How to Install Moodle (LMS) on Your Own Server

Moodle is the world's most popular open-source learning management system (LMS), used by schools, universities and companies for online courses. OpenPanel installs Moodle in one click, including its database, data folder and cron job.

Requirements​

• OpenPanel Enterprise - the Moodle module must be enabled for your hosting plan.
• A domain or subdomain, e.g. learn.example.com, pointed to the server.
• A PHP version supported by the Moodle release (PHP 8.2 or 8.3 for Moodle 4.5 / 5.x).
• At least 1 GB of RAM for small sites; more for many concurrent students.

Install Moodle​

1. Add the domain in OpenPanel → Domains (Add a new domain).
2. Go to OpenPanel → Websites → Install App and click Install Moodle.
3. Fill in:
   • Domain (and optional subfolder),
   • Site name and short name,
   • Moodle version - Latest is recommended,
   • Admin username, password and email - leave the password empty to generate one.
4. Start the installation.

OpenPanel downloads the official Moodle package, creates a MySQL/MariaDB database, runs Moodle's CLI installer and registers Moodle's cron job automatically.

Log in at https://learn.example.com/login/ with the admin account.

How the Files Are Laid Out​

Moodle keeps its code and its data separately:

• App root - the Moodle code, next to your domain folder. Moodle 5.x serves only its public/ subfolder, so the domain's document root is linked to <app root>/public and config.php stays outside the web root.
• moodledata - uploaded files, course materials, caches and sessions. This is where the real content lives.

When you back up or move the site, you need the database and moodledata - the code can always be downloaded again.

Recommended Settings​

Upload limits for course files​

Moodle's maximum upload size is capped by PHP. For videos and large SCORM packages, raise the limits in OpenPanel → PHP → PHP.INI Editor:

upload_max_filesize = 512M
post_max_size = 512M
max_execution_time = 300
memory_limit = 512M

Then set Site administration → Security → Site security settings → Maximum uploaded file size in Moodle. See How to increase PHP limits.

Caching with Redis​

For sites with many users, enable the Redis service and add a Redis cache store in Site administration → Plugins → Caching → Configuration, using redis as the server (not localhost). See Redis.

Outgoing email​

Moodle sends enrolment and forum emails. Configure Site administration → Server → Email → Outgoing mail configuration with your mailbox or an SMTP relay - see Why do my emails go to spam?.

Managing Moodle​

Moodle appears in OpenPanel → Websites → Sites. Its manage page offers:

• Cache - purges all Moodle caches.
• Maintenance mode - shows a maintenance page to students while you work.
• Backups - back up and restore the database, moodledata, or both.
• Clone - copy the site to a new domain (e.g. a staging site), including the database, data and cron.
• Update - updates to the latest release, with maintenance mode turned on automatically.
• Logs - PHP errors from moodledata.

More: Moodle in OpenPanel.

Related​

• Self-host Nextcloud
• Install OJS (Open Journal Systems)
• All installable apps