cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin: the universal method

With cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, installing Éclair always follows the same steps, even if your web host has no dedicated guide: PHP 8.3, HTTPS certificate, empty public folder, file upload, wizard, checks. This page gives the standard menus of each control panel, taken from its official documentation, then the FTP method that works everywhere.

cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin: how do you recognize your control panel?

The easiest way is to reread your web host's welcome email, which usually names its control panel. Otherwise, the home screen gives it away:

Hostinger, SiteGround, PlanetHoster, Webempresa, LWS, OVHcloud, IONOS and Infomaniak have their own control panel: follow their guide instead, listed in Choosing your web hosting for Éclair.

The menus at a glance

Before uploading anything, open the site's public folder: if your web host left a placeholder page there (index.html, default.htm…), delete or rename it, because it could load instead of Éclair.

Install Éclair with cPanel

Choose PHP 8.3

cPanel offers two tools, depending on how the server is set up:

• MultiPHP Manager, in Software: tick your domain, choose PHP 8.3, then click Apply. The inherit value means “the server's default version”. If 8.3 is missing, your web host hasn't installed it: ask support for it.
• Select PHP Version, in Software, on CloudLinux servers: choose 8.3 in the list, tick the modules you need, then click Set as current. When your domain uses this selector, it's the one that counts, as at o2switch or Raiola Networks.

Turn on HTTPS

AutoSSL issues and renews certificates automatically; your web host chooses the authority, Let's Encrypt or Sectigo. Check the status of yours in Security › SSL/TLS Status. To force HTTPS on the server side, turn on your domain's Force HTTPS Redirect toggle in Domains › Domains.

Upload and extract the archive

1. Open Files › File Manager.
2. Click Settings, tick “Show Hidden Files (dotfiles)”, then click Save.
3. Go into the site's folder (public_html for the main domain) and upload the archive with Upload: cPanel can't upload folders.
4. Select the archive, then click Extract. This feature requires the Zip tool to be installed on the server.
5. Open the eclair folder created, select all of its contents, .htaccess included, and move them into the site's folder.

For an additional domain, open Domains › Domains, then Create a New Domain, untick “Share document root”, enter the Document Root, then click Submit. This folder is always inside public_html.

Install Éclair with Plesk

Choose PHP 8.3

1. In Websites & Domains, find your domain and click PHP.
2. Tick “PHP support”, choose 8.3 as the PHP version and pick the handler, then click OK.

If these settings are greyed out, your subscription lacks the “PHP version and handler management” permission: ask your web host to make the change.

Turn on HTTPS

1. In Websites & Domains, open SSL/TLS Certificates for your domain.
2. Under “More options”, click Install to get a free certificate from Let's Encrypt.
3. Choose what it covers (main domain, www, webmail…), then confirm.

On the same screen, “Redirect from http to https” sets up a 301 redirect, which is on by default on a new Plesk Obsidian installation. On older versions, a separate “Let's Encrypt” icon replaces this screen.

Upload and extract the archive

1. In Websites & Domains, open your domain's File Manager, then the site's folder.
2. Upload the archive, click its row, then click Extract Files. Tick “Replace existing files” if needed, then click OK.
3. Move the contents of the eclair folder up into the site's folder.

The name of the public folder depends on your web host's configuration: its welcome email or its support team will tell you.

Install Éclair with DirectAdmin

Choose PHP 8.3

Open User Level › Domain Setup, click your domain, then choose 8.3 in “PHP Version Selector” and save. For a subdomain, the setting is in Sub-Domains Setup, under “Document Root Override”. If 8.3 isn't offered, the server administrator has to install it.

Turn on HTTPS

In User Level › SSL Certificates, the ACME settings provide a Let's Encrypt certificate (ZeroSSL is also offered), issued and renewed automatically. The redirect to HTTPS is off by default, to avoid loops: turn on “Force Redirect” for your domain in User Level › Domain Setup.

Upload and extract the archive

In the File Manager, right-click the archive, then choose Extract, or use the “Extract” link in the actions column. Extraction depends on the tools installed on the server; if it fails, use FTP instead.

The universal FTP method

It works at every web host, with or without a control panel:

1. Extract the archive on your computer.
2. Find your FTP credentials: in the welcome email or in the FTP section of your control panel.
3. In FileZilla, enter the Host, Username, Password and port, then click Quickconnect. For SFTP, type sftp:// before the host.
4. Turn on Server › Force showing hidden files.
5. On the left, open the eclair folder and select all of its contents; on the right, open the public folder.
6. Drag the selection to the right, then check that .htaccess has arrived.

SFTP ports vary: 22 at o2switch, OVHcloud or IONOS, 5022 at PlanetHoster, 18765 at SiteGround, 65002 in Hostinger's example. So does the name of the public folder:

Run the wizard, then check

Open your site over https://: Éclair's setup wizard checks the server, then asks its 4 questions, detailed in Install Éclair step by step. When run over https://, it ticks Force HTTPS itself, and once the site address is verified, Éclair redirects every visit to the official address: the control panel's redirect becomes optional.

Once you're logged in, open the Security page: “Encrypted connection (HTTPS) enforced” and “Site address verified” must be ticked, and every file in the “Folder protection test” must show Protected. If you use the AI assistant, click Test the connection in Settings › AI assistant.

What if something goes wrong?

Other messages are explained on the Troubleshooting page.

Key points

• With cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, the method stays the same: only the menus change.
• Choose PHP 8.3, turn on the certificate, then upload the contents of the eclair folder, .htaccess included.
• If extraction fails, the FTP method works everywhere.
• Run the wizard over https:// so that Éclair forces HTTPS itself.

Going further

• Prepare your installation and Install Éclair step by step.
• Nginx, VPS, proxy and CDN, if your server uses neither Apache nor LiteSpeed.
• Choosing your web hosting for Éclair and its ten guides by web host.
• Official documentation: cPanel File Manager, MultiPHP Manager, Plesk and Let's Encrypt and DirectAdmin and SSL.