cPanel & WHM Version 132: Temporary Domains, Dovecot Sieve, AlmaLinux 10 & More

cPanel announces the release of cPanel & WHM version 132, introducing several significant features and improvements to enhance the hosting experience. This update expands domain management with temporary domains in the cPanel interface, upgrades the mail system to Dovecot 2.4 with Sieve filtering, adds full support for the latest Linux OS versions (AlmaLinux 10 and Ubuntu 24 LTS), and even debuts a new HTML editor (Jodit) in File Manager. Read on for a breakdown of the highlights and why they matter for cPanel users.

Temporary Domains in the cPanel Domains Interface

The cPanel Domains interface now supports creating and managing temporary domains, allowing immediate site setup without DNS propagation.

Temporary domain support was first introduced in v130 for new account creation, and v132 takes it a step further. Now, cPanel users can create and manage temporary domains directly from the Domains interface, not just during account creation. This means you can set up a website under a temporary “*.cpanel.site” subdomain and start building or testing immediately – no need to wait for domain registration or DNS changes to go live.

Some enhancements around temporary domains include:

• Parked Domains on Temporary Domains: You can park a real (registered) domain on top of a temporary domain. This lets you develop a site on a temp URL and efficiently map the live domain to it when ready (making the switch seamless).

• Improved Conversion to Real Domain: Converting a temporary domain to a real domain is now smoother with better validation. (Note: you still cannot convert the primary domain of the account from temporary to real on your own – for the primary domain, you’d contact the host.)

• Restrictions and Fixes: Temporary domain creation is now allowed even if “Allow Remote Domains” is disabled on the server, and cPanel will prevent any DNS zone edits on temporary domains (since DNS is handled automatically). A few bugs related to converting temporary addon domains to real domains have also been fixed.

Why use temporary domains? They’re great for staging or initial site development – you can design and collaborate on a new site without owning the domain yet. Keep in mind that such sites won’t send email (by design, to avoid spam issues) and won’t be indexed by search engines, so they’re truly temporary placeholders. Once you’re ready, cPanel makes it easy to swap in a real domain when it’s registered and pointed, saving you time in getting new sites online.

AI Website Generator in Sitejet Builder

The Sitejet AI Website Generator can now be launched from inside cPanel’s Sitejet Builder, making it easy to create or refresh complete websites with AI.

For those using the Sitejet Website Builder in cPanel, v132 brings an exciting update: the AI Website Generator is now accessible directly within the Sitejet Builder interface. This tool (launched in v116) can instantly generate a fully designed, mobile-friendly website based on a few prompts or business details. In v132, you no longer need to leave the editor or go through an external step – you can launch the AI generator from the builder toolbar and watch it create pages and content for you.

Notable enhancements to Sitejet Builder in this release:

• In-Editor AI Access: Users can invoke the AI Website Generator while editing an existing site. This is great for quickly creating a new site from scratch or giving an old site a fresh redesign using AI suggestions.

• Apply to Existing Sites: You can even apply the AI generator to an existing website. The system will warn that this action will overwrite the current site’s content (both in the builder and on the live site once published). Thanks to built-in versioning, you can always roll back to a previous version using backups if needed. This makes it a valuable tool for refreshing a site’s design or content in one go.

• Bug Fixes & Security: Along with the new AI features, the Sitejet update includes important bug fixes and security improvements, ensuring a stable building experience.

Important: When using the AI generator on an existing site, keep in mind that it will replace the site’s content. Always take a backup or use the builder’s version history to revert if you don’t like the outcome. Overall, this deeper integration of Sitejet’s AI tools in cPanel v132 helps users build websites faster and with less effort, directly from cPanel.

Dovecot 2.4 Upgrade with Sieve Filters (Roundcube Integration)

Email hosting gets a significant boost in cPanel 132. The mail server has been upgraded to Dovecot 2.4, which brings performance improvements and modern features. Notably, this upgrade enables Pigeonhole Sieve support in Dovecot (and in Webmail via Roundcube) for advanced server-side email filtering.

What does this mean? With Sieve filters, users can create rules to automatically sort or redirect incoming mail on the server side (even when your mail client is offline). For example, you can set up filters to move emails to folders, forward or discard messages, or send vacation auto-replies – all processed by the server as mail arrives. Roundcube Webmail now includes a built-in Filters interface (ManageSieve) to define these rules easily. This is a big win for users who previously relied on client-side filters or less flexible cPanel email filters.

Additional improvements in the mail system include:

• Enhanced SNI Handling: Better handling of Server Name Indication for mail services, ensuring SSL certificates for mail domains are used properly (fewer hostname mismatch warnings in email clients).

• Quota Management Fixes: Dovecot 2.4 improves how mailbox quotas are tracked and enforced, resolving some inconsistencies from previous versions. Admins should see more accurate reporting of used vs. available space for email accounts.

• Roundcube Updates: Roundcube webmail is updated to fully support the new Sieve features, providing a user-friendly way to manage server filters. It also includes the latest patches for stability and security.

Security Note: The Dovecot 2.4 upgrade tightens password security. Weak hashing algorithms for stored email passwords (like old MD5 hashes) are no longer allowed by default. Email accounts using very old/weak hashes may be unable to log in to IMAP/POP until they update their password. As a server admin, you can temporarily allow weak auth hashes in WHM’s Mailserver Configuration if needed, but it’s recommended that users update their passwords to a stronger hash. This change helps protect against compromised email accounts by enforcing modern password standards.

Overall, the mail stack updates in v132 (Dovecot 2.4 + Sieve) give users more control over their email flow and improve security and reliability in mail delivery.

New HTML Editor in File Manager (Jodit Integration)

Editing website files through cPanel’s File Manager is now easier and more modern. cPanel 132 introduces a new HTML Editor (Beta) powered by Jodit, replacing the legacy WYSIWYG editor. This change brings a faster, more feature-rich editing experience for users who edit HTML pages or code directly in cPanel.

The Jodit editor is a lightweight, open-source WYSIWYG editor with a Word-like interface. When you choose “HTML Edit” on a file in File Manager, the new editor opens with a toolbar full of options for formatting text, inserting images/videos, tables, links, and more. It provides an accurate “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” view of your HTML content, so even non-technical users can easily make changes to webpages.

Key points about the new HTML Editor (Beta):

• Modern Interface: Jodit brings a clean, modern interface and supports expanded formatting options (fonts, colors, alignment, etc.) that the old editor lacked. It behaves more like a standard word processor, which lowers the learning curve.

• Improved Stability: The previous HTML editor (based on an older version of CKEditor) was removed due to security concerns. The new Jodit-based editor is not only more secure but also more stable for in-browser file editing.

• Beta Status: This feature is currently labeled Beta, meaning it’s functional for most editing tasks but may not be 100% finalized. Some advanced features (like editing JavaScript-heavy pages) might not fully render in the editor preview. However, core HTML/CSS content editing should work smoothly. Users are encouraged to try it out and provide feedback as cPanel continues to refine the editor for a future full release.

If needed, users can still use the plain Code Editor, but for quick visual edits, the new Jodit HTML Editor is a welcome addition to the cPanel toolkit.

AlmaLinux 10 and Ubuntu 24 Support

With version 132, cPanel & WHM adds full support for AlmaLinux OS 10 and Ubuntu® 24 LTS as hosting environments. This ensures that hosting providers and server admins can confidently run cPanel on the latest enterprise Linux distributions.

• AlmaLinux 10.0: cPanel now supports AlmaLinux 10 (the next major version of the RHEL-compatible OS). This includes compatibility with cPanel’s entire feature set, EasyApache 4, and related components. Using AlmaLinux 10 with cPanel will require the system to meet updated package requirements (e.g., running on the latest Alma 10 stable release). If you’re on AlmaLinux 8 or 9, you can plan your upgrade knowing cPanel is ready when you are. (Note: On AlmaLinux 8, support for MySQL 5.5 and 5.6 has been removed in v132, as those MySQL versions were already deprecated on other OSes. Be sure to upgrade any old MySQL instances before updating your panel.)

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS: Following the introduction of Ubuntu support in recent versions, cPanel 132 adds support for Ubuntu 24 LTS (likely Ubuntu 24.04) as a fully supported server OS. This means if you prefer Ubuntu’s ecosystem, you can run cPanel/WHM on the 2024 Long-Term Support release and get full functionality and official support. Ubuntu 24 brings updated packages and a 5-year support window, aligning well with cPanel’s offerings.

Important: If you are upgrading a server to v132, please keep in mind that RHEL 9-based systems (AlmaLinux 9, Rocky 9, etc.) must be on version 9.5 or later to upgrade. This aligns with Red Hat’s updates—ensure you’ve applied the latest OS updates before attempting the cPanel upgrade. Keeping OS packages up to date is critical for security and compatibility.

By supporting the latest OS versions, cPanel & WHM ensures you can take advantage of performance and security improvements in the underlying system while still using the familiar cPanel environment.

DNS and Email System Enhancements

Beyond the headline features, v132 includes a variety of DNS and Email improvements that refine how the system handles domains and mail:

DNS Improvements:

• Support for Long TXT Records: WHM’s DNS Zone Manager now supports TXT records longer than 255 characters. Previously, very long TXT records (often used for DKIM or other verification) had to be split; now they can be added in a single step if needed.

• Default DMARC Record: cPanel/WHM will now add a default DMARC DNS record for new domains, following best practices for email authentication. Administrators can even customize the default DMARC policy via WHM API if desired. This helps improve email deliverability and security out of the box.

• DNS Zone UI Fixes: The “Add a DNS Zone” function in WHM now correctly handles domain ownership checks (preventing conflicts when adding zones for domains already on the server). Additionally, the DNS Zone Manager’s filter has been improved – the “All” filter now truly shows all zones as expected (fixing prior filtering quirks when many zones exist).

Email System Improvements:

• Faster Email Accounts Interface: The Email Accounts page in cPanel has been optimized for performance. On servers with large numbers of email accounts, the interface should load and respond more quickly, making account management easier.

• Dovecot SNI and Quota Fixes: A few under-the-hood fixes address issues with Dovecot’s SNI configuration for mail SSL certificates and some edge cases in quota enforcement. This results in fewer errors or edge-case bugs when users connect to their mail using secure ports and when their mailboxes approach the quota limits.

• Mailman Update: The mailing list software Mailman has been updated to v2.2.0-35. This update resolves specific known issues (like the “pickle” errors some users encountered in previous versions) and includes security patches. If you use mailing lists, it’s always good to be on the latest maintained version for stability.

These tweaks collectively make managing DNS and email more reliable. While they might not be as flashy as the significant features, they reduce friction in day-to-day administration and enhance cPanel’s adherence to internet standards (like DMARC).

Other Notable Improvements in v132

WebPros SSO Integration: cPanel 132 introduces a new login method for WHM administrators: the ability to log in to WHM using a WebPros Account (the unified account used across cPanel, Plesk, and other WebPros services). This is a single sign-on (SSO) option. It’s disabled by default for now, but admins can enable it in WHM > Security Center > Manage External Authentications. Once enabled, a server admin could log in without a root password by using their WebPros (cPanel) account credentials. This feature is currently in limited release, but it hints at future convenient authentication options (potentially a password-less login experience for admins who opt in).

Transfer Tool Enhancements: The account transfer and restore system has been improved to handle domains more intelligently. For example, when transferring an account without a defined domain, the system can auto-assign a placeholder domain to ensure the account is created correctly. This reduces manual steps and errors when migrating accounts between servers.

Terminal Interface Update: The built-in Terminal in cPanel/WHM now respects user-level memory limits. If there are resource limits (like CloudLinux LVE or cPanel’s Resource Limits) applied, any processes run in the Web Terminal will adhere to those constraints. This prevents users from launching memory-intensive processes via the web terminal, which could impact the server, keeping system usage fair.

Service Manager Fix: The Service Manager in WHM (which lets you enable/disable background services) received a minor fix to detect the nscd service path correctly. This resolves an issue where the Name Service Cache Daemon’s status might not have been reported correctly. It’s a minor stability fix for those using nscd for DNS caching.

“Personhood” Setting Removal: You might notice that the Personhood settings (used to control specific browser verification prompts in cPanel) have been removed from the UI. They were previously in Account Preferences and some welcome modals. This feature was not widely used, and it has now been cleaned up from the interface to reduce confusion.

Interface Analytics & In-Product Survey: cPanel has been working to gather usage data to improve the product (with full respect for privacy). In v132, they fully anonymized the Interface Analytics data collection, enabling it by default for all users. Admins can still opt out or configure what’s collected, but by removing personal info, cPanel can gather useful metrics to improve UI experiences. Along with this, cPanel is introducing an in-app survey (on a limited rollout). After upgrading to v132, you might see a one-time pop-up survey in WHM and Webmail (for root and users) asking for feedback on the product. This survey is optional and configurable via the new “Leika” settings (cPanel’s internal analytics module). It’s part of cPanel’s efforts to understand customer needs better – feel free to share your insights if you see the survey.

All of these improvements show cPanel’s ongoing commitment to polish and usability – streamlining logins, transfers, command-line use, and gathering feedback without compromising privacy.

Upcoming Deprecation: Site Publisher (v134)

Looking ahead, cPanel has announced a deprecation to be aware of: the legacy Site Publisher feature will be deprecated in version 134 (expected mid-January). Site Publisher is the old tool that allowed users to deploy a one-page placeholder website from a template quickly. Starting with v134, the Site Publisher interface will no longer be available in cPanel.

What does this mean for users with existing Site Publisher sites? No need to worry – any website that was created with Site Publisher will remain online indefinitely. Those static sites won’t be taken down or expire, and users can continue to edit them if needed manually. The change is simply that you won’t be able to create new Site Publisher sites or redeploy those templates from cPanel once you’re on v134.

Why the removal? cPanel is encouraging users to move to more modern, robust site-building solutions – namely the Sitejet Builder, a far superior tool for creating full websites (included at no extra cost). Sitejet offers responsive multi-page sites, an AI generator (as discussed above), and better accessibility compliance, which the old Site Publisher one-pagers lacked. Essentially, everything Site Publisher did (quick, simple sites), Sitejet can do better, so it’s time to let the old feature retire.

Suppose you were a fan of Site Publisher for quick “Coming Soon” or maintenance pages. In that case, you can achieve similar results with Sitejet (which has many templates, including simple landing pages) or by manually uploading a basic index page. Existing users will be informed in the cPanel interface as this deprecation approaches, so you’ll have time to adjust.

In summary, cPanel & WHM version 132 is a substantial update that brings both powerful new capabilities and essential improvements across the board. From letting users create temporary domains on the fly to more intelligent, more secure email handling with Dovecot 2.4 and Sieve to platform support for the latest OS releases, this version is designed to help you launch faster, work smarter, and stay secure. Features like the integrated AI site builder and the new Jodit editor enhance the end-user experience. At the same time, under-the-hood tweaks in DNS, security, and system services keep things running smoothly for administrators. Even though cPanel prices increase every year, the panel delivers major quarterly updates with rich new features.