OpenLiteSpeed is the open-source version of LiteSpeed Web Server — a high-performance, event-driven server with a built-in WebAdmin GUI. It handles PHP natively via LiteSpeed SAPI, which is significantly faster than PHP-FPM. This guide installs it on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

Tested and valid on:

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server
  • A user with sudo privileges
  • Port 8088 and 7080 open in UFW (for default HTTP and WebAdmin)

Step 1 – Add the OpenLiteSpeed Repository

Add the official LiteSpeed repo:

wget -O - https://repo.litespeed.sh | sudo bash

Step 2 – Install OpenLiteSpeed

Install the package:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openlitespeed -y

Step 3 – Set the Admin Password

Run the password setup script:

sudo /usr/local/lsws/admin/misc/admpass.sh

Step 4 – Open Required Ports in UFW

Allow WebAdmin (7080) and HTTP (8088 default):

sudo ufw allow 7080
sudo ufw allow 8088
sudo ufw allow 80
sudo ufw allow 443

Step 5 – Start OpenLiteSpeed

Start and enable the service:

sudo systemctl start lsws
sudo systemctl enable lsws

Step 6 – Access the WebAdmin GUI

Open a browser and navigate to https://your_server_ip:7080. Log in with the credentials set in Step 3.

Step 7 – Install PHP via LSPHP

Install the LiteSpeed PHP 8.3 package:

sudo apt install lsphp83 lsphp83-common lsphp83-mysql lsphp83-opcache -y

In the WebAdmin GUI, navigate to Server Configuration → External App and update the PHP binary path to /usr/local/lsws/lsphp83/bin/lsphp.

Step 8 – Verify the Installation

Check the service status:

sudo systemctl status lsws

Visit http://your_server_ip:8088 to see the OpenLiteSpeed welcome page.

Conclusion

OpenLiteSpeed is now running on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with the WebAdmin GUI accessible on port 7080. Use the GUI to configure virtual hosts, rewrite rules, and PHP handlers — all without editing config files manually.