cPanel / EasyApache 4

mod_pagespeed 1.15 ships as a signed EasyApache 4 RPM, ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed, served from packages.modpagespeed.com. This is the package name Google’s archived apache/incubator-pagespeed-cpanel repo used before it went dormant; We-Amp maintains the EA4 build today. The marketing overview is at /1.1/cpanel/ — this page is the operator reference.

EasyApache 4 ships only on RHEL-family hosts. The EA4 RPM is built for EL8 (AlmaLinux 8, Rocky 8, CloudLinux 8) and EL9 (AlmaLinux 9, Rocky 9, RHEL 9, CloudLinux 9), x86_64. Each EL major has its own RPM (the module is built against that major’s glibc); pick the tree matching your host’s release. EL10 and arm64 are not yet built.

On CloudLinux 8/9, mod_pagespeed is an Apache output filter and runs on the standard EA4 Apache (including hosts using mod_lsapi as the PHP handler — mod_lsapi is an Apache handler, not LiteSpeed Web Server). It does not apply to LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS), which is a separate, non-Apache server. The EL8 build is validated on AlmaLinux 8 / Rocky 8 stock EA4; if you run CloudLinux’s cl-ea4-patched Apache and hit anything unexpected, let us know.

Install

1. Add the EA4 yum repository

sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/modpagespeed-ea4.repo >/dev/null <<'EOF'
[ea4]
name=mod_pagespeed for EasyApache 4
baseurl=https://packages.modpagespeed.com/yum/ea4/el$releasever/x86_64/
enabled=0
repo_gpgcheck=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://packages.modpagespeed.com/pubkey.gpg
EOF

$releasever resolves to 8 on EL8 hosts and 9 on EL9, so dnf picks the el8 or el9 tree automatically — the same .repo file works on both. enabled=0 keeps the EA4 tree out of routine dnf update runs; you opt in per command with --enablerepo=ea4 below. The RPMs and the repository metadata are both signed with key rsa4096/F50D6054F10712A0 — the same key as the rest of packages.modpagespeed.com, which is why both repo_gpgcheck=1 and gpgcheck=1 are set.

2. Install the module

sudo dnf install --enablerepo=ea4 ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed

3. Turn it on in WHM

The RPM drops the module file but does not flip it on. Apache loads mod_pagespeed only after you tick the box in WHM and rebuild:

1. WHM → Software → EasyApache 4 → Customize on the current profile.
2. Open the Apache Modules step. ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed appears alongside the other EA4 modules.
3. Tick the checkbox, then Review → Provision. EasyApache 4 rebuilds Apache.
4. When the provision finishes the module is loaded and the filter runs on every vhost served by ea-apache24-httpd.

The package installs its configuration to /etc/apache2/conf.d/pagespeed.conf (marked %config(noreplace), so your edits survive a reinstall or upgrade). Tune it the same way you would on any RHEL Apache host — see Getting Started for the directive reference.

4. Activate a license

License activation runs from the global admin console:

https://your-host.example.com/pagespeed_global_admin

Open /pagespeed_global_admin on any vhost — the admin route is global to the server, not scoped to one vhost (/pagespeed_admin/ is the per-vhost statistics endpoint). The module installs and fully optimizes unlicensed: without a license it keeps optimizing and just adds an X-PageSpeed-Warn: unlicensed response header, plus an admin-console notice and a startup-log warning. Production use requires a commercial license — but the software never locks you out. Paste an existing key or buy one (FastSpring checkout, billed immediately) on the same screen; the console stays reachable so you can enter or renew a license at any time. See Downloads & Licensing for pricing.

Licensing is per site (registrable domain), not per server: every Apache instance serving the same site shares one license. cPanel hosts running many sites can use the Hoster tier instead — volume licensing per host, covering all sites on the host, set up through the contact form. Plans: pricing. License terms: we-amp.com/licensing.

Uninstall

sudo dnf remove ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed

The package’s uninstall script reloads EA4 Apache (/scripts/restartsrv_httpd), so the module is dropped immediately — no provision needed. Your license token and /etc/apache2/conf.d/pagespeed.conf stay on disk, so a later reinstall picks them up unchanged. To remove the configuration as well, delete /etc/apache2/conf.d/pagespeed.conf (and pagespeed_libraries.conf) after the package is gone. To stop the repo from being offered at all:

sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/modpagespeed-ea4.repo

Before an OS upgrade (cpanel/elevate)

Any third-party EA4 module — ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed included — blocks cpanel/elevate OS-major upgrades (for example EL8 → EL9 or EL9 → EL10), the same way mod_passenger does. cPanel’s elevate preflight stops on the installed package; the upgrade does not start.

Because mod_pagespeed is built for both EL8 and EL9, an EL8 → EL9 upgrade has a target-OS package waiting — you reinstall the EL9 build after elevate finishes (an EL8-only module would leave you with nothing to reinstall). The remove-before / reinstall-after flow below is still required, because elevate’s preflight halts on any third-party module regardless of whether a target-OS build exists.

Remove the module before the upgrade window and reinstall after:

1. Remove the module.

   sudo dnf remove ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed

   EA4 Apache reloads without it. The license token and /etc/apache2/conf.d/pagespeed.conf stay on disk.

2. Run the OS upgrade.

   sudo /scripts/elevate-cpanel

   EasyApache 4 migrates to the new EL release as part of elevate.

3. Reinstall on the new EL release. Point the repo baseurl at the new release’s tree (an el10 tree is published once that platform is built), then:

   sudo dnf install --enablerepo=ea4 ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed

   Re-tick the box in WHM → EasyApache 4 → Customize if the post-elevate provision dropped it. The existing config and token are picked up unchanged.

MMN / Apache ABI FAQ

The module is built against EasyApache 4’s Apache ABI, identified by the Apache Module Magic Number (MMN). cPanel hardcodes the MMN at 20120211 and the package pins it with Requires: ea-apache24-mmn.

Does a routine ea-apache24 update break the module?

No. The MMN 20120211 has been stable across the entire Apache 2.4 series — cPanel sets %define mmn 20120211 in its ea-apache24 spec, and a minor ea-apache24 bump does not change it. Routine ea-apache24 updates keep the same MMN, so a yum update does not disturb the installed module; it keeps loading on the new Apache build.

What is Requires: ea-apache24-mmn for, then?

It is the safety pin for the one case that would matter: a true Apache ABI break (a future Apache 2.6 / 3.0, which would move the MMN). The package requires the MMN it was built against. If Apache’s ABI ever changed, that requirement makes yum update hold the Apache upgrade with a clear dependency message instead of loading an incompatible module — your site keeps serving the existing Apache and module. dnf/yum default to skip-broken; --allowerasing is not the default, so the update is blocked, not silently resolved by removing the module.

Will a yum update ever silently unload the module?

No. Either the MMN is unchanged (the normal case) and the module keeps loading, or a hypothetical ABI break trips the ea-apache24-mmn requirement and yum/dnf holds the Apache upgrade with a dependency message. Neither path removes a loaded module out from under a running httpd. As a further fail-safe the loader fragment is <IfFile>-guarded, so if the module file is ever absent, Apache starts as plain Apache rather than failing to start.

Do you keep up with EA4?

Yes. We track ea-apache24 releases and publish a matching signed rebuild when an ABI change requires one — through the same signed repo, so dnf upgrade --enablerepo=ea4 ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed picks up the current build.

Where do I check which Apache the module is built for?

rpm -q --requires ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed   # lists the ea-apache24-mmn requirement
rpm -q ea-apache24-mod_pagespeed              # installed package version
httpd -M 2>/dev/null | grep pagespeed         # confirm the module is loaded

If it does not appear, re-check the Apache Modules step in WHM Customize and re-provision. See Troubleshooting for the general “module not running” checklist.

rpm -q shows a leading 2: (e.g. 2:1.15.0-...) — is that version 2?

No. The leading 2: is the RPM epoch, not a major version — the product is still mod_pagespeed 1.15.0. The epoch is a packaging ordering hint that sits above the version number; it ensures dnf/WHM consistently selects and upgrades to our signed build by epoch first, independent of the version string. WHM and dnf may surface the 2: prefix in a few places; read it as “epoch 2, version 1.15.0”.