Pete Panel
Deploy Pete Panel to production

Deploying to Production

One installer. Any cloud.

Provision an Ubuntu 24.04 server, paste one command, and Pete Panel comes up with free SSL, hardened defaults, and one-click migration from your playground. Pick your cloud below.

Why Pete Panel for production?

The same stack you tested in the playground, hardened for the open internet — installed by one command on any Ubuntu 24.04 server.

Free SSL out of the box

Certificates auto-provisioned and renewed via Let’s Encrypt — every site serves HTTPS from its first request.

Optimized performance

Apache MPM Event, HTTP/2, Redis object caching, and OPcache — tuned by default, no config spelunking.

Migrate & clone in one click

Build in a local playground, export in Pete format, deploy to production — no rebuilding from scratch.

Developer-friendly

phpMyAdmin, OWASP CRS (ModSecurity) security, PHP 8.1–8.3 switchable with zero downtime, full Docker access.

It’s the stack behind our performance numbers — hundreds of millions of cached visits a month on a $48 Linode. See the benchmarks →

Install Pete Panel on Linode — provision, connect, install, launch

Linode

Shared CPU · Linode 8GB (or higher) · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS · five steps to live

From an empty Linode account to a live Pete Panel in five short steps — the $48/month Linode 8GB is the same machine our benchmarks call the starter tier.

$ curl -o pete_installer.sh -L https://staging.deploypete.com/pete_installer.sh && chmod 755 pete_installer.sh && sudo ./pete_installer.sh
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS SSH-key login UFW + SSH hardening Free SSL
  • Provision
  • Connect
  • Install
  • Launch
  • Harden

The steps, start to finish

  1. Provision the server — Linodes → Create Linode: image Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, region closest to your users, plan Shared CPU → Linode 8GB (or higher), label wp-pete-prod, paste your SSH public key. Create, wait for Running, copy the IPv4.
  2. Connect over SSH — ssh root@PUBLIC_SERVER_IP from your local terminal.
  3. Run the Pete installer — paste the one-liner above; it downloads the script, makes it executable, and launches it.
  4. Launch Pete in your browser — when the script completes, visit http://YOUR_SERVER_IP.
  5. Harden SSH & firewall (optional, recommended) — move SSH to port 2222, rate-limit it with UFW, allow 80/443, enable the firewall. Next login: ssh -p 2222 root@YOUR_SERVER_IP.
Install Pete Panel on Hetzner — provision, connect, install, launch

Hetzner

Cloud · CX32 (4 vCPU / 8 GB) · Ubuntu 24.04

The best price-per-GB of the four. A few clicks in the Cloud Console, one SSH session, and the installer does the rest — identical stack, identical hardening.

$ curl -o pete_installer.sh -L https://staging.deploypete.com/pete_installer.sh && chmod 755 pete_installer.sh && sudo ./pete_installer.sh
Ubuntu 24.04 SSH-key login UFW hardening Free SSL
  • Add Server
  • SSH key
  • SSH in
  • Run installer
  • Launch
  • Harden

The steps, start to finish

  1. Add the server — Hetzner Cloud Console → Add Server: location nearest your users, image Ubuntu 24.04, type Shared vCPU → CX32 (4 vCPU / 8 GB), Public IPv4 enabled.
  2. SSH key — add your public key so root logs in with keys, never passwords.
  3. Create — name it pete-prod, click Create & Buy now, and copy the IPv4 once it’s Running.
  4. Connect over SSH — ssh root@PUBLIC_SERVER_IP.
  5. Run the Pete installer — paste the one-liner above.
  6. Launch Pete in your browser — visit http://YOUR_SERVER_IP when the script finishes.
  7. Harden SSH & firewall (optional, recommended) — SSH to port 2222, UFW rate-limit, allow 80/443, enable. Next login: ssh -p 2222 root@YOUR_SERVER_IP.
Install Pete Panel on Google Cloud — provision, connect, install, launch

Google Cloud

Compute Engine · e2-standard-2 (2 vCPU / 8 GB) · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

From an empty Google Cloud project to a live Pete Panel: provision the VM, pin its IP, open the web ports, then one SSH session and one command install the whole stack.

$ curl -o pete_installer.sh -L https://staging.deploypete.com/pete_installer.sh && chmod 755 pete_installer.sh && sudo ./pete_installer.sh
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Static external IP OS Login SSH Free SSL
  • Provision VM
  • Static IP
  • Open ports
  • SSH in
  • Run installer
  • Harden

The steps, start to finish

  1. Provision the VM — Compute Engine → VM instances → Create instance: name pete-prod, region/zone nearest your users, machine type e2-standard-2 (2 vCPU / 8 GB), boot disk Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Change → OS: Ubuntu → 24.04 LTS), tick Allow HTTP and Allow HTTPS. Click Create.
  2. Reserve & attach a static external IP — VPC network → IP addresses → Reserve external static IP address: name pete-prod-ip, Regional, IPv4, same region as the VM. Then VM instances → pete-prod → Edit → Network interfaces → External IP: pete-prod-ip → Save. Your DNS now survives reboots.
  3. Open ports (only if you didn’t tick HTTP/HTTPS) — VPC network → Firewall rules → Create: name allow-web, direction Ingress, source 0.0.0.0/0, protocols tcp:80,443,22. After setup, consider restricting SSH (22/tcp) to your office IPs.
  4. Enable OS Login (recommended) — Compute Engine → Metadata → Edit → Add item: key enable-oslogin, value TRUE (project-wide, or per-VM under the instance’s metadata), and give your user the IAM role Compute OS Login. IAM-managed SSH: easier revocation, 2FA-ready.
  5. Connect over SSH — ssh root@PUBLIC_SERVER_IP from your local terminal.
  6. Run the Pete installer — paste the one-liner above; it downloads the script, makes it executable, and launches it.
  7. Launch Pete in your browser — when the script completes, visit http://YOUR_SERVER_IP.
  8. Harden SSH & firewall (optional, recommended) — move SSH to port 2222, rate-limit it with UFW, allow 80/443, enable the firewall. Next login: ssh -p 2222 root@YOUR_SERVER_IP.
Install Pete Panel on AWS — provision, connect, install, launch

AWS

EC2 · t3.xlarge (4 vCPU / 16 GB) · 160 GB gp3 · Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS

Launch an EC2 instance from the Ubuntu 24.04 AMI, lock SSH to your IP with a security group, and the same one-liner brings up the full stack.

$ curl -o pete_installer.sh -L https://staging.deploypete.com/pete_installer.sh && chmod 755 pete_installer.sh && sudo ./pete_installer.sh
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Key-pair SSH Security groups Free SSL
  • Launch EC2
  • Key pair
  • Security group
  • SSH in
  • Run installer
  • Harden

The steps, start to finish

  1. Launch the instance — EC2 → Instances → Launch instance: name pete-prod, AMI Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS, instance type t3.xlarge (4 vCPU / 16 GB), storage 160 GB gp3.
  2. Key pair — create (or reuse) a key pair, download the .pem, and chmod 400 pete-key.pem locally. This is your only way in — keep it safe.
  3. Security group — allow SSH (22) from My IP, and HTTP (80) + HTTPS (443) from anywhere (0.0.0.0/0). Launch the instance.
  4. Elastic IP (recommended) — EC2 → Elastic IPs → Allocate, then associate it with pete-prod so the address survives stop/start cycles.
  5. Connect over SSH — ssh -i pete-key.pem ubuntu@PUBLIC_SERVER_IP, then sudo -i for a root shell.
  6. Run the Pete installer — paste the one-liner above.
  7. Launch Pete in your browser — when the script completes, visit http://YOUR_SERVER_IP.
  8. Harden SSH & firewall (optional, recommended) — move SSH to port 2222, rate-limit with UFW, allow 80/443, enable the firewall — and mirror the change in the security group (open 2222, close 22).

Frequently asked questions

Where are the Docker configuration commands?

In the Docker engine-room cheat-sheet below — it lists every command to shell into the php, apache, and mysql containers, run WP-CLI, switch PHP versions, rebuild images, restart Apache, and enter MySQL, all from /opt/pete-panel.

What does the installer actually put on my server?

A Dockerized stack in /opt/pete-panel: Apache (MPM Event, HTTP/2), PHP 8.1–8.3 (switchable with zero downtime), MySQL, Redis object caching, phpMyAdmin, ModSecurity with the OWASP Core Rule Set, and Let’s Encrypt for SSL — plus the Pete Panel dashboard to manage it all. Nothing is installed on the host beyond Docker and the stack itself.

What server size do I need?

Whatever you provision, the Pete Panel installer tunes itself to it — it reads the server’s RAM and CPU count and adjusts the Docker Compose resource limits automatically to squeeze maximum performance out of the hardware. We recommend a minimum of a Linode (Akamai) 8GB instance with 4 vCPUs — comfortably overqualified for most WooCommerce stores. Go bigger for heavier traffic and the installer scales the stack to match. See the benchmarks by machine size →

How does the free SSL work?

Point your domain’s A record at the server’s IP (that’s why the guides reserve a static IP), create the site in Pete Panel, and click Generate SSL — certificates are issued and auto-renewed via Let’s Encrypt. Every site on the server gets its own certificate.

How do I move my playground site to production?

Create a backup in your Pete Panel dev environment, download it, and import it into any Pete Panel production environment — domains, database, and files come across in one step. To bring in a site that isn’t in Pete yet, use the Pete Panel Converter to export it into Pete format first. No manual database surgery either way.

Can I run several sites on one server?

Yes — multiple WordPress sites side by side, each with its own virtual host and SSL certificate. The benchmarks page shows what a single machine can absorb; most teams consolidate several production sites on one server.

Where are my database passwords and other secrets?

Every credential generated during installation lives in /opt/pete-panel/.env — treat it like a vault key: chmod 600, never commit it, never paste it into support tickets. The cheat-sheet below shows how to read it.

Do I need a license for production?

The local dev playground is free forever. Running sites in production is covered by Pete Panel Pro — which includes production deploys, free SSL certificates, and ticket support. Enterprise builds get a custom quote.

Advanced: the Docker engine room

Every cloud above runs the same stack, in the same place: /opt/pete-panel. Shell into the containers for WP-CLI, logs, v-hosts, and one-off queries — this cheat-sheet applies to all platforms.

TaskCommand (from the project folder)When / why
Go to the project cd /opt/pete-panel The whole stack lives here — every command below runs from this folder.
View generated secrets sudo cat /opt/pete-panel/.env Every credential the installer generated — DB passwords, API keys, tokens. Restrict with chmod 600; never commit it or paste it into tickets.
Start or rebuild the stack docker compose pull docker compose build docker compose up -d Rebuilds any changed images and (re)launches every service in the background.
Open a shell in a container docker compose exec php bash docker compose exec apache bash docker compose exec mysql bash Inspect logs, run WP-CLI, edit files quickly.
Switch PHP version Set PHP_VERSION in .env (8.1 / 8.2 / 8.3), then docker compose build --no-cache php docker compose up -d php Zero downtime — only the PHP container is swapped. Verify at /admin/phpinfo.
Rebuild after a Dockerfile edit docker compose build --no-cache apache docker compose build --no-cache php docker compose build --no-cache mysql Forces a clean image rebuild for the service you changed.
Restart Apache in place docker compose exec apache apache2ctl restart Applies v-host changes without recreating the whole stack.
Where Apache keeps v-hosts /etc/apache2/sites-available /etc/apache2/sites-enabled Edit in sites-available (staging), symlinked live in sites-enabled; then apache2ctl graceful inside the container.
Where the website files live /var/www/html Apache’s docroot inside the containers; Pete itself is at /var/www/html/Pete.
Enter MySQL as root docker compose exec mysql mysql -u root -p Password = MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD in .env. Handy for one-off queries or importing .sql dumps.
Delete all volumes docker compose down -v Irreversible. Stops containers and removes every volume — databases included. Nuke-and-pave only.

Your cloud isn’t listed?

The installer runs on any Ubuntu 24.04 server with root access — these guides are just the paved paths. Tell us where you’re deploying.

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