

Ajenti – Web admin panel - whalesalad
https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti/

======
deftnerd
Nice to see an admin panel that doesn't require PHP or Apache/Nginx installed.
I'll take this for a spin. Requirements:
[https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti/blob/master/requirements.tx...](https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti/blob/master/requirements.txt)

I seems to be licensed under the AGPLv3 (desc here:
[https://tldrlegal.com/license/gnu-affero-general-public-
lice...](https://tldrlegal.com/license/gnu-affero-general-public-
license-v3-\(agpl-3.0\)) )

~~~
Nux
Check out Webmin, no PHP/Apache required and it's super powerful, though its
look smells a bit of the 90s. :)

~~~
lukeholder
I agree webmin is fantastic and the UI it actually not that bad with a theme.

~~~
pyrohawk
Just wondering what theme you use? I have been using this
[https://github.com/metal696heart/Webmin-Theme-
Metal](https://github.com/metal696heart/Webmin-Theme-Metal)

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drdaeman
Looks neat!

Looking at examples like [http://support.ajenti.org/topic/403351-setting-up-a-
python-w...](http://support.ajenti.org/topic/403351-setting-up-a-python-
website-with-ajenti-v-django-example/) it seems that the panel is very
opinionated on how to set up things. There are myriad of ways of setting up
Django website, so I guess, it would be a significantly improvement if docs
would explain what exactly goes on behind the scenes when the configuration is
applied. Or maybe I just looked at the wrong place and missed those details.

And certainly needs proper licensing terms explained. "License not required"
is very bad phrasing for everyone conscious about the matter - when taken
literally it reads as "the software can't be (legally) used" in many
jurisdictions. If I got it right, Ajenti seems¹ to be available under AGPLv3,
so that's what the site should proudly tell.

___

¹)
[https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti/blob/master/docs/LICENSE](https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti/blob/master/docs/LICENSE)

~~~
jsamuel
Interesting, I didn't realize that Ajenti charges for commercial licensing of
their web hosting addon.

[http://ajenti.org/licensing](http://ajenti.org/licensing)

It's on github separately but without a license:
[https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti-v](https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti-v)

~~~
drdaeman
Can't be sure this could be treated as an official statement, but
[https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti-v/blob/efcee75286418fbbd25e...](https://github.com/Eugeny/ajenti-v/blob/efcee75286418fbbd25e407fbe512d18464ed237/rpm.sh#L29)
has a mention of LGPLv3.

If that's real terms the software's distributed under and not some mistake,
then it's a proper Free Software project and I don't see any reason why one
can't or won't use AGPL/LGPL software commercially. Adding any "secret sauce"
seems nearly pointless for web hosting solutions, and even if that's truly
necessary it probably could be easily hidden beneath "xGPL software merely
writes a config file, and doesn't link with the proprietary bits" waiver.

~~~
hardex
We've recently undergone transition from an invalid combination of LGPL +
custom clauses to dual-licensing under AGPL and proprietary. I actually forgot
to replace the license mention in this buildscript, thank you!

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SEJeff
This looks great, I wonder how this will compare to Redhat's cockpit project
they are pushing quite heavily. Obviously both are new and still massive works
in progress.

[http://cockpit-project.org/](http://cockpit-project.org/)

[http://www.projectatomic.io/docs/cockpit/](http://www.projectatomic.io/docs/cockpit/)

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thoughtpalette
Looks great. Minor point, can you guys turn your screen shot lightbox into
gallery mode so users can navigate through all of them at once?

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gingerlime
> Does not overwrite your config files, options and comments. All changes are
> non-destructive.

I'm wondering how this works exactly. Does it mean it comments out changes it
makes? Or keeps a backup somewhere?

~~~
iancarroll
It probably keeps them in its own directory and tells the program to look in
said directory.

~~~
drdaeman
Then it has to supply its own init scripts (or units or whatever) to run
separate daemons. Or take part of init's job and run and supervise everything
by itself, which isn't a really good idea.

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jiggy2011
I'm way to paranoid to install things like this on production servers.

~~~
jagger27
Firewall it to localhost and access it over an SSH tunnel.

~~~
paperwork
The author of this project should have a little section on how to do this. I'm
sure lots of people would love the convenience but worry about security.

~~~
fletchowns
There's already documentation for how to do that in a zillion other places
though, I don't think every project needs to regurgitate those instructions.

~~~
slig
They can mention that it's possible and link to resources explaining how to do
it. That way, people that didn't know it's a possibility can learn and apply
it.

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encoderer
This looks great.

Me and a partner recently launched a dead-simple SaaS tool to monitor cron
jobs and other scheduled tasks ([http://cronitor.io](http://cronitor.io)).
Using it really is as simple as adding an "&& curl {your URL code here}" but
we've already heard from somebody who relied on cPanel and wasn't sure how he
could add our monitoring code.

I see your comment here about a plugin architecture. Are you planning on
keeping a directory of plugins? Do you think a plugin to integrate with
Cronitor is possible given your current plugin APIs? I'd love to hear your
thoughts, here or at shane@cronitor.io

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cateye
I had written a comparison between server management systems including Ajenti:
[http://yusufarslan.net/choosing-control-panel-server-
managem...](http://yusufarslan.net/choosing-control-panel-server-management)

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ironlady
I just installed apache on all my servers just to run
[http://www.linuxdash.com](http://www.linuxdash.com) but I would add this
along side it instantly! linxdash would give me my read-only password
protected status that I can view from any browser, and Ajenti would give me my
ssh / local interface for really managing things!

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coreymgilmore
Looks/ed pretty cool. Took it for a spin. Setup is, indeed, pretty simple.
Only problem I ran into is that Ajenti runs on port 8000; same as my node
server. Easy enough fix.

First impressions: Its quick, responsive, and has a nice interface. Have to
see how it integrates its firewall with UFW.

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achairapart
I'm already using it on a VPS running Nginx. Features are essential but
fulfill my needs. It is also very lightweight and well designed.

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jamestanderson
Looks like the project has improved immensely since I checked this out last
year. Love the new look! I'll be reinstalling.

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talles
Yay no need to configure it with a webserver

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fredsted
How is this better than, say, Virtualmin?

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hiphopyo
If this was a Rails engine whose views and CSS I could adapt to my own I'd be
sold!

~~~
fredsted
In which way does python hinder you in editing the CSS? How about making your
own or learning python?

~~~
hiphopyo
Now you're just putting words in my mouth. I said something like this was
available for Rails as well that would be awesome.

