This article was originally posted on sPanel’s documentation pages here
UpdatedApril 25, 2023
Migrating websites from cPanel servers is as easy as generating a full backup and restoring it on the SPanel server.
You just upload the backup to the /home directory of the SPanel server and then restore it with the command below.
/scripts/restorepkg /home/backup-date-user.tar.gz /homeSPanel will automatically restore all files, emails, databases, database users & grants, cron jobs, domains, subdomains, DNS zones, SSL certificates.
Migrating websites from other control panels is done manually.
It is recommended to verify the migrated website works correctly on the new server before changing the name servers. You can do that by pointing the domain name to your new server’s IP address just for your computer by editing the /etc/hosts file if you are running Linux/Mac or C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts for Windows OS.
*** Editing the file on Windows requires starting the editor with Administrative privileges.
It should look like this below where 178.15.228.19 is the IP address of your SPanel server.
178.15.228.19 yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.comThe last step is to change the name servers for your domain and allow 24 hours for DNS propagation.
If you require assistance in migrating your websites, please contact sPanel technical support team.
We note that sPanel is very much like the more popular (and more expensive) cPanel. And so, the origins of the migration process are likely to be from cPanel. Here’s their version of the migration guidelines;
This section was adopted from cPanel Documents located here
The restorepkg Script
Valid for versions 120 through the latest version
Version:
102
120
Last modified: March 1, 2024
Overview
You can use the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restorepkg script to restore a cPanel account from a backup file.
Note:
- To create a backup file of a cPanel account, use the
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/pkgacctscript. - You can also restore a cPanel account from a backup file in WHM’s Transfer or Restore a cPanel Account interface (WHM » Home » Transfers » Transfer or Restore a cPanel Account).
Warning:
- Do not use the
skip-name-resolvesetting in your server’s MySQL® configuration. This setting will cause serious issues with server operations. If you are not an advanced MySQL administrator, expect issues with this setting. For example, you will see issues with restoring backups. This setting will also cause issues with phpMyAdmin. - This feature does not transfer Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) configuration information for an account. The user will need to reconfigure 2FA on the new server.
Run the script
To use this script, run the following command as the root user:
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restorepkg [arguments] [input] [filename|username]Important:
You must pass the full path to a backup file or a cPanel account’s username to the script.
Options
This script accepts the following options:
| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
--force | Restore the account regardless of any errors or warnings. When the system restores the account, any existing data remains intact on the server.Note:If the account already exists on the server, this option operates similarly to the --skipaccount option. | --force |
--allow_reseller | Restore reseller privileges. | --allow_reseller |
--ip | Restore the account to a certain IP address:y — Use the next available IP address in the IP address pool to restore the account.n — Use the share IP address to restore the account.A valid IP address — Use this IP address to restore the account.Note:If an IP address is not available, the script uses the next available IP address in the IP address pool. If no IP addresses are available, the script uses the server’s shared IP address. | --ip=192.0.2.169 |
--newuser | Change the restored account’s username. To change the name of a database or database user after you restore the account, use WHM’s Manage Databases interface (WHM » Home » Database Services » Manage Databases) and WHM’s Manage Database Users interface (WHM » Home » Database Services » Manage Database Users).Warning:All of the account’s database users will keep their current username except for the user that matches the cPanel account.The new account name cannot already exist on the server.The username must contain 16 characters or fewer, and the first eight characters must be unique on the server.If you use this option with the --skipaccount option, the cPanel account may not restore correctly. | --newuser=username |
--skipaccount | Restore a package for an existing account with the same username as another existing account.Warning:If you use this option with the --newuser option, the cPanel account may not restore correctly. | --skipaccount |
--restricted | Run the restoration process with the Restricted Restore feature. This feature performs additional security checks on the backup file in order to mitigate the risk of transfers from unfamiliar sources. If a component of the backup file contains an issue (for example, a compromised MySQL® grant table or a symbolic link attack), the system does not restore that portion of the backup and adds a warning to the log file. If you do not trust the source of the account backup with root access to your server, use the Restricted Restore feature to protect your server.Note:If you do not use this option, the script performs an unrestricted restore.Warning:The *Restricted Restore* feature is **experimental**. Do **not** consider it an effective security control. Exercise **extreme** caution when using the *Restricted Restore* feature.When you restore an account with the *Restricted Restore* feature, the system may leave behind unnecessary account data. This can cause conflicts and leave the account in a broken state. You must remove the account and then restore it **without** using the *Restricted Restore* feature.To use the *Restricted Restore* feature to restore an account that owns PostgreSQL® databases, the target server **must** use PostgreSQL version 8.4 or later.The _Restricted Restore_ feature will **not** restore parked (aliased) or addon domains.The *Restricted Restore* feature only allows restored accounts to use the `noshell` or [`jailshell`](/knowledge-base/accounts/virtfs-jailed-shell) options. If the restored account uses another shell, the system will set the account to use the `noshell` option. | None |
--unrestricted | Restore a package in unrestricted mode.Note:This option defaults to enabled. The --restricted option overrides this option. | None |
--shared_mysql_server | Restore a package without restoring some MySQL/MariaDB grants and databases if they already exist on the server. | --shared_mysql_server |
--help | Display the script’s help information. This information includes a list of modules that you can disable with the --disable option. | --help |
--disable | Disable specific modules during the account restoration process:Use a comma-separated list to specify multiple values.For a list of possible values, run the –help option, or read our WHM API 1 restore_modules_summary documentation.Module names are case-sensitive.Warning:We strongly recommend that only advanced users use this option. If you incorrectly configure this option, the cPanel account may restore in a broken state. | --disable=MailRouting,SSL |
--mail_location | The server on which the account’s email will reside after the system completes the restore process:.local — The local server..existing — Use the location defined in the account’s backup data. The is the default option.ALIAS — A remote cPanel & WHM linked server node’s alias. For example, the example-alias for the servernode.example.com domain.Note:The system will default to the .local option if:The system cannot use the cPanel & WHM linked server node when you use the .existing option.The cPanel & WHM linked server node’s ALIAS value is invalid. | --mail_location=example-alias |
--keep_local_cpuser_values | Keep the specified value(s) from the local account’s cpuser file.Use a comma-separated list to specify multiple values.For a list of possible values, refer to the local account’s /var/cpanel/users file.Values are case-sensitive.Warning:We strongly recommend that only advanced users use this option. If you configure this option, the cPanel account may restore in an inconsistent state.The local account must already exist on the server to use this option.You can only use this option with the --newuser and --skipaccount options. | --keep_local_cpuser_values=DNS,RS |
Files
The backup filename must use one of the following formats:
cpmove-{USER}cpmove-{USER}.tarcpmove-{USER}.tar.gz{USER}.tar{USER}.tar.gzbackup-{MM.DD.YYYY}{HH-MM-SS}{USER}.tarbackup-{MM.DD.YYYY}{HH-MM-SS}{USER}.tar.gz
The restore package script searches for the archive in the following locations:
/home/home2/home3/root/usr/usr/home/web
The script attempts to restore the account on the shared IP address with the following steps:
- Adds the package to the
AccountLocalqueue. - Starts the restoration process.
- Uses the
tailcommand to output the log file’s contents after the restoration process begins.
Examples
The following command uses the unrestricted restore method to restore the cpmove-testaccount.tar.gz file to the 192.0.2.169 IP address:
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restorepkg --ip=192.0.2.169 cpmove-testaccount.tar.gzThe following command restores the username user:
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restorepkg usernameIf the script cannot find a backup file to restore for that username, it will return an error similar to the following message:
1 2 3 4 5 | Searching for “example”’s account archive … The system did not find an account archive for the user "example" in any of the possible locations “/home”, “/home2”, “/home3”, “/root”, “/usr”, “/usr/home”, and “/web”. The system did not find an account archive for the user “example” in any of the possible locations “/home”, “/home2”, “/home3”, “/root”, “/usr”, “/usr/home”, and “/web”. at bin/restorepkg.pl line 264. |
The following command creates the newacct user with the domain name and theme of the oldacct user:
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restorepkg --newuser newacct --skipaccount --keep_local_cpuser_values DNS,RS oldacct