How to install VICIdial on AlmaLinux 9 or Rocky Linux 9

Short answer: there is no official VICIdial installer for AlmaLinux 9. The VICIdial project's official install image is ViciBox, which runs on openSUSE, so putting VICIdial on AlmaLinux 9 or Rocky Linux 9 means running a community script or building every part by hand. This guide follows a widely used community script, says what it installs, and flags what we would change before trusting it with a floor. The steps are the same on Rocky Linux 9.

Many of the guides that still rank for this were written for CentOS 7 and older Asterisk releases, and their package names and repositories no longer match AlmaLinux 9. Everything below was checked against the sources listed at the end on 16 October 2026.

Is there an official VICIdial installer for AlmaLinux 9?

No - the VICIdial project's official installer is ViciBox, and it is built on openSUSE Leap, not AlmaLinux. The ViciBox 12 documentation describes ViciBox as "the official installation image for the ViciDial Call Center Suite". On AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux you rely on community work.

The script most guides point to is the auto-installer published by carpenox, who signs its README as "carpenox from the ViciDial forums", at github.com/carpenox/vicidial-install-scripts. Its README calls main-installer.sh "the one I keep most up to date" for Alma and Rocky 9. It is free and changes often (the latest commits were on 9 October 2026), which cuts both ways: read the version you download, because it may no longer match this guide.

If you would rather stay on the official path, our ViciBox 12 install guide covers it, including the operating-system problem it has right now.

What do you need before you start?

You need a clean x86_64 server running AlmaLinux 9 or Rocky Linux 9, a static public IP, and a domain name pointed at that IP.

The hardware numbers are a starting point, not a promise. Whether your server is shared or dedicated matters more than its headline core count; our guide to running VICIdial on a VPS explains how to measure that.

Both distributions have a long runway. The AlmaLinux release notes give version 9 active support until 31 May 2027 and security support until 31 May 2032, and Rocky Linux publishes the same dates for Rocky 9. Why not version 10? The installer's README says its AlmaLinux 10 script "is not working correctly".

How do you prepare AlmaLinux 9 for the installer?

Install the minimal image, log in as root, and run the preparation block from the installer's README, which updates the system, adds EPEL and git, disables SELinux, downloads the scripts and reboots.

These are the README's commands as published on 16 October 2026, with its comments removed:

dnf install -y glibc-langpack-en
localectl set-locale en_US.UTF-8
timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York
yum check-update
yum update -y
yum -y install epel-release
yum update -y
yum install git -y
yum install kernel* --exclude=kernel-debug* -y
sed -i 's/SELINUX=enforcing/SELINUX=disabled/g' /etc/selinux/config
cd /usr/src/
git clone https://github.com/carpenox/vicidial-install-scripts.git
reboot

Three things to know before you paste it:

• The time zone. The README says the scripts default to US Eastern time. Replace America/New_York with your server's zone. The main installer also writes the same zone into /etc/php.ini as date.timezone, so check that line after the install too.
• SELinux. The README disables it by editing /etc/selinux/config. Red Hat's RHEL 9 documentation, for the system both distributions are built to be compatible with, disables it with a kernel argument instead: grubby --update-kernel ALL --args selinux=0. Either way, after the reboot getenforce should print Disabled.
• The reboot is not optional. The block installs kernel updates, and the installer builds kernel modules against the kernel that is running (it installs kernel-devel-$(uname -r)), so boot into the new kernel first.

How do you run the VICIdial installer?

Run main-installer.sh from the cloned folder as root, answer its prompts, and let it reboot the server at the end.

cd /usr/src/vicidial-install-scripts
chmod +x main-installer.sh
./main-installer.sh

It asks for the hostname first (with no hostname, it tells you to enter the IP address) and pauses for Enter several times. Near the end it asks for your domain name, warning you not to continue without one, and Let's Encrypt's certbot asks for an email address and agreement to its terms. It waits once more before the final reboot. Read as published on 16 October 2026, the script:

1. Adds the EPEL and Remi repositories, then enables PHP 7.4 from Remi and MariaDB 10.5.
2. Compiles DAHDI and VICIdial's patched Asterisk 18.21.0, downloaded from download.vicidial.com.
3. Checks VICIdial out of the project's Subversion trunk (svn://svn.eflo.net/agc_2-X/trunk), creates the asterisk database and loads the schema.
4. Runs VICIdial's own install.pl, writes root's crontab and adds ConfBridge conferences.
5. Sets up firewalld with a dynamic portal on port 446, a Let's Encrypt certificate, the script author's browser phone and the Cockpit web console.

Two version facts decide how long this server stays safe. The Asterisk project lists Asterisk 18 as end of life since 20 October 2025, and the PHP project ended support for PHP 7.4 on 28 November 2022. The README offers a PHP 8 variant, main-installer-php8.sh, but labels it a beta release. Neither is a reason to panic on day one. Both are reasons to plan the next upgrade before you go live.

What should you change before you trust it?

Read the script before you run it as root, then change every default password it sets and close the doors it leaves open for setup.

• Default passwords. The script creates database and Asterisk manager users with short passwords that are printed in the public script, and VICIdial's admin user 6666 starts with a default password. Change all of them, and the root password, before the server takes a call.
• Public HTTPS. The README says the firewall leaves port 443 open to the public so you can log in and change the default password, and tells you to remove it from the public zone once setup is done.
• Third-party downloads. Besides VICIdial and Asterisk, the current script downloads a G.729 codec binary and an add-on script from hosts outside the VICIdial project. Decide whether you want those on a box that holds your leads.
• Cockpit. It installs the Cockpit web console and allows root to log in to it. Firewall it, or remove it if you do not use it.

How do you check that VICIdial is working?

Log in as root after the final reboot and check the services, the dialer processes and the web admin, in that order.

1. The installer adds checks to root's login, so each login prints systemctl status httpd, systemctl status firewalld, screen -ls and asterisk -V. Read them.
2. screen -ls should list VICIdial's background processes. The ViciBox docs say they can take upwards of 5 minutes to appear after a reboot; give a scratch install at least that long before you worry.
3. asterisk -r opens the Asterisk console, where, per the ViciBox docs, you should see processes such as sendcron logging on and off. Type quit to leave.
4. Open your domain in a browser. The installer's front page redirects to VICIdial's welcome page; follow Administration to the admin login, sign in as 6666 and change the password at once.
5. Place a test call through your SIP carrier, then work through our VICIdial post-install checklist.

What usually goes wrong?

Most failed AlmaLinux installs come down to the network, the certificate or a skipped reboot, not VICIdial itself.

Carrier and audio problems look the same on every distribution. Our scratch install on Ubuntu and scratch install on Debian guides cover them from a different starting point, and installing VICIdial, step by step compares the routes.

How long does it really take?

Plan for an afternoon the first time, not minutes. The script compiles DAHDI, Asterisk and Perl modules on the server, so its run time depends on your CPU, and none of the sources gives a figure, so we will not invent one. Add the OS install, two reboots, DNS for the certificate, the password changes and a test call.

Then the longer job starts: patching an Asterisk release that is past end of life, watching the disk as recordings pile up, and fixing the server when it breaks at the start of a shift. Why VICIdial installs are hard goes through those running costs.

Or skip all of this

Or skip all of this: a VICIfast server arrives with VICIdial installed in under 40 seconds, with patching, the firewall, SSL and 24/7 monitoring handled, and full root access if you want to look inside. See the VICIdial installation service or every plan on pricing. One honest limit: our BYOI plan, where we manage VICIdial on a server you own, needs a clean Ubuntu 22.04 server, so it will not take over an AlmaLinux install.

Sources

• ViciBox 12.0 documentation - hardware, networking, firewall and Phase 2 sections.
• carpenox/vicidial-install-scripts - README.md and main-installer.sh, read on 16 October 2026.
• AlmaLinux release notes and the AlmaLinux 9 ISO folder.
• Rocky Linux releases.
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: changing SELinux states and modes.
• Asterisk versions and the PHP end-of-life list.