Importing Existing Applications into Softaculous

Knowledgebase Article

Importing Existing Applications into Softaculous

This article will help you to import your installations into Softaculous (for example if you want to import a WordPress Installation).

Applications can be imported either from a remote server, or you may import a manually installed application, so that Softaculous is aware that it exists.

Step 1: Log into cPanel and click the Softaculous icon.

Step 2: Locate the application you'd like to import in the Softaculous Library. In this example, we'll be importing WordPress.

Step 3: Click on the Import Tab on the Software page in Softaculous panel.

Step 4: Choose a Local or Remote Import by clicking the appropriate tab.

A local import will be an installation that already exists in your hosting account but which Softaculous is unaware of, perhaps because it was manually installed, or you migrated from another host.
A Remote Import will be an import from a third party host. Let's say you have WordPress installed at another hosting company or on another server, and you'd like to import it over the Internet. It will copy the WordPress install from the remote server and set everything as needed on our server.

Local Import

The local import is to import an installation that is already present on the server.

If you have already manually installed the application and just need Softaculous to manage it, you can ask Softaculkous to Auto Detect All Installations by clicking the button. This will fully automate the import process.

Alternatively, you can manually import only selected installations by entering the following details:

Choose Protocol: Here you can choose whether the application should use secure protocols such as https://, https://www or insecure ones such as http:// and http://www.

Choose Domain: Select the domain from the dropdown which contains the site to import. The files should already be in the correct location on the server.

In Directory (Optional): If the site is installed in a sub-directory, specify what this is.

Click Import to complete the process.

Remote Import

The remote import is split into two sections, the first section is about the source server (where we are importing from) and the second secion is about how the application should be configured on the destination server (your hosting account with Kualo).

Source Details:

Domain Name: The current domain name / location of the existing application to be imported

Server Host (Optional): the IP address that the source URL should resolve to. You will need to put this in if the domain name you are importing from no longer resolves to the source server. If the source domain is still connected to the server you are importing from, you can leave this blank.

FTP Information: It is important that you know and enter the correct FTP credentials. If you don't know the correct credentials, then your import will fail. You may need to clarify all of these settings with the host or administrator responsible for the source server.

Protocol: The file transfer protocol supported by the source server. This is typically FTP, but other proptocols are supported.
Port: The FTP port, typically 21, but it can be adjusted if the source server uses a non-standard port.
FTP Username: The username used for FTP. This will not be the username you use to access the application itself, so if you're unsure, check with your host.
FTP Password: The password used to connect to FTP.
FTP Path: The path to the folder that contains your application. If you're unsure, connect to FTP and see if you need to navigate to any sub-folders to access your application. For instance if you connect to FTP, you may need to navigate to public_html before you get to the folder of your application.
Installation Directory (Optional): If the application is installed in a directory/folder below the web root, include it here. For instance, if your application is installed at https://www.examle.com/sub-folder, enter sub-folder here.

Destination Details:

Choose Protocol: Here you can choose whether the application should use secure protocols such as https://, https://www or insecure ones such as http:// and http://www. Most commonly you'd want to match the protocol you're importing from, but if you are not using SSL on the remote server and would like to, you may choose to change the protocol to a secure one at this time.
Choose Domain: Here you can choose the domain you'd like the application installed into. This will be a drop down list of any domains or sub-domains that exist within your cPanel. If you don't see the domain you were planning to import to, you may need to create the domain or subdomain first.
In Directory (Optional): If you want the installation to operate in a sub-folder (i.e. https://www.example.com/sub-folder), then enter something here. Typically this is just left blank so that the application operates on the domain's root.
Advanced Options: This allows you to specify a name for the database. You don't have to adjust this unless you wish to.

Click, and the process will initiate in the background and you will receive an email once it completes. The length of time taken will depend on how much data there is to import.

Once complete, your software will then be imported into Softaculous! You can now manage the upgrades, backups etc. for the installation.