DigitalOcean
Install HF Panel on a Droplet at DigitalOcean: the server to create, the firewall, reverse DNS, outgoing mail and the install.
These steps take you from a new DigitalOcean account to a running HF Panel. Providers change their menus and rules from time to time — if a step looks different, DigitalOcean's own documentation or support has the current way.
1. Create the server
Create a Droplet with:
- System: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (or Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12 or 13, Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux 9 or 10), x86-64.
- Size: 2 GB of memory or more (1 GB works with the swap file the installer adds), 20 GB of disk or more.
- Access: your SSH key, or a root password.
Note its public IPv4 address.
2. Point your domain at it
Create the DNS records DNS setup lists — at least srv., cp. and mail. your domain,
pointing at the server's address. They can take a few minutes to work.
3. The firewall
No firewall is in front of a Droplet unless you add a Cloud Firewall. If you do, add the inbound rules below.
| Port | Protocol | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| 22 (or your SSH port) | TCP | SSH and SFTP |
| 80, 443 | TCP | websites, Mail, Files, DB Studio, Let's Encrypt |
| 8443 | TCP | the panels (srv., cp., rs.) |
| 21, 40000–40100 | TCP | FTP with TLS |
| 25, 465, 587, 993, 995 | TCP | email (not with --no-mail) |
| 53 | TCP and UDP | the DNS server (not with --no-dns) |
4. Reverse DNS
Mail from the server is trusted more when its address points back to its name. Name the Droplet with the server's full host name (for example srv.yourdomain.com): DigitalOcean sets the reverse DNS from the Droplet's name.
5. Outgoing mail (port 25)
Outgoing port 25 is often blocked on new DigitalOcean accounts. Ask DigitalOcean support whether it can be opened for your account; if not, send mail through an outgoing mail relay (Server Admin › Email › Server mailboxes). Websites and panels work either way; only sending email needs it.
6. Check, then install
Sign in to the server as root, check it, then install with the command from your licence page:
cd /home && curl -o latest -L https://cdn.hostfog.com/latest && bash latest --check
cd /home && curl -o latest -L https://cdn.hostfog.com/latest/licence/YOUR-KEY && bash latest
The check marks each item ✔, ! or ✘ and changes nothing; fix anything marked ✘ first. Then carry on with After installation.