Installation

Install LiteSoup on a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 server. LiteSoup is a CLI-based tool — there is no web dashboard, no Docker containers, and no AI chat interface. Everything runs natively on your server.

What LiteSoup Installs

The installer provisions a complete WordPress server stack on bare metal:

  • Apache — with per-site vhosts and Let's Encrypt TLS via Certbot
  • PHP-FPM — versions 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4 (selectable per site)
  • MariaDB — with per-site databases and users
  • Redis — for object cache and session storage
  • Memcached — for page cache
  • Certbot — automated TLS certificates
  • wp-cli — WordPress command-line management
  • Hardening scripts — SSH, PHP, and kernel security
  • Backup utilities — with optional S3 off-site storage
  • Git webhooks — auto-deploy on push

No Docker, no Kubernetes, no container orchestration. LiteSoup runs native services managed by systemd, giving you full control and visibility.

Requirements

  • OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (fresh installation recommended)
  • Access: Root SSH access with key authentication
  • RAM: At least 1 GB (2 GB+ recommended for production)
  • Disk: At least 10 GB free
  • Ports: 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) must be open

Not supported: Ubuntu 22.04, Docker-based installs, shared hosting, or cPanel environments.

Install

SSH into your server as root, then run the LiteSoup installer:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/litesoup/litesoup/main/install.sh | sudo bash

The installer is fully automated and idempotent — running it again on an already-provisioned server only applies new changes. The full install takes 5–15 minutes depending on your server's network speed.

Custom PHP Versions

By default LiteSoup installs PHP 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4. You can select specific versions:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/litesoup/litesoup/main/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --php-versions=8.3,8.4

Skip Hardening

On DigitalOcean droplets or CI environments where the provider handles security, skip the hardening stage:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/litesoup/litesoup/main/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --skip-hardening

Launchpad Mirror (DigitalOcean / CI)

If you are on a provider that blocks Launchpad PPA (e.g. DigitalOcean), force a different mirror:

LITESOUP_PPA_FORCE_MIRROR=cloudpanel curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/litesoup/litesoup/main/install.sh | sudo bash
⚠️ Note: By default SSH password login stays enabled. After installation, add your SSH key and run litesoup harden ssh --no-password-auth to lock it down.

What to Do After Installation

LiteSoup is a command-line tool. There is no web interface to open in a browser. After installation, use these commands to get started:

# Check installed version
litesoup --version

# Create a WordPress site
litesoup site create --domain=example.com --php=8.3 --tls=letsencrypt

# List all sites
litesoup site list

# Manage servers via the CLI
litesoup --help

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see the Quick Start guide. For all available commands, see the CLI Reference.

Updating

To update LiteSoup to the latest version:

litesoup stack update

This pulls the latest changes from the GitHub repository and re-runs the installer. Only new stages execute — the process is fully idempotent.

Common Misconceptions

  • LiteSoup is NOT a web dashboard. It is a CLI tool (bash scripts). The litesoup-web Laravel dashboard is a separate, unreleased project.
  • LiteSoup does NOT use Docker. Everything runs natively with systemd services.
  • LiteSoup does NOT have an AI chat interface. You manage servers via terminal commands, not natural language.
  • LiteSoup does NOT run on port 8080. Web servers listen on ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS).
  • The install script is NOT served from litesoup.com. It lives on GitHub at github.com/litesoup/litesoup.