Is your cPanel server's /home
directory running out of space? This can stop you from creating new accounts or cause other issues. A common solution is to add a new hard drive and configure cPanel to use it for new user accounts. This guide explains how to do that simply.
PREPARING THE NEW PARTITION
Before cPanel can use the new space, you need to add and set up a new hard drive on your server.
Steps:
Install New Hard Drive: Physically install the new hard drive into your server.
Format the Drive: Format the new drive with a suitable file system (like
ext4
).Mount as /home2: Create a new directory, for example,
/home2
, and mount the new hard drive to this location. This makes the new storage accessible.
TELLING CPANEL TO USE THE NEW PARTITION
Once /home2
is ready, you have two main ways to tell cPanel to use it for new accounts. Both methods involve editing the cPanel configuration file: /etc/wwwacct.conf
.
OPTION 1: DEDICATE NEW ACCOUNTS TO /home2
This option makes sure all future cPanel accounts are created directly in the new /home2
partition.
How to Configure:
Edit the
/etc/wwwacct.conf
file.Find the line that says
HOMEDIR
.Change its value to
/home2
.
Example:
HOMEDIR=/home2
Result:
After this change, any new cPanel accounts you create will automatically be placed in the /home2
directory. Existing accounts in /home
will remain there.
OPTION 2: AUTO-SELECT BASED ON FREE SPACE
This is a more flexible option. cPanel will check both /home
and /home2
and create new accounts on the partition with the most free space.
How to Configure:
Edit the
/etc/wwwacct.conf
file.Find the line that says
HOMEMATCH
.Set its value to
/home*
.
Example:
HOMEMATCH=/home*
Result:
With this setting, when a new account is created, cPanel will intelligently decide whether to put it in /home
or /home2
based on which directory has more available disk space. This helps distribute user data more evenly across your storage.