Download CSF ¶

In the previous section, we explained how to install all the required dependencies for CSF. Now, we’ll guide you through downloading the latest version of ConfigServer Security & Firewall.

Instructions on this page cover both the tgz and `zip archive, see the note below:

.zip vs .tgz format

Our documentation frequently mentions both .zip and .tgz releases of CSF.

When we initially developed addons for CSF, we pushed all of our releases in a .zip archive.

However, after taking over full development of CSF, we opted to migrate back to the .tgz format to keep conformity with how the original developer packaged releases. This is why our scripts mention both extensions, and why our scripts look for both.

Generic Environment¶

These instructions are primarily written for servers without a control panel (such as cPanel, DirectAdmin, etc.). However, most users can still follow along since the installation process is largely the same across all environments.

The main difference comes after installation — the way you access and manage CSF will vary depending on the control panel in use.

Download the latest version of CSF. Two methods are provided below, and you can pick either one. Most users will want to opt for the Direct Download.

Direct Download (tgz) Direct Download (zip) Get.sh

# Using wget (tgz)
wget https://download.configserver.dev/csf.tgz

# Using curl (tgz)
curl -O https://download.configserver.dev/csf.tgz

# Using wget (zip)
wget https://download.configserver.dev/csf.zip

# Using curl (zip)
curl -O https://download.configserver.dev/csf.zip

# Using wget
bash <(wget -qO - https://get.configserver.dev)

# Using curl
bash <(curl -sL https://get.configserver.dev)

Decompress / unzip the downloaded archive file:

.tgz .zip

tar -xzf csf.tgz -C /tmp

unzip csf.zip -d /tmp

After you extract the archive, you can now change over to the folder where the extracted CSF files are located:

cd /tmp/csf

At this point, we have CSF downloaded to your system and ready to install. However, we are going to first run Diagnostic Tests to ensure that our system is ready to handle CSF and has all required dependencies.

Select what documentation you would like to proceed with next ...

Run Diagnostic Tests

Up next, we will explain how to run some diagnostic tests on your server before installing CSF. These tests ensure that your server meets all requirements regarding perl dependencies.

Running these checks will confirm whether CSF can function properly on your server.

cPanel & WHM¶

If you have a server which you do not personally manage or do not have root access for, you will need to sign into WHM and see if your server provider has already pre-installed a copy of CSF which you can use. Without root access to the server, you will be unable to install CSF. Contact your hosting provider for additional information.

However, if you manage your own server with root shell access, and have a valid cPanel & WHM license, this means that you can manually install ConfigServer Firewall onto your server to utilize it.

First, log in to your server as the root user via SSH.

Using Password Using Private Key

ssh -vvv root@XX.XX.XX.XX -p 22

ssh -i /path/to/private_key -vvv root@XX.XX.XX.XX -p 22