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Introduction

In cPanel & WHM, certain usernames such as admin, root, and mysql are considered reserved system usernames. These names are restricted to prevent conflicts with system processes and internal services. Creating a cPanel account using one of these reserved names is unsupported and may result in unexpected behavior, such as the account disappearing from WHM’s List Accounts interface after updates.

The only permanent fix for this issue is to rename the account to a supported, non-reserved username. This guide explains how to perform this rename safely using cPanel’s built-in backup and WHM API tools.

Prerequisites

• Root SSH access to the server.
• A cPanel & WHM installation (version 116 or newer).
• The existing account must still be present on the server (e.g., /home/admin).
• WHM API 1 enabled on the server (default in modern cPanel versions).

Step-by-step Guide

Step 1: SSH into the Server as Root

Access your cPanel server via SSH using a terminal client (e.g., PuTTY or your terminal emulator):

ssh root@your-server-ip

Step 2: Back Up the Existing Account (Optional)

Before making any changes, back up the account:

/scripts/pkgacct admin /home/

This will generate a backup file such as /home/cpmove-admin.tar.gz.

Step 3: Rename the Account Using WHM API

Use the whmapi1 modifyacct command to rename the cPanel account. Replace admin with the current username, and newusername with a supported, non-reserved name (e.g., adminuser, siteadmin).

whmapi1 modifyacct user=admin newuser=newusername

Example:

whmapi1 modifyacct user=admin newuser=testing

This command automatically updates all internal configurations, domain ownership mappings, user files, and service settings.

Step 4: Verify the Rename Operation

After running the command, check if the new username appears in WHM:

whmapi1 list_accounts | grep newusername

Also verify that the account’s website and services are functioning as expected.

Conclusion

Using reserved system usernames like admin for cPanel accounts is unsupported and may lead to issues during cPanel updates. The recommended permanent solution is to rename the account to a supported username using the whmapi1 modifyacct command. This preserves the account data, services, and domain assignments while ensuring future compatibility.

Should you have any inquiries about the guidelines, please feel free to open a ticket through your portal account or contact us at support@ipserverone.com. We’ll be happy to assist you further.