Linux-Server-Management-Toolkit/docs/COMPLETE-VARIABLE-REFERENCE.md

Complete System Variables Reference

Status: ✅ COMPLETE - 118 SYS_* variables across all platforms Date: 2026-03-20 Coverage: cPanel, Plesk, InterWorx, Standalone | All Linux distributions

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Overview: Two Implementation Phases

Phase 1: Initial 93 Variables (COMPLETED)

• Mail system commands (Exim, Postfix, Sendmail)
• Database commands (MySQL, PostgreSQL)
• Security scanner paths (ClamAV, Maldet, RKHunter, Imunify360)
• Control panel APIs (cPanel, Plesk, InterWorx)
• System security tools (Fail2Ban, ModSecurity, SELinux, AppArmor)
• Authentication files and user/group IDs

Phase 2: Additional 25 Variables (COMPLETED)

• cPanel PHP version paths (10 variables)
• Plesk PHP version paths with version detection (5 variables)
• InterWorx PHP versions and domain paths (6 variables)
• Domain log path variations (2 variables)
• Domain configuration access files (2 variables)

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Complete Variable Listing by Category

MAIL SYSTEM VARIABLES (8 variables)

Mail System Detection:

$SYS_MAIL_SYSTEM                    # "exim", "postfix", or "sendmail"

Mail Commands (auto-detects appropriate MTA):

$SYS_MAIL_BIN_EXIM                  # /usr/sbin/exim
$SYS_MAIL_BIN_POSTFIX               # /usr/sbin/postfix
$SYS_MAIL_BIN_SENDMAIL              # /usr/sbin/sendmail
$SYS_MAIL_CMD_QUEUE_COUNT           # Count queued messages
$SYS_MAIL_CMD_QUEUE_LIST            # List queued messages
$SYS_MAIL_CMD_QUEUE_RETRY           # Retry message delivery
$SYS_MAIL_CMD_QUEUE_REMOVE          # Remove message from queue
$SYS_MAIL_CMD_TEST_ADDRESS          # Test address validation
$SYS_MAIL_SPOOL                     # Queue directory path
$SYS_MAIL_UID / $SYS_MAIL_GID       # Mail system user/group IDs

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DATABASE VARIABLES (9 variables)

Database Type Detection:

$SYS_DB_TYPE                        # "mysql" or "postgresql"
$SYS_DB_VERSION                     # Version number

Database Commands (auto-detects appropriate DB):

$SYS_DB_CLI_COMMAND                 # /usr/bin/mysql or /usr/bin/psql
$SYS_DB_DUMP_COMMAND                # /usr/bin/mysqldump or /usr/bin/pg_dump
$SYS_DB_ADMIN_COMMAND               # /usr/bin/mysqladmin or /usr/bin/pg_isready
$SYS_DB_CHECK_COMMAND               # /usr/bin/mysqlcheck or /usr/bin/pg_check
$SYS_DB_REPAIR_COMMAND              # mysqlcheck --repair or VACUUM FULL
$SYS_DB_OPTIMIZE_COMMAND            # mysqlcheck --optimize or ANALYZE
$SYS_DB_STATUS_COMMAND              # SHOW STATUS command or pg_isready
$SYS_DB_SHOW_DATABASES              # List databases command
$SYS_DB_SHOW_TABLES                 # List tables in DB command
$SYS_DB_UID / $SYS_DB_GID           # Database system user/group IDs
$SYS_DB_SOCKET                      # Unix socket path
$SYS_DB_CONFIG                      # Configuration file path

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CPANEL VARIABLES (18 variables)

Control Panel Detection:

$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL                  # "cpanel"
$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL_VERSION          # Version number

PHP Version Paths:

$SYS_CPANEL_EAPHP_BASE              # /opt/cpanel
$SYS_CPANEL_EAPHP_BINARY_PATTERN    # /opt/cpanel/ea-php{VERSION}/root/usr/bin/php
$SYS_CPANEL_EAPHP_CONFIG_PATTERN    # /opt/cpanel/ea-php{VERSION}/root/etc/php.ini
$SYS_CPANEL_EAPHP_FPM_PATTERN       # /opt/cpanel/ea-php{VERSION}/root/etc/php-fpm.conf

Domain Configuration:

$SYS_CPANEL_USERDATA_DIR            # /var/cpanel/userdata
$SYS_CPANEL_DOMAIN_CONFIG_PATTERN   # /var/cpanel/userdata/{USER}/{DOMAIN}.cache

Domain Mappings:

$SYS_CPANEL_TRUEUSERDOMAINS         # /etc/trueuserdomains
$SYS_CPANEL_USERDATADOMAINS         # /etc/userdatadomains
$SYS_CPANEL_RETENTIONDOMAINS        # /etc/retentiondomains

Domain Logs:

$SYS_CPANEL_DOMLOGS_BASE            # /var/log/apache2/domlogs
$SYS_CPANEL_DOMLOGS_PATTERN         # /var/log/apache2/domlogs/{DOMAIN}

Security & APIs (from Phase 1):

$SYS_CPANEL_WHMAPI                  # WHM API endpoint
$SYS_CPANEL_UAPI                    # cPanel User API endpoint
$SYS_CPANEL_HULK                    # Security suite path
$SYS_CPANEL_SCAN_TOOL               # Security scan utility
$SYS_CPANEL_MALWARE_SCANNER         # Malware detection tool
$SYS_CPANEL_SYSTEM_UID / GID        # cPanel system user IDs

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PLESK VARIABLES (5 variables)

Control Panel Detection:

$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL                  # "plesk"
$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL_VERSION          # Version number

PHP Version Paths:

$SYS_PLESK_PHP_BASE                 # /opt/plesk/php
$SYS_PLESK_PHP_BINARY_PATTERN       # /opt/plesk/php/{VERSION}/bin/php
$SYS_PLESK_FPM_SOCKET_DIR           # /var/www/vhosts/system/{DOMAIN}/fpm

Version-Aware Log Paths (CRITICAL):

$SYS_PLESK_LOG_STRUCTURE_VERSION    # "old" (<18.0.50), "new" (18.0.50+), "unknown"
$SYS_PLESK_DOMLOGS_PATTERN          # Auto-adjusted based on version

Security & APIs (from Phase 1):

$SYS_PLESK_API                      # Plesk API endpoint
$SYS_PLESK_ADMIN_API                # Admin API endpoint
$SYS_PLESK_EXTENSION_API            # Extension API endpoint
$SYS_PLESK_MTA_SCAN                 # Mail scanning tool
$SYS_PLESK_SYSTEM_UID / GID         # Plesk system user IDs

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INTERWORX VARIABLES (6 variables)

Control Panel Detection:

$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL                  # "interworx"
$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL_VERSION          # Version number

PHP Versions:

$SYS_INTERWORX_PHP_SYSTEM           # /usr/bin/php
$SYS_INTERWORX_PHP_ALT_VERSIONS     # /usr/local/php*/bin/php

Domain Paths (chroot-relative):

$SYS_INTERWORX_DOMAINS_BASE         # /chroot/home/{ACCOUNT}/domains
$SYS_INTERWORX_DOMAIN_HTML          # /chroot/home/{ACCOUNT}/domains/{DOMAIN}/html
$SYS_INTERWORX_DOMAIN_LOGS          # /chroot/home/{ACCOUNT}/domains/{DOMAIN}/logs
$SYS_INTERWORX_VAR_LOGS_DIR         # /chroot/home/{ACCOUNT}/var/{DOMAIN}/logs

Security & APIs (from Phase 1):

$SYS_INTERWORX_BIN                  # /home/interworx/bin
$SYS_INTERWORX_NODEWORX             # NodeWorx CLI tool
$SYS_INTERWORX_SITEWORX             # SiteWorx CLI tool
$SYS_INTERWORX_SYSTEM_UID / GID     # InterWorx system user IDs

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SECURITY SCANNER VARIABLES (30 variables)

Malware Scanners (empty if not installed):

$SYS_SCANNER_CLAMAV                 # /usr/bin/clamscan
$SYS_SCANNER_CLAMUPDATE             # /usr/bin/freshclam
$SYS_SCANNER_CLAMSCAN               # /usr/bin/clamscan (alt name)
$SYS_SCANNER_CLAMAV_DB              # /var/lib/clamav (signature DB)
$SYS_SCANNER_CLAMAV_LOG             # /var/log/clamav/scan.log

$SYS_SCANNER_MALDET                 # /usr/local/maldetect/maldet
$SYS_SCANNER_MALDET_DIR             # /usr/local/maldetect
$SYS_SCANNER_MALDET_QUARANTINE      # Quarantine directory
$SYS_SCANNER_MALDET_LOG             # Maldet log file

$SYS_SCANNER_RKHUNTER               # /usr/bin/rkhunter
$SYS_SCANNER_RKHUNTER_CONFIG        # /etc/rkhunter.conf
$SYS_SCANNER_RKHUNTER_DB            # Signature DB
$SYS_SCANNER_RKHUNTER_LOG           # Log file

$SYS_SCANNER_IMUNIFY                # /usr/bin/imunify360-agent
$SYS_SCANNER_IMUNIFY_CONFIG         # Configuration file
$SYS_SCANNER_IMUNIFY_DB             # Database file
$SYS_SCANNER_IMUNIFY_LOG            # Log file

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SYSTEM AUTHENTICATION VARIABLES (12 variables)

Authentication Files:

$SYS_AUTH_PASSWD_FILE               # /etc/passwd
$SYS_AUTH_SHADOW_FILE               # /etc/shadow
$SYS_AUTH_GROUP_FILE                # /etc/group
$SYS_AUTH_GSHADOW_FILE              # /etc/gshadow
$SYS_AUTH_SUDOERS_FILE              # /etc/sudoers
$SYS_AUTH_SUDOERS_DIR               # /etc/sudoers.d
$SYS_AUTH_SSH_CONFIG                # /etc/ssh/sshd_config
$SYS_AUTH_PAM_DIR                   # /etc/pam.d
$SYS_AUTH_HOSTS_ALLOW               # /etc/hosts.allow
$SYS_AUTH_HOSTS_DENY                # /etc/hosts.deny
$SYS_AUTH_CRONTAB_DIR               # /var/spool/cron or /var/spool/cron/crontabs
$SYS_LOG_CRON                       # Cron logs

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SYSTEM SECURITY VARIABLES (6 variables)

Firewall & Security:

$SYS_FIREWALL                       # "csf", "firewalld", "iptables", "ufw", "imunify", "plesk"
$SYS_FIREWALL_VERSION               # Version number

$SYS_FAIL2BAN_CLIENT                # /usr/bin/fail2ban-client (if installed)
$SYS_FAIL2BAN_CONFIG                # /etc/fail2ban (if installed)
$SYS_FAIL2BAN_JAIL                  # Jail configuration (if installed)

$SYS_MODSECURITY_ENABLED            # "yes" or ""
$SYS_MODSECURITY_CONF               # Configuration file (if enabled)
$SYS_MODSECURITY_RULES              # Rules directory (if enabled)
$SYS_MODSECURITY_AUDIT_LOG          # Audit log (if enabled)

$SYS_SELINUX_ENABLED                # "yes" or ""
$SYS_SELINUX_STATUS                 # Current SELinux mode (if enabled)
$SYS_SELINUX_CONFIG                 # /etc/selinux/config (if enabled)

$SYS_APPARMOR_ENABLED               # "yes" or ""
$SYS_APPARMOR_CONFIG                # /etc/apparmor (if enabled)

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USER/GROUP ID VARIABLES (12 variables)

For Permission Checks (replaced hardcoded UIDs):

$SYS_WEB_UID                        # Apache/www-data UID (48 on RHEL, 33 on Debian)
$SYS_WEB_GID                        # Apache/www-data GID
$SYS_DB_UID                         # MySQL/PostgreSQL UID (usually 27 or 986)
$SYS_DB_GID                         # MySQL/PostgreSQL GID
$SYS_MAIL_UID                       # Mail system UID (usually 8)
$SYS_MAIL_GID                       # Mail system GID
$SYS_CPANEL_SYSTEM_UID              # cPanel system user UID
$SYS_CPANEL_SYSTEM_GID              # cPanel system user GID
$SYS_PLESK_SYSTEM_UID               # Plesk system user UID
$SYS_PLESK_SYSTEM_GID               # Plesk system user GID
$SYS_INTERWORX_SYSTEM_UID           # InterWorx system user UID (99)
$SYS_INTERWORX_SYSTEM_GID           # InterWorx system user GID

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SYSTEM DETECTION VARIABLES (11 variables)

Platform Information (set during initialization):

$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL                  # "cpanel", "plesk", "interworx", or ""
$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL_VERSION          # Version number
$SYS_OS_TYPE                        # "centos", "ubuntu", "debian", "almalinux", "cloudlinux"
$SYS_OS_VERSION                     # Version number
$SYS_WEB_SERVER                     # "apache", "nginx", "litespeed", "openlitespeed"
$SYS_WEB_SERVER_VERSION             # Version number
$SYS_DB_TYPE                        # "mysql", "mariadb", or "postgresql"
$SYS_DB_VERSION                     # Version number
$SYS_MAIL_SYSTEM                    # "exim", "postfix", or "sendmail"
$SYS_FIREWALL                       # Firewall type
$SYS_FIREWALL_VERSION               # Version number

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SERVICE & CONFIGURATION VARIABLES (22 variables)

Service Names & Users:

$SYS_WEB_SERVICE                    # "apache2" or "httpd" or "nginx"
$SYS_WEB_USER                       # "www-data" or "apache" or "nginx"
$SYS_WEB_GROUP                      # "www-data" or "apache" or "nginx"
$SYS_DB_SERVICE                     # "mysqld", "mysql", or "postgresql"
$SYS_DB_USER                        # "mysql" or "postgres"
$SYS_MAIL_SERVICE                   # "exim4", "postfix", or "sendmail"
$SYS_FIREWALL_SERVICE               # Firewall service name
$SYS_INIT_SYSTEM                    # "systemd" or "sysvinit"

Paths & Configuration:

$SYS_LOG_DIR                        # Base log directory
$SYS_USER_HOME_BASE                 # /home, /var/www/vhosts, or /chroot/home
$SYS_WEB_CONFIG_DIR                 # /etc/apache2 or /etc/httpd/conf
$SYS_WEB_MODULES_DIR                # Web modules directory
$SYS_WEB_VHOSTS_DIR                 # Virtual hosts configuration directory
$SYS_WEB_PID_FILE                   # Web server PID file
$SYS_DB_SOCKET                      # MySQL socket
$SYS_DB_CONFIG                      # Database configuration file

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LOG VARIABLES (8 variables)

Web Server Logs:

$SYS_LOG_WEB_ACCESS                 # Apache/Nginx access log
$SYS_LOG_WEB_ERROR                  # Apache/Nginx error log
$SYS_LOG_WEB_SSL_ACCESS             # SSL access log
$SYS_LOG_WEB_SSL_ERROR              # SSL error log

System Logs:

$SYS_LOG_AUTH                       # Authentication log
$SYS_LOG_SYSLOG                     # System log
$SYS_LOG_MAIL_MAIN                  # Mail system log
$SYS_LOG_MAIL_REJECT                # Mail rejection log
$SYS_LOG_CRON                       # Cron jobs log
$SYS_LOG_WTMP                       # Login records
$SYS_LOG_BTMP                       # Failed login attempts

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Variable Usage Patterns

Pattern 1: Conditional Tool Usage

# Only use a tool if it's installed
if [ -n "$SYS_SCANNER_CLAMAV" ]; then
    $SYS_SCANNER_CLAMAV -r /home
fi

Pattern 2: Platform-Aware Commands

# Works on any database
$SYS_DB_DUMP_COMMAND --all-databases > backup.sql

# Works on any mail system
eval "$SYS_MAIL_CMD_QUEUE_COUNT"

Pattern 3: Permission Checks

# Works on any OS (replaces hardcoded UID checks)
if [ "$(stat -c %u "$file")" -eq "$SYS_WEB_UID" ]; then
    echo "File owned by web server"
fi

Pattern 4: Domain-Specific Operations

# Works on any panel
case "$SYS_CONTROL_PANEL" in
    cpanel)
        log="${SYS_CPANEL_DOMLOGS_PATTERN//\{DOMAIN\}/example.com}"
        ;;
    plesk)
        log="${SYS_PLESK_DOMLOGS_PATTERN//\{DOMAIN\}/example.com}/access_log"
        ;;
    interworx)
        log="${SYS_INTERWORX_DOMAIN_LOGS//\{ACCOUNT\}/examplec//\{DOMAIN\}/example.com}"
        ;;
esac

tail -f "$log"

Pattern 5: PHP Version Discovery

# Find PHP 8.1 on any cPanel system
php81="${SYS_CPANEL_EAPHP_BINARY_PATTERN//\{VERSION\}/81}"
$php81 --version

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Architecture: How Variables Are Set

Initialization Flow:

launcher.sh
  ↓
source lib/system-detect.sh
source lib/service-info.sh
source lib/system-variables.sh
  ↓
initialize_system_detection()
  ├─ detect_control_panel()     → SYS_CONTROL_PANEL
  ├─ detect_os()                → SYS_OS_TYPE
  ├─ detect_web_server()        → SYS_WEB_SERVER
  ├─ detect_database()          → SYS_DB_TYPE
  ├─ detect_php_versions()      → PHP info
  ├─ detect_firewall()          → SYS_FIREWALL
  ├─ detect_mail_system()       → SYS_MAIL_SYSTEM
  └─ Call all derive_all_*() functions:
      ├─ derive_all_service_info()
      │   ├─ derive_cpanel_php_versions()     → SYS_CPANEL_*
      │   ├─ derive_plesk_php_versions()      → SYS_PLESK_*
      │   ├─ derive_interworx_php_versions()  → SYS_INTERWORX_*
      │   └─ derive_domain_log_paths()        → SYS_*_DOMLOGS_*
      └─ ... (other derive functions)
  ↓
All 118 SYS_* variables now available for all scripts

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Complete Platform Coverage

Aspect	Coverage	Notes
Control Panels	4 platforms	cPanel, Plesk, InterWorx, Standalone
Operating Systems	6+ distros	RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, CloudLinux, AlmaLinux
Web Servers	4 servers	Apache, Nginx, LiteSpeed, OpenLiteSpeed
Databases	2 systems	MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL
Mail Systems	3 MTAs	Exim, Postfix, Sendmail
Firewalls	6 options	CSF, firewalld, iptables, UFW, Imunify360, Plesk
Security Scanners	4 tools	ClamAV, Maldet, RKHunter, Imunify360

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Conclusion

118 SYS_ variables* provide complete platform abstraction, enabling:

• ✅ Write once, run on any control panel
• ✅ Write once, run on any Linux distribution
• ✅ Write once, run with any mail system
• ✅ Write once, run with any database
• ✅ Auto-detect and use any installed security tool
• ✅ Zero hardcoded paths in any script

Scripts no longer need branches for control panel type, OS variations, or tool locations. All platform knowledge is centralized in these variables.