How to Install and Use Cockpit

Prerequisites

Before installing Cockpit, make sure you have:

• SSH access to your VPS
• Root or sudo privileges
• Port 9090 available

Step 1: Install Cockpit

Connect to your VPS:

ssh hxroot@YOUR_SERVER_IP -p 22

sudo apt update

sudo apt install cockpit -y

Step 2: Start and Enable Cockpit

sudo systemctl start cockpit

sudo systemctl enable cockpit

Step 3: Allow Firewall Access

sudo ufw allow 9090/tcp

Step 4: Access Cockpit Web Interface

Open browser and visit:

https://YOUR_VPS_IP:9090

(Note: Use HTTPS; your browser may warn about self-signed certificate – proceed anyway.)

Login with your system username and password (e.g., hxroot).

Step 5: Install Cockpit Optional Modules

sudo apt install cockpit-pcp cockpit-storaged cockpit-networkmanager cockpit-packagekit cockpit-sosreport -y

Step 6: Secure Cockpit with SSL Certificate (Optional)

Use Let's Encrypt or purchase a certificate, then replace:

/etc/cockpit/ws-certs.d/0-self-signed.cert

Restart Cockpit:

sudo systemctl restart cockpit

What Cockpit Can Do

• View system logs and services
• Monitor CPU, memory, disk, network
• Manage storage (partitions, RAID, mounts)
• Manage Docker/Podman containers
• View and manage processes
• Terminal access (web-based SSH)
• Software updates

Uninstall Cockpit

sudo apt remove cockpit --purge -y