Skip to main content

Installing Payload CMS on cPanel

Festuc

Hi everyone,

Has anyone successfully deployed Payload CMS (v3.x, based on Next.js 13/14) in a cPanel + CloudLinux environment?

I’m working with the following setup:

  • OS: CloudLinux 8.10 (STANDARD)

  • cPanel / WHM: 126.0.16

  • Web server: LiteSpeed 6.3.2

  • Node.js version: 20.19.2 (via selector)

  • App: Payload CMS 3.35.1 (Next.js 13+)

After several attempts and workarounds, I ended up with a very messy environment including:

  • Setup Node.js App

  • Application Manager

  • PM2 (installed manually to persist across reboots)

  • .cpanel.yml for deploy hooks

  • Manual build commands inside CageFS

I eventually solved the WebAssembly "Out of memory" build error by switching the cPanel memory_limit in WHM → Tweak Settings to Unlimited, but there are still unresolved questions:

  1. What is the cleanest way to deploy Payload CMS on cPanel with:

    • Next.js app structure

    • SSR or static generation

    • PM2 or not?

  2. Should the Application Manager be used at all, or avoided?

  3. How can we make the install persistent and clean without mixing multiple methods?

Any working examples, .cpanel.yml configs, or install scripts you can share?

It would be amazing to have an official guide for installing Payload CMS on cPanel, with clear and detailed steps.

Thanks in advance for any input. I’d be happy to share back a complete guide once it’s fully working.

Best regards,

Comments

12 comments

Date Votes
  • Festuc

    Thank you very much for the detailed reply and guidance!

    It’s now clear to me that using PM2 under the Node.js environment and proxying through LiteSpeed is the best workaround for now.

    Do you know if cPanel has any plans or roadmap to improve native support for Next.js SSR apps — for example, persistent Node processes (“always-on”), built-in PM2-like process management, ready-to-use reverse proxy rules, WebSocket/HTTP2 support, or better environment variable and log handling directly from the panel?

    If there’s any official documentation or best-practice guide for running Next.js on cPanel (beyond Application Manager), I’d really appreciate the reference.

    Thanks again!

    1
  • cPRex Jurassic Moderator

    Festuc - I'm not seeing anything for Next.js in our development pipeline when I checked just now.  If you have specific feedback about what you'd like to see in regards to next.js could you submit that over at features.cpanel.net?  Once you do that I bring it up with the team during our weekly meetings and I'll let you know what we talk about.

    0
  • Festuc

    Thanks for your reply and for checking this with the team.

    We’re increasingly seeing clients requesting support for Payload CMS, which relies heavily on Next.js SSR. Unfortunately, this is where cPanel currently falls short — there’s no stable or officially supported way to run full SSR Node.js applications.

    We’ve tried multiple workarounds (PM2, Application Manager, reverse proxy through LiteSpeed, etc.), but none of them provide a reliable or production-grade environment for SSR workloads. Static exports are fine for basic sites, but in our case, SSR is essential — Payload’s real-time features, authentication, and routing all depend on it.

    It would make a big difference if cPanel were optimized for full Next.js SSR apps, similar to how some "competing" control panels have started adapting for modern Node.js frameworks. We’d strongly prefer to keep everything under cPanel instead of having to split environments between panels.

    I just submited a formal feature request on features.cpanel.net, but wanted to emphasize here that Next.js SSR support is quickly becoming a key requirement for many professional hosting environments — especially for agencies and developers working with Payload CMS or similar platforms.

    Thanks again for considering this.

    0
  • cPRex Jurassic Moderator

    I do see that feature request there so I'll bring it up with the team during our weekly meeting on Friday!

    1
  • Festuc

    Thanks a lot! Really appreciate you bringing it up with the team — looking forward to any updates from Friday’s meeting.

    0
  • cPRex Jurassic Moderator

    Festuc - last week's meeting didn't happen because of Cloudfest, but it's on the agenda for this week!

    1
  • Festuc

    Hi cPRex, just following up to see if there's any update from the team's discussion regarding SSR support for modern Node.js apps. Thanks again!

    0
  • cPRex Jurassic Moderator

    There sure is :D

    I'm going to be making a more general feedback card for the features site so I can get better information on what specific Node tools people are looking for.  That will happen at some point next week.

    1
  • Festuc

    Great ! Thanks !!!

    0
  • cPRex Jurassic Moderator

    I've created a card at https://features.cpanel.net/c/296-nodejs-support-feedback for general feedback on what cPanel should include for improved NodeJS support, so if you have ideas feel free to share them there!

    0
  • Festuc

    Thanks, cPRex — really appreciate you creating the feedback card.

    I’ll add my notes there. My main focus is ensuring cPanel can properly support modern SSR frameworks like Next.js 13+ and Payload CMS (WASM builds, persistent Node processes, and reverse-proxy integration), so I’ll summarise the key technical needs on the feature request.

    Thanks again for moving this forward.

    0
  • cPRex Jurassic Moderator

    You're very welcome!

    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Didn't find what you were looking for?

New post