The cpanel.config File

For cPanel & WHM version 66

Overview

The /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file stores all of the settings that exist in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings). You can find more information about the requirements for each value in the Keys and default settings section below.

You can preconfigure your server's settings before you install cPanel & WHM. For instructions for how to preconfigure your server's settings before installation, read our Customize Your Installation documentation.

Cached values

To improve overall performance, the system caches the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file's settings in the cpanel.config.cache file. This file updates each time that the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file updates, to ensure that the cached settings are up-to-date.

Configuration setting validation

The settings in the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file use the key=value format. The system validates each key=value pair whenever you edit this file or change settings in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings ).

If the system encounters problems during validation, it takes the following actions:

Absent cpanel.config file

If the entire /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file does not exist, your server performs the following steps:

The server copies the contents of the /etc/cpanel.config default file and saves it as the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file.
The server copies the contents of the cpanel.config.cache file, if it is present.
- If the system cannot find the cpanel.config.cache file, you will receive an email notification.
- You can change your email notification settings in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Server Contacts >> Contact Manager).
For any dynamic values that are not set, the server attempts to guess the correct value.
- For example, to set the mailserver value, the server checks whether your system uses the dovecot RPM.
The server logs the changes to the /usr/local/cpanel/logs/error_log file.

Absent values

If one or more keys do not exist in the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file, the server attempts to generate them from the following sources in the following order:

The server copies the key=value pair from the cpanel.config.cache file, if it exists.
If the key's value is static, and it does not exist in the cpanel.config.cache file, the system copies the key=value pair from the default value in the /usr/local/cpanel/etc/cpanel.config file.
If the key's value is dynamic, and it does not exist in the cpanel.config.cache file, the server calculates an appropriate value.
The server logs the changes to the /usr/local/cpanel/logs/error_log file.

Invalid values

If one or more of the following values are invalid in the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file, the server attempts to replace them with a valid value:

mysql-version
local_nameserver_type
mailserver
ftpserver

These variables are deprecated and we will remove them in later versions of cPanel & WHM. If you use them in custom code, update your code to use the rpm.versions system as soon as possible to avoid problems.

For more information, read our The cpanel.config File documentation.

Keys and default settings

The following table lists the keys that the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file stores, their Tweak Settings labels, default values, and validation requirements.

Notes:

You can find the current cPanel-supplied default values for these keys in the /usr/local/cpanel/etc/cpanel.config file.
You must edit keys that do not have an associated Tweak Settings tab and label in the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file.

Key	Tweak Settings equivalent	Default and validation requirements
`access_log`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies the location of cPanel's The cpanel.config File logs, which contains general information about cPanel access requests.	Default: `/usr/local/cpanel/logs/access_log`
`account_login_access`	System Accounts that can access a cPanel user account:	Default: `owner_root` Warning: Only set this key to one of the following values: `owner`, `owner_root`, or `user`.
`adminuser`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `cpanel`
`allow_deprecated_accesshash`	Security Allow deprecated WHM accesshash authentication. Warning: We deprecated WHM's Remote Access Key feature in cPanel & WHM version 64. We strongly recommend that you use API tokens instead.	Default: `0`
`allow_login_autocomplete`	System Allow autocomplete in login screens.	Default: `1`
`allow_server_info_status_from`	System Allow server-info and server-status	Default: `undef`
`allow_weak_checksums`	Security Allow weak checksum schemes.	Default: `0`
`allowcpsslinstall`	System Allow cPanel users to install SSL Hosts	Default: `1`
`allowparkhostnamedomainsubdomains`	Domains Allow users to park subdomains of the server's hostname.	Default: `0`
`allowparkonothers`	Domains Allow cPanel users to create subdomains across accounts	Default: `0`
`allowremotedomains`	Domains Allow Remote Domains	Default: `0`
`allowresellershostnamedomainsubdomains`	Domains Allow resellers to create accounts with subdomains of the server's hostname.	Default: `0`
`allowunregistereddomains`	Domains Allow unregistered domains	Default: `0`
`allowwhmparkonothers`	Domains Allow WHM users to create subdomains across accounts	Default: `0`
`alwaysredirecttossl`	Redirection Choose the closest matched domain for which that the system has a valid certificate when redirecting from non-SSL to SSL URLs. Formerly known as “Always redirect to SSL/TLS”	Default: `1`
`anon_data_optout`	System Send anonymous usage data to cPanel	Default: `0`
`apache_port`	System Apache non-SSL IP/port	Default: `0.0.0.0:80`
`apache_ssl_port`	System Apache SSL port	Default: `0.0.0.0:443`
`api_shell`	System cPanel & WHM API shell (for developers)	Default: `0`
`autocreateaentries`	Domains Automatically add A entries for registered nameservers when creating a new zone	Default: `1`
`autodiscover_host`	Domains Host to publish in the SRV records for Outlook autodiscover support.	Default: `cpanelemaildiscovery.cpanel.net`
`autodiscover_mail_service`	Domains Preferred mail service to configure to use for Thunderbird and Outlook autodiscover and autoconfig support	Default: `imap`
`autodiscover_proxy_subdomains`	Domains Thunderbird and Outlook autodiscover and autoconfig support (enables proxy subdomain and SRV record creation)	Default: `0` Warning: This value is dynamic, and you must perform additional steps if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`awstatsbrowserupdate`	Stats and Logs Allow users to update Awstats from cPanel	Default: `0`
`awstatsreversedns`	Stats Programs Awstats reverse DNS resolution	Default: `0`
`basename`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `cpanel`
`bind_deferred_restart_time`	System BIND deferred restart time	Default: `0`
`blockcommondomains`	Domains Prevent cPanel users from creating specific domains	Default: `1`
`bwcycle`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This value specifies the bandwidth cycle. Note: You can change this value in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Server Configuration >> Statistics Software Configuration).	Default: `2` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it rounds the value to the nearest quarter hour.
`cgiemaildisabled`	Security CGIEmail and CGIEcho Warning: The CGI Center interface (Home >> Software and Services >> CGI Center) only exists in cPanel's deprecated x3 theme. You cannot create new CGI scripts with cPanel's current theme (Paper Lantern), and we strongly discourage the use of the x3 theme.	Default: `0`
`cgihidepass`	Security Hide login password from cgi scripts Warning: The CGI Center interface (Home >> Software and Services >> CGI Center) only exists in cPanel's deprecated x3 theme. You cannot create new CGI scripts with cPanel's current theme (Paper Lantern), and we strongly discourage the use of the x3 theme.	Default: `0`
`check_zone_owner`	Domains Check zone owner	Default: `1`
`check_zone_syntax`	Domains Check zone syntax	Default: `1`
`chkservd_check_interval`	System The number of seconds between ChkServd service checks.	Default: `300`
`chkservd_hang_allowed_intervals`	System The number of times ChkServd allows a previous check to complete before termination.	Default: `2`
`chkservd_plaintext_notify`	System The option to enable or disable ChkServd HTML notifications.	Default: `0`
`cluster_autodisable_threshold`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: To change this value, use the Failure threshold for cluster members setting in WHM's DNS Cluster interface (Home >> Clusters >> DNS Cluster).	Default: `10`
`cluster_failure_notifications`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: To change this value, select or deselect the Receive a notification when WHM disables an unresponsive cluster member checkbox in WHM's DNS Cluster interface (Home >> Clusters >> DNS Cluster).	Default: `1`
`conserve_memory`	System Conserve memory	Default: `0` Warning: This value is dynamic, and you must perform additional steps if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`cookieipvalidation`	Security Cookie IP validation	Default: `strict` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `disabled` if it is currently `0`. Otherwise, it converts this value to the default setting.
`coredump`	Security Generate core dumps	Default: `0`
`cpaddons_adminemail`	cPAddons Site Software cPAddons Site Software admin email	Default: "" (an empty string)
`cpaddons_autoupdate`	cPAddons Site Software cPAddons Site Software source automatic updates	Default: `1`
`cpaddons_max_moderation_req_all_mod`	cPAddons Site Software Max cPAddons Site Software installation requests	Default: `99`
`cpaddons_max_moderation_req_per_mod`	cPAddons Site Software Max cPAddons Site Software installation requests per addon	Default: `99`
`cpaddons_moderation_request`	cPAddons Site Software cPAddons Site Software moderation notification	Default: `0`
`cpaddons_no_3rd_party`	cPAddons Site Software Allow cPAddons Site Software installations from non-cPanel sources	Default: `0`
`cpaddons_no_modified_cpanel`	cPAddons Site Software Allow cPAddons Site Software installations from modified sources	Default: `1`
`cpaddons_notify_owner`	cPAddons Site Software Notify reseller of cPAddons Site Software installations	Default: `1`
`cpaddons_notify_root`	cPAddons Site Software Notify root of cPAddons Site Software installations	Default: `1`
`cpaddons_notify_users`	cPAddons Site Software Notify cPanel users when they need to update their cPAddons Site Software installations	Default: `Allow users to choose`
`cpanel_locale`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `undef`
`cpredirect`	Redirection Non-SSL redirect destination	Default: `Origin Domain Name`
`cpredirectssl`	Redirection SSL redirect destination	Default: `SSL Certificate Name`
`cpsrvd-domainlookup`	System cpsrvd username domain lookup	Default: `0`
`create_account_dkim`	Domains Enable DKIM on domains for newly created accounts	Default: `1`
`create_account_spf`	Domains Enable SPF on domains for newly created accounts Note: The `/scripts/enable_spf_dkim_globally` script allows you to enable SPF and DKIM for existing accounts on the server, and create the appropriate DNS records for their domains. For more information, read our The SPF and DKIM Global Settings Script documentation.	Default: `1` Note: On servers that run CentOS 7, you may see a `named` warning about the absence of SPF resource records on DNS. This warning is not relevant on CentOS 7 servers, because RFC 7208 deprecated SPF records. CentOS 7 servers use TXT records instead of SPF records. Red Hat 7.1 and CentOS 7.1 both contain `bind-9.9.4-23.el7`, which is an updated version of BIND that complies with RFC 7208. To resolve this issue, update your operating system to a version that contains the updated version of BIND. For more information, read the the Red Hat Bugzilla case about SPF record errors.
`cycle_hours`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting adjusts the frequency with which your server processes logs. Note: You can change this value in WHM's Statistics Schedule Configuration interface ( Home >> Server Configuration >> Statistics Software Configuration ).	Default: `24` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will round this value to the nearest quarter hour.
`database_prefix`	SQL Require a username prefix on names of new databases and database users	Default: `1`
`debughooks`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Warning: This setting acts as a fallback setting for the values in the `/var/cpanel/debughooks` file, which the Standardized Hooks - Debug Mode option in the Development section of WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings) controls. For more information about the `debughooks` key, read our The cpanel.config File documentation.	Default: `0`
`default_archive-logs`	Stats and Logs Archive logs in the user's home directory at the end of each stats run unless configured by the user.	Default: `1`
`default_login_theme`	Display Default login theme	Default: `cpanel`
`default_remove-old-archived-logs`	Stats and Logs Remove the previous month's archived logs from the user's home directory at the end of each month unless configured by the user.	Default: `1`
`defaultmailaction`	Mail Initial default/catch-all forwarder destination	Default: `localuser`
`disable-php-as-reseller-security`	Security Allow PHP to be run when logged in as a reseller to WHM	Default: `0`
`disablequotacache`	System Cache disk quota information	Default: `0`
`disk_usage_include_mailman`	Mail Include mailman in disk usage calculations	Default: `1`
`disk_usage_include_sqldbs`	SQL Include databases in disk usage calculations	Default: `1`
`dnsadmin_log`	Logging Log dnsadmin requests	Default: `0`
`dnsadmin_verbose_sync`	Logging Enable verbose logging of DNS zone syncing	Default: `0`
`dnsadminapp`	Domains DNS request management application	Default: `undef` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value is an empty string.
`dnslookuponconnect`	System Reverse DNS lookup upon connect	Default: `0`
`docroot`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies the document root for WHM.	Default: `/usr/local/cpanel/base`
`domainowner_mail_pass`	Mail Mail authentication via domain owner password	Default: `0` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`dormant_services`	Software Dormant services	Default: `cpdavd,cphulkd,cpsrvd,dnsadmin,spamd` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`dumplogs`	Stats and Logs Delete each domain's access logs after statistics are gathered	Default: `1`
`email_account_quota_default_selected`	Mail Default quota option for new email accounts	Default: `userdefined`
`email_account_quota_userdefined_default_value`	Mail Default user-defined quota value for new email accounts	Default: `250`
`email_send_limits_count_mailman`	Mail Count mailman deliveries towards a domain's Max hourly emails.	Default: `0`
`email_send_limits_defer_cutoff`	Mail The percentage of email messages (above the account's hourly maximum) to queue and retry for delivery.	Default: `125`
`email_send_limits_max_defer_fail_percentage`	Mail Maximum percentage of failed or deferred messages a domain may send per hour	Default: `undef`
`email_send_limits_min_defer_fail_to_trigger_protection`	Mail Number of failed or deferred messages a domain may send before protections can be triggered	Default: `5`
`emailarchive`	Mail Enable Email Archiving support	Default: `0`
`emailpasswords`	Security Send passwords when creating a new account	Default: `0`
`emailsperdaynotify`	Mail Number of emails a domain may send per day before the system sends a notification	Default: `unlimited`
`emailusers_diskusage_critical_contact_admin`	Notifications Notify admin or reseller when disk quota reaches "critical" state	Default: `1`
`emailusers_diskusage_critical_percent`	Notifications Account disk quota "critical" percentage	Default: `90` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value is set to `0`.
`emailusers_diskusage_full_contact_admin`	Notifications Notify admin or reseller when disk quota reaches "full" state	Default: `1`
`emailusers_diskusage_full_percent`	Notifications Account disk quota "full" percentage	Default: `98` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value is set to `0`.
`emailusers_diskusage_warn_contact_admin`	Notifications Notify admin or reseller when disk quota reaches "warn" state	Default: `0`
`emailusers_diskusage_warn_percent`	Notifications Account disk quota "warn" percentage	Default: `80` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value is set to `0`.
`emailusers_mailbox_critical_percent`	Notifications Account disk quota "critical" percentage	Default: `90` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value is set to `0`.
`emailusers_mailbox_full_percent`	Notifications Mailbox disk quota "full" percentage	Default: `98` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value is set to `0`.
`emailusers_mailbox_warn_percent`	Notifications Mailbox disk quota "warn" percentage	Default: `80` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value is set to `0`.
`emailusersbandwidthexceed`	Notifications Send bandwidth limit notification emails	Default: `0`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed70`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 70%	Default: `0`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed75`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 75%	Default: `0`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed80`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 80%	Default: `1`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed85`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 85%	Default: `0`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed90`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 90%	Default: `0`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed95`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 95%	Default: `0`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed97`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 97%	Default: `0`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed98`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 98%	Default: `0`
`emailusersbandwidthexceed99`	Notifications Bandwidth usage warning: 99%	Default: `0`
`empty_trash_days`	System Age of content to purge from users' File Manager Trash	Default: `disabled`
`enablecompileroptimizations`	System Enable optimizations for the C compiler	Default: `0`
`enable_piped_logs`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: To change this value, select or deselect the Enable Piped Apache Logs checkbox in the Piped Log Configuration section of WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Service Configuration >> Apache Configuration).	Default: `0`
`enablefileprotect`	Security Enable File Protect	Default: 1
`engine`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies the name of the cPanel binary.	Default: `cpanel`
`enginepl`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies the name of the cPanel `.pl` file.	Default: `cpanel.pl`
`engineroot`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies the location of the cPanel binary.	Default: `/usr/local/cpanel`
`exim_retention_days`	Stats and Logs The interval, in days, to retain Exim stats in the database	Default: `30`
`exim-retrytime`	Mail Email delivery retry time	Default: `60`
`eximmailtrap`	Mail Track email origin via X-Source email headers	Default: `1` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`extracpus`	Stats and Logs Extra CPUs for server load	Default: `0`
`file_upload_max_bytes`	System Max HTTP submission size	Default: `undef` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value contains `unlimited`.
`file_upload_must_leave_bytes`	System File upload required free space	Default: `5`
`file_usage`	Display Display File Usage information in the cPanel stats bar (inode count)	Default: `0`
`ftppasslogs`	Stats and Logs Include password in the raw log download link in cPanel (via FTP).	Default: `0`
`ftpquotacheck_expire_time`	System Interval, in days, between rebuilds of the FTP quota and disk usage data (applies to Pure-FTPd only)	Default: `30`
`ftpserver`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: You can select an FTP server in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Service Configuration >> FTP Server Selection).	Default: `pure-ftpd` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface. This variable is deprecated, and we will remove it in a later version of cPanel & WHM. If you use this variable in custom code, update that code to use the rpm.versions system as soon as possible to avoid problems. For more information, read our The cpanel.config File documentation.
`global_dcv_rewrite_exclude`	Domains Use a Global DCV rewrite exclude instead of .htaccess modification (requires Apache 2.4+, EA4) Note: This setting only applies to systems that run EasyApache 4 and Apache 2.4 or newer.	Default: 0
`gzip_compression_level`	Compression gzip compression level	Default: `6`
`gzip_pigz_block_size`	Compression Number of kilobyte chunks per compression work unit	Default: `4096`
`gzip_pigz_processes`	Compression Number of pigz processes	Default: `1` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`htaccess_check_recurse`	System Depth to recurse for .htaccess checks	Default: `2`
`ignoredepreciated`	System Enable legacy warnings	Default: `0`
`invite_sub`	System Account Invites for Subaccounts	Default: On
`ionice_bandwidth_processing`	System I/O priority level at which bandwidth usage is processed	Default: `4`
`ionice_cpbackup`	System I/O priority level at which nightly backups are run	Default: `3`
`ionice_dovecot_maintenance`	System I/O priority level at which dovecot_maintenance is run	Default: 7
`ionice_email_archive_maintenance`	System I/O priority level at which email_archive_maintenance is run	Default: `6`
`ionice_ftpquotacheck`	System I/O priority level at which FTP quota checks are run (when Pure-FTPd is enabled)	Default: `6`
`ionice_log_processing`	System I/O priority level at which stats logs are processed	Default: `4`
`ionice_quotacheck`	System I/O priority level at which quota checks are run	Default: `6`
`ionice_userbackup`	System I/O priority level at which cPanel-generated backups are run	Default: `5`
`ionice_userproc`	System I/O priority level for user-initiated processes	Default: `5`
`ipv6_control`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `0`
`ipv6_listen`	System Listen on IPv6 Addresses	Default: `0`
`jailapache`	Security EXPERIMENTAL: Jail Apache Virtual Hosts using mod_ruid2 and cPanel® jailshell.	Default: `0`
`jaildefaultshell`	System Use cPanel® jailshell by default	Default: `0`
`jailmountbinsuid`	System Jailed /bin mounted suid Note: This setting has no effect on servers that run CentOS, CloudLinux™, or Red Hat® Enterprise Linux 7.	Default: `0`
`jailmountusrbinsuid`	System Jailed /usr/bin mounted suid	Default: `0`
`jailprocmode`	System Jailed /proc mount method	Default: `mount_proc_jailed_fallback_full`
`keepftplogs`	Stats and Logs Keep master FTP log file	Default: `0`
`keeplogs`	Stats and Logs Keep log files at the end of the month	Default: `0`
`keepstatslog`	Stats and Logs Keep stats logs	Default: `0`
`loadthreshold`	Status Critical load threshold	Default: `undef` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`local_nameserver_type`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies your nameserver's type. Note: You can change this value in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Service Configuration >> Nameserver Selection).	Default: `bind` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface. This variable is deprecated, and we will remove it in a later version of cPanel & WHM. If you use this variable in custom code, update that code to use the rpm.versions system as soon as possible to avoid problems. For more information, read our The cpanel.config File documentation.
`logchmod`	Stats and Logs Apache log file chmod value	Default: `640`
`log_successful_logins`	Logging Log successful logins	Default: `0`
`logout_redirect_url`	Redirection Logout redirection URL	Default: "" (an empty string)
`mailbox_storage_format`	Mail The storage format for new accounts	Default: maildir
`mailserver`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `dovecot` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface. This variable is deprecated, and we will remove it in a later version of cPanel & WHM. If you use this variable in custom code, update that code to use the rpm.versions system as soon as possible to avoid problems. For more information, read our The cpanel.config File documentation.
`maintenance_rpm_version_check`	Software Maintenance cPanel RPM Check	Default: `1`
`maintenance_rpm_version_digest_check`	Software Maintenance cPanel RPM Digest Check	Default: `1`
`maxcpsrvdconnections`	System Max cPanel/WHM/Webmail service handlers	Default: `200` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to the default value if you set to less than `200`.
`maxemailsperhour`	Mail Max hourly emails per domain	Default: `undef` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value evaluates to zero.
`maxmem`	System Max cPanel process memory	Default: `512` Note: This value is dynamic.
`minpwstrength`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: You can specify the minimum strength for cPanel users' passwords in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> Password Strength Configuration).	Default: `0` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will round this value to the nearest multiple of five.
`modsec_keep_hits`	Stats and Logs The number of days to keep records of ModSecurity™ rule hits. (Use zero to keep forever).	Default: 7
`mycnf_auto_adjust_maxallowedpacket`	SQL Allow cPanel & WHM to determine the best value for your MySQL max_allowed_packet configuration?	Default: `1`
`mycnf_auto_adjust_openfiles_limit`	SQL Allow cPanel & WHM to determine the best value for your MySQL open_files_limit configuration	Default: `1`
`mycnf_auto_adjust_innodb_buffer_pool_size`	SQL Allow cPanel & WHM to determine the best value for your MySQL innodb_buffer_pool_size configuration	Default: `1`
`myname`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `cpaneld`
`mysql-version`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: You can upgrade to a new MySQL version in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Software >> MariaDB/MySQL Upgrade ).	Default: `5.6` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface. This variable is deprecated, and we will remove it in a later version of cPanel & WHM. If you use this variable in custom code, update that code to use the rpm.versions system as soon as possible to avoid problems. For more information, read our The cpanel.config File documentation.
`mysql-host`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: You can specify a remote MySQL host in WHM's Remote MySQL interface (Home >> Databases >> Remote MySQL).	Default: `localhost` Warning: This value is dynamic, and additional steps are required if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`mysqldebug`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `0`
`nobodyspam`	Mail Prevent "nobody" from sending mail	Default: `0`
`nocpbackuplogs`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: You can modify this setting in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Server Configuration >> Statistics Software Configuration).	Default: `0`
`nosendlangupdates`	System Send language file changes to cPanel.	Default: `0`
`numacctlist`	Display Number of accounts per page to display in "List Accounts".	Default: `30` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value contains `all` (case insensitive).
`overwritecustomproxysubdomains`	Domains Overwrite custom A records used for proxy subdomains	Default: `0`
`overwritecustomsrvrecords`	Domains Overwrite custom SRV records used by Outlook AutoDiscover support	Default: `0`
`permit_appconfig_entries_without_acls`	Security This setting allows WHM applications and addons to execute even if an ACL list has not been defined.	Default: 0
`permit_appconfig_entries_without_features`	Security This setting allows cPanel and Webmail applications and addons to execute even if a feature list has not been defined.	Default: 0
`permit_unregistered_apps_as_reseller`	Security Allow apps that have not registered with AppConfig to be run when logged in as a reseller to WHM.	Default: 0
`permit_unregistered_apps_as_root`	Security Allow apps that have not registered with AppConfig to be run when logged in as root or a reseller with the "all" ACL in WHM.	Default: 0
`php_max_execution_time`	PHP cPanel PHP max execution time	Default: `90`
`php_post_max_size`	PHP cPanel PHP max POST size	Default: `55`
`php_system_default_version`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Notes: This setting only applies to systems that run EasyApache 4. You can set your system's default version of PHP in WHM's MultiPHP Manager interface (Home >> Software >> MultiPHP Manager).	Default: `ea-php56`
`php_upload_max_filesize`	PHP cPanel PHP max upload size	Default: `50`
`phploader`	PHP cPanel PHP loader	Default: "" (an empty string)
`phpopenbasedirhome`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: You can enable or disable this setting in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> PHP open_basedir Tweak).	Default: `0`
`pma_disableis`	Software Enable phpMyAdmin information schema searches	Default: `0`
`popbeforesmtp`	Mail Allow users to relay mail if they use an IP address through which someone has validated an IMAP or POP3 login within the last hour (Pop-before-SMTP)	Default: `0`
`popbeforesmtpsenders`	Mail Add X-PopBeforeSMTP header for mail sent via POP-before-SMTP	Default: `0`
`postgresdebug`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `0`
`product`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `cPanel`
`proxysubdomains`	Domains Proxy subdomains	Default: `1` Warning: This value is dynamic, and you must perform additional steps if you wish to update the value manually. We recommend that you modify this value through the cPanel & WHM interface.
`proxysubdomainsfornewaccounts`	Domains Proxy subdomain creation	Default: `1`
`proxysubdomainsoverride`	Domains Proxy subdomain override	Default: `1`
`publichtmlsubsonly`	Domains Restrict document roots to public_html	Default: `0`
`query_apache_for_nobody_senders`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the Query Apache server status to determine the sender of email sent from processes running as nobody option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Service Configuration >> Exim Configuration Manager ).
`referrerblanksafety`	Security Blank referrer safety check	Default: `0`
`referrersafety`	Security Referrer safety check	Default: `0`
`remotewhmtimeout`	System Remote WHM timeout	Default: `35`
`repquota_timeout`	System Disk usage/quota bailout time	Default: `60`
`requiressl`	Security Require SSL	Default: `1`
`resetpass`	System Reset Password for cPanel accounts	Default: `0`
`resetpass_sub`	System Reset Password for cPanel Subaccounts	Default: On
`root`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies the location of the cPanel `root` installation.	Default: `/usr/local/cpanel`
`rotatelogs_size_threshhold_in_megabytes`	Stats and Logs Log rotation size threshold	Default: `300`
`roundcube_db`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies which type of database the Roundcube webmail application uses.	Default: `mysql`
`rpmupdate_allow_kernel`	System Enable Linux kernel update during nightly maintenance	Default: `Off`
`SecurityPolicy::PasswordAge`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the Password Age option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> Configure Security Policies) and may not appear in this file until you enable it.	Default: `0`
`SecurityPolicy::PasswordStrength`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the Password Strength option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> Configure Security Policies) and may not appear in this file until you enable it.	Default: `0`
`SecurityPolicy::SourceIPCheck`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the Limit logins to verified IP addresses. option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> Configure Security Policies) and may not appear in this file until you enable it.	Default: `0`
`SecurityPolicy::TwoFactorAuth`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the Two-Factor Authentication option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> Configure Security Policies) and may not appear in this file until you enable it.	Default: `0`
`SecurityPolicy::dnsclustering`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the DNS Cluster Requests option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> Configure Security Policies) and may not appear in this file until you enable it.	Default: `0`
`SecurityPolicy::xml-api`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Notes: This setting indicates whether you enabled the API requests option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> Configure Security Policies) and may not appear in this file until you enable it. cPanel & WHM version 66 deprecated XML output.	Default: `0`
`send_error_reports`	Support Send error reports to cPanel for analysis	Default: `1`
`send_server_configuration`	Support Send information about server configuration to cPanel for analysis	Default: `1`
`send_server_usage`	Support Send information about server usage to cPanel for analysis	Default: `0`
`server_locale`	System Server Locale	Default: `en`
`showwhmbwusageinmegs`	Stats and Logs Show bandwidth usage in megabytes by default in WHM	Default: `0`
`signature_validation`	Security Signature validation on assets downloaded from cPanel & WHM mirrors.	Default: Off
`skip_chkservd_recovery_notify`	System The option to enable or disable ChkServd recovery notifications.	Default: `0`
`skipanalog`	Stats Programs Enable Analog stats	Default: `0`
`skipapacheclientsoptimizer`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `0`
`skipawstats`	Stats Programs Enable Awstats stats	Default: `0`
`skipboxcheck`	Notifications Enable mailbox usage warnings	Default: `1`
`skipboxtrapper`	Mail Enable BoxTrapper spam trap	Default: `0`
`skipbwlimitcheck`	Notifications Bandwidth limit check	Default: `0`
`skipchkservd`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the ChkServd option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Service Configuration >> Service Manager ).	Default: `0`
`skipcpbandwd`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `0`
`skipdiskcheck`	Notifications Disk quota usage warnings	Default: `0`
`skipdiskusage`	Notifications System disk space usage warnings	Default: `0`
`skipeximstats`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the Eximstats option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Service Configuration >> Service Manager ).	Default: `0`
`skiphorde`	Mail Enable Horde Webmail Note: This setting does not uninstall Horde.	Default: `0`
`skiphttpauth`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `0`
`skipjailmanager`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the JailManager option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Service Configuration >> Service Manager ).	Default: `0`
`skipmailauthoptimizer`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the MailAuthOptimizer option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Service Configuration >> Service Manager ).	Default: `0`
`skipmailman`	Mail Enable Mailman mailing lists	Default: `0`
`skipmodseclog`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the RecentAuthedMailIpTracker option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Service Configuration >> Service Manager ).	Default: `0`
`skipoomcheck`	Notifications Out of memory warnings.	Default: On
`skipnotifyacctbackupfailure`	System Send a notification when a user's backup has errors	Default: `0`
`skipparentcheck`	System Allow other applications to run the cPanel and admin binaries	Default: `0`
`skiprecentauthedmailiptracker`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the ModSecLog option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Service Configuration >> Service Manager ).	Default: 0
`skiproundcube`	Mail Enable Roundcube webmail	Default: `0`
`skipspamassassin`	Mail Enable Apache SpamAssassin™ spam filter	Default: `0`
`skipspambox`	Mail Enable Apache SpamAssassin™ Spam Box delivery for messages marked as spam (user configurable).	Default: `1`
`skipsqmail`	Mail Enable SquirrelMail webmail	Default: `0`
`skiptailwatchd`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: This setting indicates whether you enabled the tailwatchd option in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface ( Home >> Service Configuration >> Service Manager ).	Default: `0`
`skipwebalizer`	Stats Programs Enable Webalizer stats	Default: `0`
`smtpmailgidonly`	Mail Restrict outgoing SMTP to root, exim, and mailman (FKA SMTP Tweak)	Default: `0`
`statsloglevel`	Stats and Logs Stats log level	Default: `1`
`stats_log`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting specifies the location of the `stats_log` file.	Default: `/usr/local/cpanel/logs/stats_log`
`statthreshhold`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `256` Note: If an account's available disk space is less than the amount that this value specifies, the system does not process statistics for the account.
`system_diskusage_critical_percent`	Notifications Account system disk usage "critical" percentage	Default: `92.55`
`system_diskusage_warn_percent`	Notifications Account system disk usage "warn" percentage	Default: `82.55`
`tcp_check_failure_threshold`	System ChkServd TCP check failure threshold	Default: `3` Note: When your server validates the `cpanel.config` file, it will convert this value to `undef` if this value is set to `0`.
`transfers_timeout`	System Number of seconds an SSH connection related to an account transfer may be inactive before timing out	Default: `300`
`tweak_unset_vars`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. This setting determines which items appear with a warning icon in the Tweak Settings interface. The warning icon indicates that you have not set the value since the last time cPanel & WHM automatically configured it. For example, if the system set a configuration to the default value due to an absent value.	No default value. Note: The system only uses this value internally.
`upcp_log_retention_days`	Stats and Logs Number of days to retain upcp logs before purging them	Default: `45`
`update_log_analysis_retention_length`	Support Update analysis retention interval	Default: `90`
`use_apache_md5_for_htaccess`	Security Use MD5 passwords with Apache	Default: `1`
`use_information_schema`	SQL Use INFORMATION_SCHEMA to acquire MySQL disk usage (MySQL 5+ required)	Default: `1`
`useauthnameservers`	Domains Always use authoritative (registered) nameservers when creating a new DNS zone.	Default: `0`
`usemailformailmanurl`	Mail Prefix "mail." onto Mailman URLs	Default: `0`
`usemysqloldpass`	SQL Use pre-4.1-style MySQL^® passwords	Default: `0`
`userdirprotect`	No Tweak Settings equivalent. Note: You can enable or disable this setting in WHM's The cpanel.config File interface (Home >> Security Center >> Apache mod_userdir Tweak).	Default: `0`
`verify_3rdparty_cpaddons`	Security Verify signatures of 3rdparty cPaddons.	Default: `0`
`version`	No Tweak Settings equivalent.	Default: `3.4`

Additional documentation

The cpanel.config File — This interface allows you to configure many cPanel & WHM settings.

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The cpanel.config File

Overview

Cached values

Configuration setting validation

Absent cpanel.config file

Absent values

Invalid values

Keys and default settings

Additional documentation