cPanel is web hosting control panel software made by cPanel, L.L.C. It gives website owners a browser interface for files, email, DNS and databases. It is used with WebHost Manager (WHM), which manages the whole server and creates reseller accounts.
History of cPanel
Creator: J. Nick Koston (1996); cPanel, L.L.C. (later company). Year: 1996.
cPanel was created in 1996 by J. Nick Koston. He made it for Speed Hosting. Speed Hosting was a web hosting company that no longer operates. After Speed Hosting merged with Webking, the combined company kept using the software. The software later ran from Virtual Development Inc (VDI). Under an agreement with VDI, cPanel was made available only to customers hosted on VDI servers. Few providers were in the control panel market then. VDI and Alabanza were among the main ones.
In 1999, cPanel 3 was released. It added automatic updates. It also added Web Host Manager (WHM), the server-level interface.1 A later redesign of the interface included work by Carlos Rego of WizardsHosting. After a dispute between VDI and J. Nick Koston, development split. VDI continued a separate product named WebPanel. Koston kept cPanel. He developed it on his own. In 2011, cPanel University launched as a training and certification program.
In August 2018, cPanel, L.L.C. was acquired by WebPros BV. WebPros BV was a holding company. It was controlled by Oakley Capital Private Equity Fund III. Oakley Capital bought a majority stake from Koston. In December 2019, WebPros came under the ownership of CVC Capital Partners' Fund VII. Oakley Capital reinvested. It became a minority partner. Reports from 2019 said cPanel managed more than 70 million domains. They covered more than 70 countries.2
Changelog and latest update
The product line began as cPanel 3 in 1999. Later releases use one number for each release cycle, such as 136, 134, 132 and 138. The cPanel & WHM change log lists the cases and bugs fixed in each cycle. Each release cycle has point releases. Each point release has a date. The list shows security hardening. It shows targeted security releases. It shows fixes for installation problems.
Supported operating systems changed over time. The cPanel requirements page lists the supported systems. They are AlmaLinux, CloudLinux, Rocky Linux and Ubuntu. An earlier Windows version, Enkompass, was discontinued in February 2014. The product also supports command-line and API access. That lets third-party software automate account tasks.
The cPanel documentation has a Reseller Center page. It was last modified on 2026-07-08. It describes how WHM adds or removes reseller status for an existing account. It also describes how reseller privileges are assigned. The page states the current interface. It is part of the same documentation set as the release notes.
Latest update: cPanel & WHM 138.0.15, 2026-10-08
The cPanel & WHM 138 change log was last modified on 2026-10-08. It lists version 138.0.15, dated 2026-10-08. Its tag is Security, for security hardening. Earlier point releases in the cycle are 138.0.13 on 2026-10-05 and 138.0.12 on 2026-10-05. The 138.0.12 release fixed an issue. The issue could stop services from starting on newly installed servers.
Usage examples
cPanel offers three interfaces for automation: the UAPI for account users, the WHM API for server administrators, and the command line. The examples below list the email accounts of a cPanel user with the UAPI over HTTPS, run the same call from the server shell, list accounts with the WHM API, and restart Apache on a cPanel server.
curl -s -H "Authorization: cpanel \
user:TOKEN" \
"https://example.com:2083\
/execute/Email/list_pops"This request calls the UAPI function Email/list_pops on port 2083, which is the cPanel secure port for account users. The Authorization header sends the account name and an API token created in cPanel. The reply is JSON that lists the email accounts and their quotas.
uapi --user=example Email list_popsThe uapi command runs on the cPanel server and calls the same Email/list_pops function as the request above, with no password or token in the command. It prints the results as text. Use it when a script runs on the server itself and needs the same account data.
whmapi1 listaccts searchtype=domain \
search=example.comThe whmapi1 command calls the WHM API from the server shell as root. This call lists hosting accounts whose domain matches example.com. The result shows the user name, owner and package for each account.
/scripts/restartsrv_httpdThis script restarts the Apache web server on a cPanel server.3 It is used after a change to the Apache configuration, such as a new virtual host, so that the new settings are loaded. Run it as root on the server, and check the result with httpd -t before the restart.
References
These sources are outside Websnoogie and were checked on 2026-10-12.
cPanel
Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation
Encyclopedia article on cPanel. It covers the 1996 origin for Speed Hosting, the 1999 cPanel 3 release, the 2018 and 2019 ownership changes, the operating systems supported, and the market share estimates.
cPanel & WHM Documentation
cPanel, L.L.C.
Official documentation index for cPanel and WHM. It links to the WHM guides, the cPanel user guides, the API references and the change logs used for the latest update in this article.
WHM documentation
cPanel, L.L.C.
Official guide to WebHost Manager, the server-level interface. It covers account creation, packages, server settings and reseller management, which the reseller web hosting article describes in more detail.
Reseller Center
cPanel, L.L.C.
Official WHM page that explains how to add or remove reseller status for an existing account. It lists the reseller actions, the account ownership rules and the reseller privileges. The page was last modified on 2026-07-08.
cPanel & WHM 138 Change Log
cPanel, L.L.C.
Official change log for release cycle 138. It lists each point release with its date, including 138.0.15 dated 2026-10-08, and the security and bug fixes in each release. The page was last modified on 2026-10-08.
cPanel home page
cPanel, L.L.C.
Company home page for cPanel, L.L.C. It describes the control panel product line and the hosting providers that use it. It is the source for the company name and the product description used in the definition.
cPanel & WHM System Requirements
cPanel, L.L.C.
Official cPanel page that lists the operating systems cPanel and WHM supports, including AlmaLinux, CloudLinux, Rocky Linux and Ubuntu. It is the source for the operating system list in the change log section of this article.
What cPanel does on launch day
On launch day, the new site goes live through cPanel. cPanel is the control panel where your files, email accounts and databases are kept. On launch day we point the domain to the account, turn on the security certificate and check that every page loads. Visitors see the new site only after those checks pass.
A new build is typically finished in 3 to 5 days, including design and panel setup. For an existing WordPress site, we move it into cPanel at no cost when it is normal size. Larger sites cost $199 one time. Before we change anything, we copy the files and the database.
After launch, we check the forms, the email accounts and the page titles in cPanel. We also test the site on a phone, since many visitors arrive that way. Next, we give you a note with the steps taken. Ask us about any step you do not understand.
Ask about your launch date by phone at 402-813-4034, open daily from 7 am through 10 pm. A website build from our $300 package can start with one request.
