How to Install OpenLiteSpeed on a DirectAdmin VPS

Written by

Jeffrey Thomas Baygents

documenting DirectAdmin VPS and self‑managed hosting systems.

Published: January 14, 2026

Updated: January 14, 2026

Comments: 0

This guide installs OpenLiteSpeed (OLS) on a VPS running the DirectAdmin control panel using DirectAdmin’s build system.

Scope

This is a CLI-only checklist. It does not cover GUI configuration, optimization, or post-install tuning.

Prerequisites

VPS with DirectAdmin installed
- Optional, but recommended: Ensure DirectAdmin has backups setup. See “How to create a DirectAdmin admin Backup“.
Root or admin SSH access

Installation Steps

Connect to the server via SSH.
Run the following code block commands in order.
Also, read the steps in-between to know what happens and what to do for each current and next step.

Code Block 1. What this does: Sets & Installs OpenLiteSpeed, & sets LiteSpeed’s php

da build set webserver openlitespeed
da build set php1_mode lsphp
da build openlitespeed

When the install process finishes, after about 1 minute, document the revealed OpenLiteSpeed admin password to your Password Manager System.
Then, perform the next code block.

Code Block 2. What this does: It Installs the php for OpenLiteSpeed

da build php

This php building takes about 4–5 minutes. Be patient.
Leave alone the terminal session running and let it stay as being active. Don’t do any other tasks on the server or the client PC used to connect to the server.
When the OLS (OpenLiteSpeed) install is done, you can confirm its admin login works.

Now, since this install is completed, you will now be using a special LiteSpeed’s version of php. DirectAdmin manages it well; just continue to follow the remaining steps and guides to finalize the php and the important tasks after that.

Code Block 3. What this does: This updates important .conf files

da build rewrite_confs

Let this process run; it’s not too long.

Code Block 4. What this does: This reboots the server.

reboot

This is an absolute requirement; it reboots the server, which also forces your terminal session to end.

Post-Install: What’s Next?

After reboot, OpenLiteSpeed is active and needed portions are managed through DirectAdmin. You then should immediately proceed to apply some CustomBuild Options, as shown in this next post:

After installing OpenLiteSpeed, following all the above steps, there are some required updates to do in DirectAdmin. Read how to “Apply CustomBuild Options” in DirectAdmin.

DirectAdmin VPS Setup Guide