Creating your first admin account

Creating your first admin account

What you'll learn: how to create the very first login for your panel — your admin account.

The first admin account is special: it can do everything in the panel, including creating other admins, resellers, and hosting customers later. You'll only do this step once.

Before you start

You'll need:

Step 1 — Log in to your server

From your computer's terminal:

ssh root@your-server-ip

Step 2 — Run the admin creation command

Paste this command, replacing admin with the username you want:

maxpanelctl admin create --username admin

You'll be asked for a password. Type it and press Enter — you won't see it as you type, that's normal for security. Type it again to confirm.

Pick a strong password (at least 12 characters, mix letters/numbers/symbols). This account can do everything in your panel, so it's worth protecting well.

You can also add your email address upfront, which is recommended:

maxpanelctl admin create --username admin --email you@yourbusiness.com

When you see a confirmation message, your account is ready.

Step 3 — Log in to the panel

Open your panel in a browser:

https://panel.yourbusiness.com

Enter your username and the password you just set, and click Log in.

🎉 You're in.

A few good habits for your admin account

  • Use a password manager. This account is the keys to the kingdom — don't reuse a password you use elsewhere.
  • Turn on two-factor authentication as soon as you're in. Look in your account settings for the option.
  • Don't share your login. If someone else needs access, create them their own admin account instead.

If something goes wrong

  • "command not found: maxpanelctl" — the install didn't complete. Run the install command from Installing MaxPanel on your server again.
  • "username already exists" — pick a different username, or skip ahead and just log in with the one that already exists.
  • "password too short" — passwords must be at least 12 characters. Pick a longer one.

What's next?

Take a quick tour of your new dashboard.

→ Logging in and a tour of the dashboard

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Need help? Contact support.