Installer command line

Charles Chambers · Feb 9, 2026

I'd like to know what command line (exactly) is given to retrieve and run the autoinstaller?
I don't understand the use of "-s" and "--" specifically.
All I want is standard packages for now. There's more after a default install.

Charlie

till · Feb 9, 2026

You can find the auto-installer guide here:

https://www.howtoforge.com/ispconfig-autoinstall-debian-ubuntu/

In the last chapter, you can find the available command-line arguments. When you run the installer as described in the guide:
Code:
wget -O - https://get.ispconfig.org | sh -s -- --use-ftp-ports=40110-40210 --unattended-upgrades
Then you get the standard installation.

Charles Chambers said: ↑

I don't understand the use of "-s" and "--" specifically.
Click to expand...

Let’s break down the command first:

wget -O - https://get.ispconfig.org | sh -s -- --use-ftp-ports=40110-40210 --unattended-upgrades

It does three things:

Downloads a script from https://get.ispconfig.org using wget.

Outputs it to stdout (-O -) instead of saving to a file.

Pipes it into sh, which executes the script.

Now let’s focus on the parameters you asked about.

✅ What does -s mean in sh -s?
The -s option for sh (the Bourne shell) means:

“Read commands from standard input.”

Normally, sh expects a script filename:

sh script.sh

But here, no file is provided — the script is coming through the pipe from wget.

So:

sh -s

tells the shell:

“Execute whatever script you receive via stdin.”

Even though many shells already behave this way when no file is given, -s is used explicitly when you also want to pass arguments to the script (which is happening here).

✅ What does -- mean?
The double dash is a very important Unix convention.

-- means “stop parsing options.”

Everything after -- is treated as a positional argument, not a flag to sh.

Without it, sh might try to interpret the script’s options as its own.

So this:

sh -s -- --use-ftp-ports=40110-40210 --unattended-upgrades

means:

-s → option for sh

-- → end of sh options

everything after → arguments passed to the downloaded script

Inside the script, they will appear as:

$1 = --use-ftp-ports=40110-40210
$2 = --unattended-upgrades

✅ Why both -s AND -- are needed together
When you want to pipe a script and pass parameters:

curl script | sh -s -- arg1 arg2

This ensures:

sh reads from stdin (-s)

sh does NOT try to parse your script’s arguments (--)

The script receives them properly

This pattern is extremely common in installer one-liners.
Click to expand...

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Installer command line

Charles Chambers New Member

till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

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Installer command line

Charles Chambers New Member

till Super Moderator Staff Member ISPConfig Developer

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