panel) limit features in their free tiers and charge for advanced functionality. 1Panel was built to solve exactly this problem — open-source, free, Docker-based, modern UI, full-featured without阉割.

1Panel Core Features

1Panel vs aaPanel (BT Panel) Comparison

Step 1: One-Command Installation

System Requirements

• OS: Ubuntu 20.04+ / Debian 11+ / CentOS 8+ / Rocky Linux 9+
• Memory: ≥ 1GB (2GB+ recommended)
• Disk: ≥ 10GB available space
• Privileges: root or sudo

Installation Command

# Use the official one-liner (recommended)
curl -sSL https://resource.fit2cloud.com/1panel/package/quick_start.sh -o quick_start.sh
sudo bash quick_start.sh install

During installation, you’ll be prompted to set the admin username and password — write them down securely:

=========================================
        1Panel Installation Complete
=========================================
Panel Address: http://YOUR_VPS_IP:38080/xK9mP2vL
Username: admin
Password: [randomly generated strong password]
=========================================

Note: On first login, change the default password immediately, and restrict port 38080 in the firewall to trusted IPs only.

Step 2: Initial Setup & Security Hardening

1. Change the Default Port

After logging in, go to Panel Settings → Security Settings, change the access port from 38080 to an uncommon port (e.g., 28080), and enable SSL.

2. Bind Domain + HTTPS

# Add a site in 1Panel
# Enter your domain, e.g., panel.yourdomain.com
# 1Panel will automatically provision a Let's Encrypt certificate

3. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

In Panel Settings → Security Settings, enable TOTP 2FA. Scan the QR code with Google Authenticator or Authy.

4. Configure IP Whitelist

Restrict panel access to specific IP ranges in Security Settings to prevent brute-force attacks.

Step 3: Deploy Your First Web Application

Let’s deploy WordPress as an example:

Method 1: One-Click from App Store

1. Go to App Store, search for “WordPress”
2. Click Install, fill in the database password
3. Wait for installation to complete, click “Access” to enter the WordPress setup wizard

Method 2: Custom Docker Compose Deployment

For highly customized scenarios, create a custom docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'
services:
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wp_user
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress
    volumes:
      - wp_data:/var/www/html
    depends_on:
      - db
  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT}
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
      MYSQL_USER: wp_user
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
volumes:
  wp_data:
  db_data:

Import into 1Panel’s Containers → Compose to start with one click.

Step 4: Reverse Proxy & HTTPS Configuration

Suppose you’ve deployed an internal app (e.g., Portainer on port 9000) via 1Panel, and now you want it accessible via portainer.yourdomain.com with HTTPS.

Set up reverse proxy in 1Panel:

1. Go to Websites → Reverse Proxy
2. Proxy name: portainer
3. Domain: portainer.yourdomain.com
4. Target: 127.0.0.1:9000
5. Enable HTTPS, select auto-provision certificate

Auto-generated Nginx config:

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name portainer.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/portainer.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/portainer.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Step 5: Database Management & Backup Strategy

GUI Database Management

1Panel includes phpMyAdmin (MySQL) and Adminer (PostgreSQL) — manage databases directly in your browser with no extra installation.

Automated Backup Configuration

Path: Database → Select DB → Backup Policy

Recommended backup strategy:

• Frequency: Daily at 3 AM automatic backup
• Retention: Keep last 7 backups
• Destination: Local + S3/B2 remote storage (via 1Panel’s file backup feature)

# Or manually trigger a backup
1panel toolbox backup --db all --target s3://your-bucket/backups/

Step 6: Monitoring & Alerting Setup

Enable System Monitoring

1Panel collects CPU, memory, disk, and network data by default. View real-time charts in the Monitoring page.

Configure Alert Rules

1. Go to Monitoring → Alert Rules
2. Add rules such as:
   • CPU usage > 90% for 5 minutes → Send Telegram alert
   • Disk usage > 85% → Send email alert
   • Memory usage > 95% → Send Discord webhook alert

Telegram Alert Configuration

In Alert Settings, fill in:

• Webhook URL: https://api.telegram.org/bot<BOT_TOKEN>/sendMessage
• Chat ID: Your Telegram group or channel ID

Cost Comparison: 1Panel vs Commercial Panels

For individuals or small teams managing 1–5 VPS instances, 1Panel is the only zero-cost full-featured option.

FAQ

Q: Is 1Panel or aaPanel better for beginners?

A: Both are beginner-friendly. However, 1Panel’s Docker-based architecture provides better app isolation — a crash won’t affect other services. aaPanel’s interface is more familiar to Chinese users with a richer plugin ecosystem. If you’re a Docker user, choose 1Panel; if you prefer traditional LAMP/LNMP, aaPanel has a faster learning curve.

Q: Does 1Panel support Windows?

A: Currently, 1Panel only supports Linux. Windows users can consider aaPanel Windows edition or XAMPP.

Q: How do I migrate from aaPanel to 1Panel?

A: 1Panel provides a data migration tool that supports importing websites, databases, and FTP accounts from aaPanel. Go to Toolbox → Data Migration → aaPanel Migration.

Q: Is 1Panel secure?

A: 1Panel’s source code is open-source and auditable. It uses Docker container isolation and doesn’t expose high-risk ports by default. Still, we recommend: ① Change the default port ② Enable HTTPS ③ Configure IP whitelist ④ Keep the panel updated.

Summary

1Panel turns VPS management from “CLI anxiety” into “visual operations” — one-click app deployment, graphical Nginx config, container management, real-time monitoring and alerts, all in a modern interface. Zero cost, open-source, containerized — it’s the management panel every VPS user should have.

If your VPS is still stuck in the command-line era, it’s time to try 1Panel.