How to Create a WHM Reseller Account Without an Associated Domain

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Introduction

A WHM reseller account without an associated domain allows you to create a reseller-level administrative user that is not linked to a cPanel hosting account or a domain name. This type of account is useful for employees, support engineers, or administrators who require access to WHM to perform server management tasks without being granted full root access.

Since the account is independent of a hosting domain, it can be assigned only the specific reseller privileges required, helping improve server security through role-based access control.

Prerequisites

Before creating a reseller account without an associated domain, ensure the following requirements are met:

  • cPanel & WHM version 106 or later.
  • Root SSH access to the server.
  • A unique username for the reseller account.
  • The privileges that the reseller should be granted have been planned in advance.
  • Basic familiarity with WHM and Linux command-line operations.

Implementation

There are two supported methods for creating a WHM reseller account without an associated domain.

Method 1: Using the WHM API (Recommended)

  1. Connect to the server via SSH as the root user.
  2. Create the reseller account using the following command:
whmapi1 createacct username=<username> password='<password>' reseller_without_domain=1
  1. Assign the required reseller privileges using the Edit Reseller Nameservers and Privileges interface in WHM or by using the setacls API.
  2. Run the following command to update the user domain mappings:
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/updateuserdomains

Method 2: Manual Creation

  1. Create the Linux user account.
  2. Set the user’s password.
  3. Configure the user’s home directory permissions.
  4. Register the user as a reseller by updating the /var/cpanel/resellers file.
  5. Create or update the corresponding file in /var/cpanel/users/.
  6. Assign the required reseller privileges from WHM.
  7. Run the following command:
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/updateuserdomains

Conclusion

Creating a WHM reseller account without an associated domain provides a secure way to delegate server administration tasks without granting root access or creating a full cPanel hosting account. By assigning only the necessary reseller privileges, administrators can implement better access control while maintaining server security. After creating the account, ensure that the required permissions are configured and run the updateuserdomains script before using additional WHM API functions.

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