Softaculous Premium License

VestaCP very recently added Softaculous to its panel.  When I tried to set it up with a premium license a few weeks ago I had to go through a few hurdles – took me a few days to work through all of them, installation of ioncube being the most challenging. Following are the steps to follow in order to get a premium Softaculous License for a VPS.

Cost of the full Softaculous premium license is 12 US$ per year for a VPS.

Step 1 – Install Softaculous
I always install VestaCP with the advanced install settings that one can generate from the VestaCP Installation Page:
https://vestacp.com/install/

The Softaculous that is available is a free version of Softaculous that comes with the following free scripts:
https://www.softaculous.com/softaculous/scripts_in_free

If you already have VestaCP installed you can add Softaculous with the following command:

/usr/local/vesta/bin/v-add-vesta-softaculous

Or you can install Softaculous through the Vesta Control Panel:

  • Click on the Configure button next to your server hostname
  • Scroll to the bottom and click on Vesta Control Panel Plugins dropdown
  • Search for Softaculous in the dropdown menu, select yes and click on Save

You can now access Softaculous from the Apps link in the top menu bar of VestaCP.

Step 2 – Softaculous Admin Panel – click “Is VPS”
If you like to use Softaculous on a regular basis and are interested in a premium license the next step is to access the Admin Panel of your Softaculous from the Apps link.  The Admin Panel link is in the top right corner of the Window.  Then click on “General Settings” on the left hand menu and scroll down until you find an empty box against “Is VPS”. Tick and save the setting.  This is important as the Softaculous License for a VPS at 12 US$ is half that of a Server.

Step 3 – Install Ioncube
Install Ioncube on your VestaCP Panel.  Ioncube is not necessary for the free version of Softaculous, but for the premium version you won’t be able to access Softaculous if Ioncube is not loaded.  Setting Ioncube up is not easy as it needs a few prerequisites and wheels within wheels.  I battled a long while until I found a very simple one line command from the VestaCP Forum – all you do is add the following line in the command line:

/usr/local/vesta/ioncube/ioncube.sh

Step 4 – Set up Softaculous Account and Pay License
Click on Apps again to access Softaculous.  Navigate to Admin Panel and you will note in the “Software Settings” with the free license info a premium link.  When you click on the link it will guide you to either start an account if you don’t already have one, or to access your account and purchase the license.  All that is left after that is to refresh the license and you then have a license to use all of the scripts for a year.