Webmin

Webmin is a web-based system administration tool for Unix-like computer systems. It provides a browser-based interface that lets administrators configure operating system components and services without using the command line directly.

Developed in Perl, Webmin runs as a standalone web server (MiniServ) on the host, typically listening on port 10000. It uses a modular architecture in which individual modules handle configuration tasks for different subsystems, such as users and groups, networking, DNS, services, and others. The interface is designed to abstract from the underlying OS specifics, mapping common administrative tasks to the appropriate system commands.

Core features include user and group management, package management, service management (Apache, Nginx, Postfix, Dovecot, MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL), DNS with BIND, file sharing, firewall configuration, scheduled tasks, backups, and monitoring. Additional capabilities are provided by related projects: Usermin for end users, Virtualmin for virtual hosting, and Cloudmin for multi-tenant virtualization.

Webmin is cross-platform and runs on many Linux distributions and other Unix-like systems such as FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, and macOS (Darwin). It is free software released under a BSD-like license, with source code available from its official site and repositories. It can be installed from package managers on supported systems or from source.

Security and access controls are important considerations for Webmin; because it provides deep system access, administrators typically secure it with TLS, restrict access to trusted networks, and use strong authentication and regular updates to mitigate vulnerabilities. The project maintains security advisories and updates as part of its ongoing development.

Webmin has been in active development since the late 1990s and is maintained by its developer community and ecosystem of related tools.