DirectAdmin Migration
Last updated
The DirectAdmin ingest path. Status: production-supported.
Source archive
DirectAdmin’s standard backup tarball (backup-Jan-01-2026-12_00.tar.gz). Produce on the source host via:
da backup-all
# or per-user:
da backup-user <username>The resulting tarballs land under /home/admin/admin_backups/.
What gets migrated
| Asset | Behavior |
|---|---|
| User account | Recreated under the destination panel. |
| Home directory | Copied to /home/<user>/. |
| Domains and subdomains | Created as Domain rows. DirectAdmin’s subdomain directories are translated to subdomain Domain rows, not aliases. |
| DNS zones | Translated from DirectAdmin’s BIND-style files to PowerDNS rows. |
| MySQL databases | Restored with password hashes preserved where the source used a hash format MariaDB accepts. |
| Email accounts | Created in Stalwart; passwords reset (DirectAdmin uses Exim+Dovecot password hash formats Stalwart cannot import). |
| Forwarders, autoresponders, catch-all | Translated to Stalwart equivalents. |
| Cron jobs | Translated to systemd-user timers if the command is on the Cron allowlist. |
| FTP accounts | Mapped to SFTP via Match Group; passwords do not transfer. |
Source-side prep
For best results:
- On the source host, ensure the user is not actively writing during the backup window (file consistency).
- Capture the bind zones (
/var/named/<domain>.db): DirectAdmin’s BIND format is what the panel parses. - Note the per-domain SSL certificates being used; SSL is not migrated and will be reissued on the destination.
Operator workflow
Identical to the cPanel pipeline: upload, analyze, restore, communicate generated passwords, repoint DNS, issue SSL.
Limitations
- Modsecurity rules: DirectAdmin’s per-user Modsec rules are not migrated (Modsec is removed; see Removed Features). Equivalent protection is provided by AppSec at the server level.
- CSF allowlists: not migrated; carry over manually into CrowdSec Allowlists.
- DirectAdmin Reseller: Jabali has no reseller construct; reseller-owned accounts migrate as individual users.
Per-user migration vs full-server
For one-off per-user moves, use the per-user backup. For server-cutover migrations, produce a backup per user with da backup-user, batch-upload to the destination, and run the pipeline against each.
Audit
Per-phase audit rows are emitted; per-domain creation produces one domain.create row per domain.