A Plesk alternative for Linux servers, with every change previewed.
RespireCloud is a self-hosted server panel for Linux with resellers, plans and one app for desktop and phone. It reads Plesk backups and builds a test copy before it commits. It is in early access and Linux only, and this page says plainly what is not there yet.
What you get when you switch.
An import is a report, a test copy and a commit you can take back.
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A report before anything is created
The importer reads the backup and lists what converts as it is, what converts with a change and what is skipped, each with the reason. Nothing is dropped silently.
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A dry run you can test
The dry run builds the account and checks it: each site is fetched over HTTP and each mailbox is probed over SMTP. DNS and certificates are held back until you commit.
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A rollback that removes everything
After a commit, a rollback deletes what the import created: accounts, domains, zones, mail domains, databases, users, certificates and the home folder. A failure in the middle rolls back by itself.
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The archive is treated as hostile
It uploads in the wizard (resumable, with its checksum shown) and is unpacked by a hardened, fuzzed reader. Path tricks, links that leave the folder and decompression bombs are refused.
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The same business model
Administrators, resellers, customers and sub-users, with plans whose limits every module enforces, and modules for WHMCS, Blesta and HostBill.
What comes over from Plesk.
Run end to end in a lab on a backup with its XML descriptor: analysed, built in a dry run (the site answered, two mailboxes accepted mail), committed directly and after a dry run, and rolled back. The backup was built by us, and the parser has met no other, so a real backup may differ.
Brought over
- The client's name and email
- Domains with their document roots and PHP handler
- The site's files
- MySQL and MariaDB databases and their users
- Mailboxes, forwarding and autoresponders
- DNS records, without duplicating SPF and MX
- Certificates
Reported, not brought
- Mail content: mailboxes are created, their messages are not read from the backup yet
- Subdomains and domain aliases: not read yet
- PostgreSQL databases and FTP accounts: skipped and listed
- Scheduled tasks: listed for you to review, not created
- A reseller backup with several clients: one client per import
Without a backup file. The new server connects out over SSH, only reads, and pins the source's host key after you confirm it. A final pass brings what changed since the first copy, then gives a DNS checklist per domain. This is proven end to end from a plain Linux server. A Plesk source is recognised and its subscriptions' files, databases and DNS zones are pulled, but that path is tested against a stand-in only, and mailboxes, passwords and certificates do not come over by a live copy.
What is different by design.
These are statements about RespireCloud, not about Plesk.
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The web panel cannot run commands
The panel runs as an unprivileged user. Work that needs root goes to a separate agent that accepts typed operations only, never a command line.
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Every change is shown before it happens
A change is a plan with the exact difference. You approve it, risky ones with a passkey, and it can be undone.
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Isolation is in the base product
Every hosting account is its own Linux user with its own systemd slice, its own PHP-FPM pool and quotas, in every edition.
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An assistant, and a guide for beginners
Ask in plain words and get a plan to approve. RespireSoft AI comes with every licence as a monthly allowance and turns itself on; or with your own key for a model provider, or a model on your own server. A guide walks new users through their first steps.
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Updates that go back by themselves
The panel updates itself from signed releases, keeps the previous release and a copy of its database, and goes back on its own if the new release does not start. Every server and Store module follows.
Plesk and RespireCloud, side by side.
Each line about Plesk was read on its own public page, linked beside it, and checked on 12 October 2026. Their page is the authority: if it has changed since, it is right and this is out of date.
What RespireCloud does not have yet.
Read this before you plan a move.
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Windows Server
RespireCloud runs on Linux only. If you host on Windows Server, it is not a replacement.
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A public release
RespireCloud is in early access. There is no public download, the production signing keys are not made and prices are not set. One install has run on a real server; everything else ran in our lab.
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Proof on real backups
The importers have run end to end only on archives we built to match each format. A backup taken from a production server has not been imported yet, so expect differences.
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A second web server
Sites are served by nginx. Apache .htaccess rules, PHP ini overrides and redirects are not translated by the importer: a site that depends on them needs its rules rewritten.
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Recovery to a moment
A database restore goes back to the time of a scheduled dump. Recovery to a chosen moment between backups is not built. The database tool (Adminer) is built; it covers MariaDB, MySQL and PostgreSQL on the server itself.
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An independent security test
An external penetration test has not started.
Questions
- Can RespireCloud import a Plesk backup?
- Yes. The importer reads the backup's XML descriptor, reports what will convert, builds the subscription in a dry run you can test, and commits only when you say so. A rollback removes everything it created. So far this has run end to end only on a backup we built ourselves, so a real backup may differ.
- What does not come over from Plesk?
- The messages inside mailboxes (the mailboxes themselves are created), subdomains and domain aliases, PostgreSQL databases and FTP accounts. Scheduled tasks are listed for review rather than created. Rules written for Apache are not translated: RespireCloud serves sites with nginx.
- Does RespireCloud run on Windows Server?
- No. RespireCloud runs on Linux only: Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux.
- Can I move without a backup file?
- There is a live transfer over SSH that only reads the source and brings changes in a final pass. It is proven from a plain Linux server. From a Plesk server it pulls files, databases and DNS zones and is tested against a stand-in only.
- Does RespireCloud have resellers and service plans?
- Yes. Administrators, resellers, customers and sub-users, each confined to their own subtree, with plans whose limits every module enforces and which say which modules a customer gets.
- How much does RespireCloud cost?
- Prices are not set. RespireCloud is in early access; contact RespireSoft and we will tell you where pricing is heading for your setup.
- Is RespireCloud affiliated with Plesk?
- No. Plesk is a trademark of its owner. RespireCloud is an independent product made by RespireSoft.
Planning a move from Plesk?
Tell us how many servers and accounts. We will say honestly whether RespireCloud is ready for them.
cPanel, WHM, Plesk, DirectAdmin, CyberPanel, HestiaCP, CloudPanel and LiteSpeed are trademarks or names of their respective owners. RespireCloud is made by RespireSoft and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them. Their names are used here only to say what RespireCloud can import from and how it differs.