📝 Full Guide: How to Install Hestia Panel on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) – For Juniors

Aug 30, 2025•~7 min read

🛠️ What You’ll Learn

• How to set up a GCP virtual machine
• How to install and configure Hestia Control Panel
• Basic tips on managing a server through Hestia

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1. 🔧 Prerequisites

• A Google Cloud account (free tier is okay)
• Basic knowledge of SSH and terminal commands
• Domain name (optional but helpful)

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2. 🏗️ Create a Virtual Machine on GCP

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Click on VM Instances → Create Instance
3. Choose:
   • Name: hestia-vm
   • Region: Your preferred region
   • Machine type: e2-micro (free tier) or higher
   • Boot Disk: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
   • Check Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic
4. Click Create

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3. 🔌 Connect to Your VM

gcloud compute ssh hestia-vm

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4. 🧰 Install Hestia Panel

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hestiacp/hestiacp/main/install/hst-install.sh
sudo bash hst-install.sh --force

• Choose services (Web, DNS, Mail, DB)
• Enter your admin email (e.g., example@gmail.com)
• Enter a valid FQDN hostname, e.g., panel.example.com

💡 Tip: Use a subdomain like panel.example.com for the hostname, not just example.com.

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5. 📡 Access the Hestia Panel

• URL: https://your-vm-ip:8083
• Username and password (shown at end of installation)

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6. 🌐 Point Your Domain (Optional)

Create an A record:

panel.example.com → 34.xxx.xxx.xxx

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7. 🔒 Secure Your Panel

• Install Let’s Encrypt SSL via the dashboard
• Change default ports (optional)
• Verify firewall rules

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8. 🎉 Done! What’s Next?

• Add domains
• Create users
• Set up databases and email

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📂 File Manager

Yes, Hestia includes a built-in file manager:

1. Log in to dashboard → Users → Your user
2. Go to Web → your domain → Open File Manager

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📀 Check Hestia Status & Reboot

sudo systemctl status hestia
sudo systemctl restart hestia
sudo systemctl status nginx
sudo systemctl status mysql

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📌 Tips for Juniors

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

• Backup before changes
• Learn Linux basics: cd, ls, nano, cp

💡 Want help setting up WordPress or email inside Hestia? Leave a comment!

© Wei Jun Yap 0 words