Linux-Server-Management-Toolkit/CONTROL_PANEL_QUICK_REFERENCE.md

Control Panel Quick Reference Guide

Version: 1.0 Purpose: Fast lookup of control panel differences while coding

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Quick Panel Detection

# cPanel
[ -f "/usr/local/cpanel/version" ]                    # Version file
[ -f "/etc/userdatadomains" ]                          # User/domain mapping
command -v whmapi1                                     # WHM API

# Plesk
[ -f "/usr/local/psa/version" ]                        # Version file
command -v plesk                                       # Plesk CLI

# InterWorx
[ -d "/usr/local/interworx" ]                          # Install directory
[ -f "/etc/interworx/iworx.ini" ]                      # Config file
[ -x "/usr/local/interworx/bin/listaccounts.pex" ]    # CLI tool

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File System Paths

User Home Directories

Panel	Path	Notes
cPanel	/home/username	Standard Linux
Plesk	/var/www/vhosts/domain.com	Domain-centric
InterWorx	/home/username	Standard Linux

Document Roots

Panel	Primary Site	Addon Domain	Subdomain
cPanel	/home/user/public_html	/home/user/public_html/addon	/home/user/public_html/sub
Plesk	/var/www/vhosts/domain/httpdocs	N/A (separate subscription)	/var/www/vhosts/domain/sub.domain/httpdocs
InterWorx	/home/user/domain.com/html	/home/user/addon.com/html	/home/user/domain.com/sub/html

Access Logs

Panel	Location	Filename Pattern
cPanel	/var/log/apache2/domlogs/ or /usr/local/apache/domlogs/	domain.com, domain.com-ssl_log
Plesk	/var/www/vhosts/system/domain.com/logs/	access_log, access_ssl_log
InterWorx	/home/user/var/domain.com/logs/	access_log (combined HTTP+HTTPS)

Error Logs

Panel	Location	Notes
cPanel	/var/log/apache2/domlogs/domain-error_log	Centralized per-domain
Plesk	/var/www/vhosts/system/domain.com/logs/error_log	Per-domain
InterWorx	/home/user/var/domain.com/logs/error_log	Per-domain in user home

PHP Error Logs

Panel	Location	Notes
cPanel	/home/user/public_html/error_log	In document root
Plesk	/var/www/vhosts/domain/httpdocs/error_log	In document root
InterWorx	/home/user/domain.com/html/error_log	In document root

SSL Certificates

Panel	Location	Format
cPanel	/etc/letsencrypt/live/domain.com/ or /var/cpanel/ssl/	Let's Encrypt or AutoSSL
Plesk	/etc/letsencrypt/live/domain.com/	Let's Encrypt
InterWorx	/etc/letsencrypt/live/domain.com/	Let's Encrypt

Mail Directories

Panel	Location	Structure
cPanel	/home/user/mail/domain.com/account/	Per-domain folders
Plesk	/var/qmail/mailnames/domain.com/account/	Qmail structure
InterWorx	/home/user/var/domain.com/mail/account/	Per-domain in user home

Cron Jobs

Panel	Location	Format
cPanel	/var/spool/cron/username	Standard crontab
Plesk	/var/spool/cron/username	Standard crontab
InterWorx	/var/spool/cron/username	Standard crontab

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Configuration Files

User Configuration

Panel	Location	Format	Contains
cPanel	/var/cpanel/users/username	Key-value	DNS, IP, disk quota, domains
Plesk	Plesk Database	SQL	All config in MySQL/PostgreSQL
InterWorx	NodeWorx Database + vhost configs	Mixed	listaccounts.pex CLI or DB queries

Domain Configuration

Panel	Location	Format	Contains
cPanel	/var/cpanel/userdata/user/domain.com	Apache-like	DocumentRoot, ServerAlias, PHP handlers
Plesk	Plesk Database	SQL	Vhost config in database
InterWorx	/etc/httpd/conf.d/vhost_domain.com.conf	Apache vhost	Auto-generated from templates

Apache Main Config

Panel	Include Location	How Domains Added
cPanel	/etc/apache2/conf.d/includes/	Auto-generated from userdata
Plesk	/etc/httpd/conf.d/zz*.conf	Generated from Plesk DB
InterWorx	/etc/httpd/conf.d/vhost_*.conf	One file per domain

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Database Management

Database Prefixes

Panel	Prefix Pattern	Example	Max Prefix Length
cPanel	username_	johndoe_wordpress	16 chars total (7 for username + _ + 8 for dbname)
Plesk	None (user-scoped)	wordpress	No prefix
InterWorx	first8charsOfDomain_	examplec_wordpress	First 8 chars of domain (dots removed)

MySQL User Prefixes

Panel	User Pattern	Example	Notes
cPanel	username_	johndoe_wpuser	Same as database prefix
Plesk	None	wpuser	Scoped to database
InterWorx	first8charsOfDomain_	examplec_wpuser	Same as database prefix

Database File Locations

Panel	Data Directory	Notes
cPanel	/var/lib/mysql/	Standard MySQL
Plesk	/var/lib/mysql/	Standard MySQL
InterWorx	/var/lib/mysql/	Standard MySQL

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CLI Tools & APIs

WHM/Root Level APIs

Panel	Tool	Example Command	Auth Required
cPanel	whmapi1	whmapi1 listaccts	Root or API token
Plesk	plesk bin server	plesk bin server --info	Root
InterWorx	nodeworx	nodeworx -u -n -c Siteworx -a listAccounts	Root + setup

User-Level APIs

Panel	Tool	Example Command	Auth Required
cPanel	uapi	uapi --user=john DomainInfo list_domains	User or API token
Plesk	plesk bin subscription	plesk bin subscription --list	Root
InterWorx	siteworx	siteworx -u -n -c Siteworx -a listDomains	User + setup

Account Listing

Panel	Command	Output Format
cPanel	whmapi1 listaccts	JSON
cPanel	/etc/trueuserdomains	Text: domain.com: username
cPanel	/etc/userdatadomains	Text: domain: user==owner==main==domain==docroot
Plesk	plesk bin subscription --list	Text list of domains
InterWorx	/usr/local/interworx/bin/listaccounts.pex	Text: username domain.com

Domain Listing (for specific user)

Panel	Command	Output
cPanel	grep "^DNS" /var/cpanel/users/$user	DNS records from user file
cPanel	grep ":${user}==" /etc/userdatadomains	All domains for user
Plesk	plesk bin subscription --list	All subscriptions (filter by owner)
InterWorx	listaccounts.pex then parse vhosts	Username + primary domain

Database Listing

Panel	Command	Notes
cPanel	mysql -e "SHOW DATABASES" | grep "^${username}_"	Filter by prefix
Plesk	plesk bin database --list	All databases (filter by domain)
InterWorx	mysql -e "SHOW DATABASES" | grep "^${domain_prefix}_"	Use domain prefix!

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PHP Configuration

PHP Handler Types

Panel	Handlers Supported	Default	Location
cPanel	DSO, suPHP, FastCGI, FPM	EasyApache 4 FPM	/opt/cpanel/ea-php*/
Plesk	Apache module, FPM, FastCGI	FPM	/opt/plesk/php/*/
InterWorx	mod_php, FPM, FastCGI	FPM	/etc/php-fpm.d/

PHP.INI Locations

Panel	Global	Per-Domain	Per-Directory
cPanel	/opt/cpanel/ea-php*/root/etc/php.ini	/home/user/.php.ini	/home/user/public_html/.user.ini
Plesk	/etc/php.ini	/var/www/vhosts/system/domain/conf/php.ini	.user.ini in directory
InterWorx	/etc/php.ini	/home/user/domain/conf/php.ini	.user.ini in directory

PHP Version Selection

Panel	Mechanism	Granularity
cPanel	MultiPHP Manager (WHM) or .htaccess	Per-domain or per-directory
Plesk	Plesk Panel or plesk CLI	Per-domain or per-subdirectory
InterWorx	SiteWorx Panel or php-fpm pools	Per-domain

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Email Configuration

Mail Server Software

Panel	MTA	POP3/IMAP	Webmail
cPanel	Exim	Dovecot	Horde, RoundCube, SquirrelMail
Plesk	Postfix or Qmail	Dovecot or Courier	RoundCube, Horde
InterWorx	Postfix	Dovecot	RoundCube, SquirrelMail

Email Account Locations

Panel	Config Location	Password Storage
cPanel	/home/user/etc/domain/passwd	Shadow file in etc/
Plesk	Plesk Database	Database
InterWorx	/home/user/var/domain/mail/	Database + files

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FTP Configuration

FTP Server

Panel	FTP Daemon	Config Location
cPanel	Pure-FTPd or ProFTPD	/etc/pure-ftpd.conf or /etc/proftpd.conf
Plesk	ProFTPD	/etc/proftpd.conf
InterWorx	ProFTPD	/etc/proftpd.conf

FTP Account Listing

Panel	Location	Format
cPanel	/etc/proftpd/$user or Pure-FTPd DB	Config files or virtual users
Plesk	Plesk Database	SQL
InterWorx	/etc/proftpd.conf includes	Parsed from config

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Security Features

Brute Force Protection

Panel	Feature	How it Works	CLI Access
cPanel	cPHulk	Tracks failed logins, bans IPs	whmapi1 cphulkd_*
Plesk	fail2ban	Monitors logs, uses iptables	fail2ban-client
InterWorx	ModSecurity + fail2ban	WAF + log monitoring	fail2ban-client

Firewall Integration

Panel	Default Firewall	Location
cPanel	CSF (optional) or firewalld	/etc/csf/ or firewall-cmd
Plesk	firewalld or iptables	firewall-cmd or /etc/sysconfig/iptables
InterWorx	firewalld or iptables	firewall-cmd or /etc/sysconfig/iptables

ModSecurity

Panel	Enabled by Default	Config Location
cPanel	Optional (EasyApache 4)	/etc/apache2/conf.d/modsec/
Plesk	Optional (Extensions)	/etc/httpd/conf.d/mod_security.conf
InterWorx	Optional	/etc/httpd/conf.d/mod_security.conf

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Backup Systems

Native Backup Tools

Panel	Tool	Backup Location	Incremental Support
cPanel	cPanel Backup	/backup/	Yes (JetBackup addon)
Plesk	Plesk Backup Manager	/var/lib/psa/dumps/	No (full only)
InterWorx	NodeWorx Backup	/backup/ or custom	Yes

Backup File Format

Panel	Format	Compression	Includes
cPanel	tar.gz	gzip	Home dir, DBs, email, config
Plesk	tar	Optional gzip	Subscription data, DBs, mail
InterWorx	tar.gz	gzip	SiteWorx account, DBs, email

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WordPress Detection

wp-config.php Locations

# cPanel
find /home/*/public_html -name "wp-config.php"
find /home/*/public_html/* -name "wp-config.php"  # Addon domains

# Plesk
find /var/www/vhosts/*/httpdocs -name "wp-config.php"

# InterWorx
find /home/*/*/html -name "wp-config.php"

WordPress Paths by Panel

Panel	Single Site	Multisite	Addon Domain WP
cPanel	/home/user/public_html/	/home/user/public_html/wp/	/home/user/public_html/addon/
Plesk	/var/www/vhosts/domain/httpdocs/	/var/www/vhosts/domain/httpdocs/wp/	N/A (separate subscription)
InterWorx	/home/user/domain.com/html/	/home/user/domain.com/html/wp/	/home/user/addon.com/html/

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Common File Patterns

.htaccess Locations

# All panels - in document root
/home/user/public_html/.htaccess          # cPanel primary
/home/user/domain.com/html/.htaccess      # InterWorx
/var/www/vhosts/domain/httpdocs/.htaccess # Plesk

robots.txt Locations

# Same as .htaccess
# In document root

Log Rotation

Panel	Rotation Config	Default Retention
cPanel	/etc/logrotate.d/cpanel	30 days
Plesk	/etc/logrotate.d/plesk	Varies
InterWorx	/etc/logrotate.d/interworx	30 days

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Process Ownership

Apache/Web Server Processes

Panel	User	Group	Notes
cPanel	nobody (main)	nobody	Requests run as user via suEXEC/suPHP/FPM
Plesk	apache or www-data	apache or www-data	Depends on OS
InterWorx	apache	apache	Requests run as user via suEXEC/FPM

PHP-FPM Pools

Panel	Pool Config	User/Group
cPanel	/opt/cpanel/ea-php*/root/etc/php-fpm.d/	Per-user pools (username:username)
Plesk	/etc/php-fpm.d/	Per-domain pools
InterWorx	/etc/php-fpm.d/	Per-domain pools (username:username)

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Quick Code Snippets

Get All Users

# cPanel
cat /etc/trueuserowners | cut -d: -f2 | sort -u

# Plesk
plesk bin subscription --list | awk '{print $1}'

# InterWorx
/usr/local/interworx/bin/listaccounts.pex --output user

Get Domains for User

# cPanel
grep "^DNS" /var/cpanel/users/$user | awk '{print $2}'

# Plesk
plesk bin subscription --list -o $user

# InterWorx
grep -l "SuexecUserGroup ${user}" /etc/httpd/conf.d/vhost_*.conf | \
    sed 's|.*/vhost_||; s|\.conf$||'

Get Disk Usage for User

# All panels (if user has /home directory)
du -sh /home/$user

# cPanel (from quota)
quota -u $user | tail -1 | awk '{print $2}'

# Plesk
plesk bin subscription --info domain.com | grep "Disk space used"

Check if Domain Exists

# cPanel
grep -q "^${domain}:" /etc/userdatadomains

# Plesk
plesk bin subscription --info "$domain" &>/dev/null

# InterWorx
[ -f "/etc/httpd/conf.d/vhost_${domain}.conf" ]

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Panel-Specific Quirks

cPanel Gotchas

• Addon domains share public_html with primary domain
• Parked domains are aliases (same document root as primary)
• Database names limited to 64 chars (including prefix!)
• User passwords != database passwords != FTP passwords
• Main IP stored in /var/cpanel/mainip

Plesk Gotchas

• Each domain is a separate subscription (even for same owner)
• No shared hosting structure (each domain isolated)
• Database prefixes don't exist (databases scoped to subscription)
• Mail users are separate from system users
• CLI requires lots of --info calls (no simple config files)

InterWorx Gotchas

• Database prefix is domain-based, NOT username-based!
• Logs are per-domain in user home (not centralized)
• No separate HTTP/HTTPS logs (combined in access_log)
• Domain config is one vhost file per domain
• Listaccounts.pex only returns username + primary domain (not addon domains)

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Migration Implications

cPanel → InterWorx

• ✅ User home structure similar
• ⚠️ Document root changes (public_html → domain.com/html)
• ⚠️ Database prefixes change (username_ → domain_)
• ⚠️ Log locations move to user home
• ✅ Email structure compatible with migration

cPanel → Plesk

• ❌ Completely different structure
• ❌ Domain-centric vs user-centric
• ❌ No shared hosting model
• ❌ Requires full account restructure

Plesk → InterWorx

• ⚠️ Structure change (vhosts → home)
• ⚠️ Database prefix added
• ✅ Can map subscriptions to users
• ⚠️ Mail system different

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Testing Commands

Verify Panel Detection

# Should return: cpanel, plesk, interworx, or none
source /root/server-toolkit/lib/system-detect.sh
echo $SYS_CONTROL_PANEL

Verify Log Discovery

source /root/server-toolkit/lib/system-detect.sh
echo $SYS_LOG_DIR
ls -la "$SYS_LOG_DIR" | head

Verify User Functions

source /root/server-toolkit/lib/user-manager.sh
eval $(get_user_info "someuser")
echo "User: $USERNAME"
echo "Primary: $PRIMARY_DOMAIN"
echo "All domains: $ALL_DOMAINS"

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References

Official Documentation

• cPanel: https://docs.cpanel.net/
• Plesk: https://docs.plesk.com/
• InterWorx: https://www.interworx.com/support/docs/

Useful Files to Study

• /etc/userdatadomains (cPanel domain mapping)
• /etc/trueuserowners (cPanel user→domain)
• /etc/trueuserdomains (cPanel domain→user)
• /etc/httpd/conf.d/vhost_*.conf (InterWorx vhosts)
• /var/www/vhosts/ (Plesk structure)

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Last Updated: 2025-11-19 Maintainer: Server Toolkit Team