Learn how to – Install Cockpit Web Console on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04|18.04

Learn how to – Install Cockpit Web Console on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04|18.04.

Most Linux system Administrators are keen on those software solutions that ease their day-to-day Server operations. There are a number of tools that can be used to manage a Linux server from a web dashboard. These includes Webmin, Cockpit, ispconfig, virtualmin, cpanel e.t.c. In this guide, we will cover installation and usage of Cockpit to manage your Ubuntu 22.04|20.04|18.04 Linux server.

Cockpit allows you to administer your Linux machine from a web browser and perform system tasks with a mouse. With cockpit you can start containers, administer storage, configure networks, and inspect logs. This tool is friendly enough for those new to Linux and useful for seasoned admins too.

Key features of Cockpit

• Multi-server Support – Monitor and administer several servers at the same time.
• Extendable – You can write your own modules to plug into Cockpit. A service started via Cockpit can be stopped in a terminal.
• Uses existing APIs – Cockpit uses APIs that already exist on the system. It doesn’t reinvent subsystems or add a layer of its own tooling.
• Self-contained – You don’t have to worry about setting up a webserver just to use Cockpit.
• Sign in like normal – By default, Cockpit uses your system’s normal user logins and privileges
• Efficient – Cockpit only uses memory and CPU when active. When inactive, there is no extra load on your server.
• Embedded terminal – Cockpit comes with an embedded terminal that you can use from the web console.

Install Cockpit on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04|18.04 Linux

As of Ubuntu 18.04 and later, Cockpit is included in the system APT repository. You’ll need to update your applications list index to be able to see the package.

sudo apt update

See if package is available.

## Ubuntu 22.04 ##
$ apt-cache policy cockpit
cockpit:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 257-1
  Version table:
     257-1 500
        500 http://ke.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe amd64 Packages
        500 http://ke.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe i386 Packages

## Ubuntu 20.04 ##
$  apt-cache policy cockpit
cockpit:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 215-1
  Version table:
     257-1~bpo20.04.1 100
        100 http://nova.clouds.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-backports/universe amd64 Packages
     215-1 500
        500 http://nova.clouds.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal/universe amd64 Packages

You can install Cockpit on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04|18.04 using the command below.

sudo apt install cockpit

Accept the installation of Cockpit on Ubuntu22.04|20.04|18.04 by hitting the y key on the keyboard.

...
Suggested packages:
  cockpit-doc cockpit-pcp cockpit-machines xdg-utils sssd-dbus libparted-dev pcscd avahi-autoipd libteam-utils exfat-utils f2fs-tools nilfs-tools reiserfsprogs udftools udisks2-bcache
  udisks2-btrfs udisks2-lvm2 udisks2-vdo udisks2-zram comgt wvdial wpagui libengine-pkcs11-openssl
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  cockpit cockpit-bridge cockpit-dashboard cockpit-networkmanager cockpit-packagekit cockpit-storaged cockpit-system cockpit-ws cracklib-runtime crda dns-root-data dnsmasq-base iw libatasmart4
  libblockdev-crypto2 libblockdev-fs2 libblockdev-loop2 libblockdev-mdraid2 libblockdev-part-err2 libblockdev-part2 libblockdev-swap2 libblockdev-utils2 libblockdev2 libbluetooth3 libbytesize1
  libcrack2 libidn11 libmbim-glib4 libmbim-proxy libmm-glib0 libndp0 libnl-3-200 libnl-genl-3-200 libnl-route-3-200 libnm0 libnspr4 libnss3 libparted-fs-resize0 libpcsclite1 libpwquality-common
  libpwquality-tools libpwquality1 libqmi-glib5 libqmi-proxy libteamdctl0 libudisks2-0 libvolume-key1 modemmanager network-manager network-manager-pptp ppp pptp-linux udisks2 usb-modeswitch
  usb-modeswitch-data wamerican wireless-regdb wpasupplicant
0 upgraded, 58 newly installed, 0 to remove and 71 not upgraded.
Need to get 14.1 MB of archives.
After this operation, 42.6 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y

Access Cockpit Web Console on Ubuntu 22.04|20.04|18.04

The Cockpit web console can be accessed on the URL [https://(serverip or hostname):9090/]. If you have a ufw firewall, allow access to the port in the firewall.

sudo ufw allow 9090/tcp

Then open your web browser and type your server ip address, or domain name and port 9090. You will get a warning message for the certificate.

Click on “Advanced” to accept.

Click on “Accept the Risk and Continue” to access Cockpit console on your Ubuntu machine.

Use your user credentials to login.

Play with the dashboard to see the sections and administrative features.

Using Cockpit Terminal

There’s an embedded terminal in Cockpit which gives you flexibility to jump between a terminal and the web interface at any time.

Read more on Cockpit Documentation to learn administration of Ubuntu system using Cockpit admin web console.