# Install MIAB as 'root' or admin user?

**URL:** <https://discourse.mailinabox.email/t/install-miab-as-root-or-admin-user/16214>\
**Category:** Help with Setup/Upgrade\
**Created:** [January 12, 2026, 7:54am UTC](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/t/install-miab-as-root-or-admin-user/16214 "2026-01-12T07:54:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Plx](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Plx](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/u/Plx)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 7:54am UTC](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/t/install-miab-as-root-or-admin-user/16214/1 "2026-01-12T07:54:23Z")

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Hello

When setting up a new installation, should the ‘curl -s [https://mailinabox.email/setup](https://mailinabox.email/setup)…’ command be run when you are logged in as ‘root’, or whatever system admin user created to carry out maintenance etc. I ask because systems on a VPS are usually (in my experience) set up with the root user created when the VPS is created. Bare metal system creation however gives you a system admin user. The Setup guide does not specify which user is preferred. Running the command ‘curl…’ above as different users changes where the MIAB files are located, well the "mailinbox’ directory anyway.

Thanks

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**Author:** ![KiekerJan](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/user_avatar/discourse.mailinabox.email/kiekerjan/32/2339_2.png) [@KiekerJan](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/u/KiekerJan)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/t/install-miab-as-root-or-admin-user/16214/2 "2026-01-12T10:22:05Z")

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I think it is best if you run it as a privileged user, i.e. with `sudo`. I rarely need to login as root user, and I think that’s also good security practice to use sudo instead of a root user.  
There is indeed sometimes confusion when people have run the mailinabox setup as root, and as normal user, having the `mailinabox` directory both at `/root/` and at `/home/user/`. You can determine the one your system is using by looking at `/usr/local/bin/mailinabox` which refers to the directory which is used.

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**Author:** ![system](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/uploads/default/original/2X/4/4d0933d13c456b7e57f296aa6cc344525b6f0c70.png) [@system](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/u/system)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://discourse.mailinabox.email/t/install-miab-as-root-or-admin-user/16214/3 "2026-01-19T10:22:33Z")

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