# Webmin

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Webmin and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free web-based control panel for administering Linux servers, valued for module-level access limits and steady security updates. Critics find its look dated and say its tools wrap shell scripts.

## Why people recommend it

- Lock access to specific modules (1 comments): "it was nice because you could lock them to specific functions in certain modules" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47446125))
- Keeps up with security updates (1 comments): "it's never fallen behind with security and compatibility updates" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47447795))
- Users glad such tools exist (1 comments): "I am SO GLAD that tools like this exist." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47448078))

## What people warn about

- Dated look versus newer tools (2 comments): "I wanted a web-GUI that looks modern, so not installing Webmin anymore in 2026." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47458241)) "It's miles away from like Webmin" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47447630))
- Built on wrapping shell scripts (1 comments): "All of these web admin tools are hacks that call out to shell scripts and whatnot." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47447320))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Cockpit](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cockpit.md): 49 recommend
- [cPanel](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cpanel.md): 7 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Webmin", https://hackerapproved.com/p/webmin/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).