Auto subdomains in ISPmanager

ISPmanager can automatically create subdomains for an existing domain — no manual config edits required. A subdomain comes to life the moment you create the corresponding directory in the right place.

Enabling auto subdomains

Go to WWW Domains, open the properties of the domain you want to configure, and under Auto Subdomains select how you'd like them to work.

Mode: "Separate Directory"

Each subdomain gets its own standalone folder, completely independent from the main domain's files.

Example:

• Main domain example.com lives in www/example.com
• You want to create domain.example.com

Place the subdomain's files here:

www/domain.example.com

Mode: "Subdirectory of the WWW Domain"

Subdomain files live inside the main domain's folder, making them accessible via both the subdomain URL and a path on the main domain.

Example:

• Main domain example.com lives in www/example.com
• You want to create domain.example.com

Place the subdomain's files here:

www/example.com/domain

The same files will also be reachable at example.com/domain.

How it works under the hood

Auto subdomains are powered by the Apache module mod_vhost_alias, which must be enabled in ISPmanager's configuration. You can also use the ForceAutoSubdomain option in the panel's config file.

When you enable auto subdomains, ISPmanager automatically makes the following changes:

• For "Separate Directory" mode, this directive is added to the virtual host config:

VirtualDocumentRoot /home/username/data/www/%0

• For "Subdirectory of the WWW Domain" mode:

VirtualDocumentRoot /home/username/data/www/example.com/%1

• A wildcard entry *.example.com is added to the ServerAlias directive
• A wildcard * type A DNS record is added for the domain, pointing to its IP address

Troubleshooting & FAQ

Where exactly should I put the subdomain files?

It depends on the mode you chose:

• "Separate Directory" → www/full.subdomain.name
• "Subdirectory of WWW Domain" → www/domain.name/subdomain-name

I enabled auto subdomains but the domain isn't resolving

DNS propagation takes time — up to 24–48 hours in some cases. Also double-check that your domain is delegated to the same nameservers that ISPmanager is using.

After enabling auto subdomains, my other subdomains started returning 404

When auto subdomains are enabled, a wildcard *.example.com entry is added to Apache's config, which means all requests get routed through that domain. To fix it, go to the Aliases field and explicitly list only the subdomains you actually need.

DNS records pointing to other IP addresses stopped working

A wildcard * record in DNS takes priority over more specific entries. Your options are: disable auto subdomains, or manually add all the specific type A records you need in the DNS settings.

www subdomains aren't working (e.g. www.example.com or www.domain.example.com)

www variants require symbolic links (symlinks) to be set up manually.

For "Separate Directory" mode, create symlinks inside the www directory:

lrwxr-xr-x  www.example.com -> example.com
lrwxr-xr-x  www.domain.example.com -> domain.example.com

For "Subdirectory of WWW Domain" mode, create symlinks inside the domain's own directory:

lrwxr-xr-x  www -> .
lrwxr-xr-x  www.domain -> domain

Use the ln -s command to create them:

ln -s domain www.domain
ln -s . www