Command line
Every Reqad install ships a reqad command that creates, changes and removes hosting accounts, databases and mailboxes from a shell or a script. It runs the same code as the panel, so an account created on the command line is indistinguishable from one created in the browser - same vhost, same PHP-FPM pool, same mail and DNS setup.
reqad account, reqad db and reqad email change the server and refuse to run as anyone else. reqad info and reqad --version work as any user.Commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
reqad info | The OS, the web server and template in use, and every installed PHP version. |
reqad account | List, show, create, edit and delete hosting accounts. |
reqad db | List, create and delete MySQL/MariaDB databases, change a database user's password. |
reqad email | List, create, edit and delete mailboxes. |
reqad --version | The installed Reqad version. |
Every command has its own help:
reqad --help reqad account --help reqad db --help reqad email --help
Not seeing account, db or email in reqad --help? Update the panel with dnf update reqad.
Hosting accounts
reqad account list
reqad account show <user>
reqad account create <user> <domain>
[--www] [--email] [--dns] [--letsencrypt] [--quota=MB]
reqad account edit <user>
[--password] [--php=VERSION[:fpm|mod_php]] [--email=on|off]
reqad account delete <user> [--yes]Create an account for a domain, with mail, the www. alias, a DNS zone at your configured provider and a Let's Encrypt certificate:
reqad account create bob example.com --www --email --dns --letsencrypt
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
--www | Serve www.<domain> as well as the bare domain. |
--email | Enable mail for the domain: exim, DKIM keys and the MX, SPF and DMARC records. |
--dns | Create the DNS zone at the provider configured under DNS Settings. |
--letsencrypt | Request a certificate. Certbot runs in the background, so the command returns before the certificate is issued. |
--quota=MB | Disk quota in MB. Ignored when quotas are off on the server. |
The account is created with the server's default PHP version. Switch it later - and on Apache also choose the handler:
reqad account edit bob --php=8.3 reqad account edit bob --php=8.2:mod_php reqad account edit bob --email=off
reqad account list prints one row per account:
┌──────┬──────┬──────────────────┬───────┬────────┬─────────────────────┐ │ UID │ USER │ DOMAIN │ EMAIL │ STATUS │ CREATED │ ├──────┼──────┼──────────────────┼───────┼────────┼─────────────────────┤ │ 1041 │ bob │ example.com │ yes │ active │ 2026-09-14 11:20:07 │ │ 1042 │ shop │ shop.example.net │ no │ active │ 2026-09-18 09:02:55 │ └──────┴──────┴──────────────────┴───────┴────────┴─────────────────────┘
reqad account show adds the account's PHP version and handler, disk usage and quota, and its mailboxes and databases.
reqad account delete bob removes the vhost, the PHP-FPM pool, mail, certificates, the DNS zone, the home directory and every database and database user prefixed bob_. From a terminal it asks you to type the account name back; in a script pass --yes.Databases
reqad db list [--account=USER] reqad db create <account> <name> [--user=NAME] reqad db delete <database> [--yes] reqad db passwd <dbuser>
Database and user names are prefixed with the hosting account they belong to, exactly as in the panel. create takes the short name and adds the prefix; delete and passwd take the full name:
reqad db create bob wp --generate-password # database bob_wp, user bob_wp reqad db create bob shop --user=shopuser # database bob_shop, user bob_shopuser reqad db passwd bob_wp reqad db delete bob_shop --yes
┌──────────┬─────────────┬─────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ DATABASE │ SYSTEM USER │ SIZE_MB │ USERS │ ├──────────┼─────────────┼─────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┤ │ bob_wp │ bob │ 12.41 │ bob_wp@localhost, bob_wp2@localhost │ │ bob_shop │ bob │ 0.72 │ bob_shop@localhost │ └──────────┴─────────────┴─────────┴─────────────────────────────────────┘
The account must exist - the prefix is what ties a database to a hosting account, and is why deleting the account also deletes its databases. Deleting a database also drops the users that were granted on it, unless a user still has access to another database. A dash in the SYSTEM USER column means there is no hosting user behind the prefix - which is how a database left behind by a removed account shows up.
Mailboxes
reqad email list [--domain=DOMAIN] reqad email create <address> reqad email edit <address> [--password] [--enable|--disable] reqad email delete <address> [--yes]
The domain must already belong to an account with mail enabled (reqad account create … --email, or reqad account edit <user> --email=on).
reqad email create sales@example.com --generate-password reqad email edit sales@example.com --disable reqad email list --domain=example.com
┌───────────────────┬─────────────┬──────────┐ │ EMAIL │ SYSTEM USER │ STATUS │ ├───────────────────┼─────────────┼──────────┤ │ bob@example.com │ bob │ active │ │ sales@example.com │ bob │ disabled │ └───────────────────┴─────────────┴──────────┘
--disable blocks IMAP, POP3 and SMTP login for that mailbox but keeps delivering mail to it, so nothing is lost while an account is suspended; --enable allows login again. delete removes the mailbox with its messages, filters and autoresponder.
Passwords
No command takes a password as an argument - an argument would land in your shell history and in the process list, where any user on the server can read it. There are three ways to supply one:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| nothing | Prompts for the password twice, without echoing it. Needs a terminal. |
--password-stdin | Reads it from the first line of standard input. For scripts and configuration management. |
--generate-password | Generates a strong password and prints it once with the result. |
# interactive: asks twice, echoes nothing reqad account create bob example.com # from a secret store, a file or a pipe pass show hosting/bob | reqad account create bob example.com --password-stdin # let Reqad pick one and print it reqad email create sales@example.com --generate-password
Scripting
Add --json to any command to get a machine-readable result instead of a table or a message. Colors and box drawing are dropped automatically when the output is not a terminal, so piping is safe either way.
reqad account show bob --json
{
"ok": true,
"message": "",
"warnings": [],
"error": "",
"data": {
"uid": 1041,
"user": "bob",
"domain": "example.com",
"status": "active",
"created_at": "2026-09-14 11:20:07",
"email": true,
"disk_usage": 512,
"disk_quota": 0,
"php": "8.3",
"php_handler": "fpm",
"mailboxes": [
"sales@example.com"
],
"databases": [
"bob_wp"
]
}
}warnings is where a change that went through but not cleanly reports itself - a DNS zone that could not be created, a certificate request that did not start, a DKIM key the provider refused. The operation succeeded; something around it did not.
| Exit code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | Success. |
1 | The operation failed (the reason is on standard error, or in error with --json). |
2 | Wrong usage: unknown command or option, missing argument, or a delete without a terminal and without --yes. |
Anything that deletes asks for confirmation when it has a terminal, and refuses to run without one. -y or --yes skips the question - which is what you want in a script and what you do not want in a shell.
Tab completion
Reqad installs bash completion for the command, so there is nothing to add to your profile. Press Tab after reqad and it completes commands, options and real values from the server - account names, databases, database users, mailboxes, mail domains and the PHP versions actually installed:
reqad account edit <TAB> bob shop reqad account edit bob --php=8.<TAB> 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 reqad db delete bob_<TAB> bob_wp bob_shop reqad email edit sa<TAB> sales@example.com
It works behind sudo reqad too. Completion never prompts for a password: the values that need root are only offered to a shell that already is root.
server-software.ini, and the cleanup done on delete. Actions taken on the command line are written to the panel's request log.Need a hand? Register for early access or contact us.