Overview
The following lists a variety of technologies DreamHost supports to help manage and customize your hosting environment. If your technology is not listed in the tables below, please contact DreamHost support to confirm if it's supported.
The following applies to DreamHost's managed hosting platforms. If you have a Dedicated Server with an admin user or are using DreamCompute, these limitations may not apply.
Apache mods
| Mods | Enabled? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| mod_rewrite | YES | Installed on all servers. |
| mod_perl | NO | Visit the Perl article for details. |
| mod_php | NO | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| mod_proxy | NO | Available in the panel for VPS or Dedicated Servers. |
| mod_security | YES | Installed on all servers. View the Mod Security article for details. |
Applications/software/programs
| App/software/program | Installed? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| cURL | YES | Installed on all servers. View the cURL article for details. |
| Docker | NO | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| Ecwid | NO | This can be installed on Shared, VPS, Dedicated, and DreamPress plans. See this article for details. |
| Elasticsearch | NO | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| FTP/SFTP/SSH | YES | View the FTP, SFTP, and SSH articles for details. |
| FTPS | NO | Not supported on any server. |
| Git | YES | Installed on all servers. |
| ionCube | NO | Not installed by default but can be set up manually. Visit the IonCube Loader article for details. |
| JIRA | NO | Not supported on Shared Hosting, but you may enable this on a VPS or Dedicated Server. If sudo access is required, you must install on a Dedicated Server using an admin user, or DreamCompute. |
| Kubernetes | NO | This can be installed on DreamCompute. |
| Minecraft | NO | Not supported on Shared Hosting, but you may enable this on a VPS or Dedicated Server. If sudo access is required, you must install on a Dedicated Server using an admin user, or DreamCompute. |
| Mailman | YES | 'Discussions Lists' use Mailman and are enabled on all web hosting plans. |
| NFS | NO | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| PHP Zip | YES | Installed on all servers. |
| Plesk | NO | This can only be installed on DreamCompute. |
| Quickbooks | NO | Not supported on DreamHost Linux servers. |
| SOAP | YES | Installed on all servers. |
| Subversion (version control) | NO | Visit the Subversion article for details. |
| Tomcat | NO | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| WebDAV | YES | View the WebDAV overview article for more information. |
| WooCommerce | YES | Only available on VPS, Dedicated, or DreamPress Hosting plans. Not available on shared servers since it is memory intensive and will hit shared server memory limits. |
Languages/scripts
| Language/script | Installed? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| ASP | NO | Microsoft technologies are not supported on DreamHost Linux servers. |
| CGI scripts | YES | Supported on all servers. |
| ColdFusion | NO | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| Erlang / Elixer / Phoenix | NO | Not supported, but you may install on a VPS or Dedicated Server. If sudo access is required, you must install on a Dedicated Server using an admin user, or DreamCompute. |
| golang | NO | You can install this locally under your username, as long as sudo isn't required. If sudo access is required, you must install on a Dedicated Server using an admin user, or DreamCompute. |
| GraphQL | NO | You can manually add it to your site as needed. |
| .htaccess files | YES | Visit the .htaccess article for details. |
| Java JRE | YES | Visit the Java article for further information. |
| JSON | YES | Installed on all servers. |
| .NET | NO | Microsoft technologies are not supported on DreamHost Linux servers. |
| Perl | YES | Installed on all servers. |
| PHP / Cake / Laravel | YES | Visit the following articles for details:
You can run any PHP framework you like on Shared or VPS hosting (such as Laravel or Cake), as long as you can install it without sudo. Also, memory intensive applications are not recommended for Shared Hosting as they may cause your user to hit memory limits. The exec and shell_exec functions are also available. |
| Python | YES | Visit the Python article for details. |
| Ruby | YES | Visit the following articles for details: |
Servers (web and database)
| Server | Supported? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lighttpd | NO | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| Linux | YES | DreamHost servers currently run Ubuntu. |
| MongoDB/NoSQL | NO | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| MySQL | YES | Visit the MySQL article for further information. |
| Nginx | YES | Visit the Nginx article for details. |
| Node.js | YES | Available VPS and Dedicated Servers. Visit the Node.js article for details. |
| PostgreSQL | NO | Not supported on Shared Hosting, but you may install this on a Dedicated Server. Visit the PostgreSQL article for details. |
| sqlite3 | YES | Visit the SQLite article for details. |
Services and add-ons
| Service | Supported? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic backups | YES | DreamHost automatically backs up web server data and MySQL databases. However, this is not guaranteed. Review the Backup category for details. |
| Cloudflare | YES | See the Cloudflare articles for details. |
| Cloud services | YES | DreamObjects and DreamCompute are the two current Cloud services available. |
| Domain registrations | YES | Domain registrations can be purchased with or without an active hosting plan. |
| Email filters | YES | Anti-spam filters are enabled on all accounts by default. Additional custom filters may also be added. |
| Google Workspace | YES | Visit the Google Workspace article for details. |
| HTTP/2 | YES | HTTP/2 is currently supported on all managed hosting plans. |
| Dedicated or Unique IP addresses | YES | View the Unique IP article for details. |
| Memcached | YES | You can install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute as those plans allow sudo. |
| Multi-factor Authentication | YES | Multifactor Authentication can be enabled on any DreamHost account. |
| OpenSSL | YES | Installed on all servers. |
| PGP Email | YES | PGP encryption can be used with DreamHost email, but it must be configured within your email client. |
| Progressive Web Apps (PWA) | YES | Since it just requires HTML/CSS/JS, you can build them on any server. If you build your app on a shared server, you must stay within its memory limits. |
| Redis | YES | Redis Object Cache is available on DreamPress Pro plans. You can also install this manually on a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute, as those plans allow sudo. |
| Remote Desktops | NO | --- |
| Reselling | NO | There is no specific service set up, but you can resell services to your clients. View the Reselling article for details. |
| Site builder | YES | DreamHost offers a site builder called Remixer you can use to build your website without coding. |
| Site migrations | YES | See the Website migration services article for details. |
| Socket.io | YES | This is a JavaScript library that can only be enabled on a VPS or Dedicated Server. It must also be run on a non-privileged port using a Proxy Server. |
| Staging | YES | DreamPress plans allow you to create a staging site directly in the panel. All other hosting plans allow you to stage a website using a free dreamhosters.com subdomain. |
| Statistics | YES | Site statistics are enabled by default on all accounts. View the Statistics Overview article for details. |
| SSL certificates | YES | Visit the following articles for details: |
WordPress Themes and Plugins
WordPress has a large variety of Themes and Plugins you can use to customize your website:
You can use any Theme or Plugin you like with your WordPress site, however, some Themes or Plugins may use a lot of memory. Make sure to test any new add-ons to ensure they do not affect your site's responsiveness.
WordPress Multisite
Support is unable to assist with custom WordPress Multisite installations. Before proceeding, ensure you have a basic knowledge of PHP, MySQL, editing files, and how to review error logs. Additionally, there are two ways you can set up your multisite:
- Subdomains
- Subdirectories
The subdomain option is only available on a VPS or Dedicated Server, as Wildcard DNS is required for this configuration. If you wish to configure Multisite on a shared server, you must use the subdirectory option.
DO NOT use the panel to enter an asterisk * as a CNAME record. This does not function as a wildcard rule and could potentially cause additional problems.
Site builder applications
Site builder applications such as WordPress, MediaWiki, and Joomla can be used to quickly build a website without knowledge of HTML.
Unsupported site builder applications
These applications are not supported. However, you can still install them manually if you wish.
If root/sudo access is required for any installation, the only option is to upgrade to a Dedicated Server or DreamCompute, as those are the only hosting plans that allow sudo access.
| Unavailable site builder applications | Details |
|---|---|
| Koken | You can still install this manually. |
| Magento | Visit Magento for more information. |
| Moodle | You can still install this manually. |
| osCommerce | You can still install this manually. |
| OxWall CMS | You can still install this manually. |
| Zimbra | You can still install this manually. |