Complete Guide to Rebuilding the /etc/virtual Directory in DirectAdmin: Repair Scripts, Permissions Reset, and Parallel Restore Locking

1. Completely Rebuilding the /etc/virtual Directory

If your /etc/virtual directory is corrupted or missing important files, you can fully rebuild it using the following procedure.

1.1 Back up the existing directory

cd /etc
cp -Rp virtual virtual.backup

1.2 Ensure the directory exists with correct permissions

mkdir -p /etc/virtual
chmod 755 /etc/virtual
chown mail:mail /etc/virtual

1.3 Create the rebuild script

Create /root/fix.sh with the following content:

#!/bin/sh

echo -n '' > /etc/virtual/domains
echo -n '' > /etc/virtual/domainowners

mkdir -p /etc/virtual/`hostname`
chown mail:mail /etc/virtual/`hostname`
chmod 711 /etc/virtual/`hostname`
echo `hostname` >> /etc/virtual/domains

for u in `ls /usr/local/directadmin/data/users`; do
{
    for d in `cat /usr/local/directadmin/data/users/$u/domains.list`; do
    {
        echo "$d: $u" >> /etc/virtual/domainowners
        echo "$d" >> /etc/virtual/domains

        DMN=/etc/virtual/$d

        mkdir -p $DMN
        chmod 711 $DMN
        chown mail:mail $DMN

        touch $DMN/aliases
        if [ ! -s $DMN/aliases ]; then
            echo "$u: $u" > $DMN/aliases
        fi
        touch $DMN/autoresponder.conf
        touch $DMN/filter
        touch $DMN/filter.conf
        touch $DMN/passwd
        touch $DMN/quota
        touch $DMN/vacation.conf
        chown mail:mail $DMN/*

        mkdir -p $DMN/majordomo
        chmod 751 $DMN/majordomo
        chown majordomo:daemon $DMN/majordomo

        mkdir -p $DMN/reply
        chmod 700 $DMN/reply
        chown mail:mail $DMN/reply

        for p in `cat /usr/local/directadmin/data/users/$u/domains/$d.pointers | cut -d= -f1 2>/dev/null`; do
        {
            echo "$p: $u"  >> /etc/virtual/domainowners
            echo "$p" >> /etc/virtual/domains
            ln -s $d /etc/virtual/$p
        };
        done;
    }
    done;
}
done;

chown mail:mail /etc/virtual/domains
chown mail:mail /etc/virtual/domainowners
chmod 644 /etc/virtual/domainowners
chmod 644 /etc/virtual/domains

1.4 Run the script

chmod 755 /root/fix.sh
/root/fix.sh

1.5 Rebuild Majordomo

da build majordomo

---

2. Rebuilding /etc/virtual/domains if Missing

Create /etc/virtual/fix_domains.sh:

#!/bin/sh

echo `hostname`

for u in `ls /usr/local/directadmin/data/users`; do
{
    for d in `cat /usr/local/directadmin/data/users/$u/domains.list`; do
    {
        echo "$d"

        for p in `cat /usr/local/directadmin/data/users/$u/domains/$d.pointers 2>/dev/null | cut -d= -f1`; do
        {
            echo "$p"
        }
        done;
    }
    done;
}
done;

Run and fix permissions

cd /etc/virtual
chmod 755 fix_domains.sh
./fix_domains.sh > domains
chmod 644 domains
chown mail:mail domains

---

3. Rebuilding /etc/virtual/domainowners if Missing

Create /etc/virtual/fix_domainowners.sh:

#!/bin/sh

for u in `ls /usr/local/directadmin/data/users`; do
{
    for d in `cat /usr/local/directadmin/data/users/$u/domains.list`; do
    {
        echo "$d: $u"

        for p in `cat /usr/local/directadmin/data/users/$u/domains/$d.pointers | cut -d= -f1 2>/dev/null`; do
        {
            echo "$p: $u"
        }
        done;
    }
    done;
}
done;

Run and fix permissions

cd /etc/virtual
chmod 755 fix_domainowners.sh
./fix_domainowners.sh > domainowners
chmod 644 domainowners
chown mail:mail domainowners

---

4. Rebuilding a Single Domain Directory

If only one domain folder is empty, you can rebuild it manually:

cd /etc/virtual/domain.com

echo "fred: fred" > aliases
touch autoresponder.conf
touch filter
touch filter.conf
touch passwd
touch quota
touch vacation.conf
echo "*: :fail:" >> aliases
chown mail:mail *

mkdir -p majordomo
chmod 751 majordomo
chown majordomo:daemon majordomo

mkdir -p reply
chmod 700 reply
chown mail:mail reply

chown mail:mail .

Then re-add user mailboxes based on:

ls -la /home/fred/imap/domain.com

---

5. Resetting Permissions on All DirectAdmin System Files

If you migrated data to a new disk and permissions are incorrect, run:

cd /usr/local/directadmin/scripts
./set_permissions.sh all

To reset permissions for a specific domain:

./set_permissions.sh domaindir domain.com

---

6. Preventing useradd Locking Issues During Parallel Restores

When restoring many users in parallel, /etc/passwd may lock. Use a custom lock script.

6.1 Create pre creation lock script

/usr/local/directadmin/scripts/custom/user_create_pre/lock.sh

Content:

#!/bin/bash
LOCK=/etc/passwd.da_lock
ATTEMPTS=100
set -C
while [ $ATTEMPTS -gt 0 ]; do
    ATTEMPTS=$(( ATTEMPTS-1 ))
    2>/dev/null >$LOCK
    RET=$?
    if [ "$RET" = "0" ]; then
        break
    fi
    sleep 0.2
done

if [ $ATTEMPTS -eq 0 ]; then
    if [ -e /etc/passwd.lock ]; then
        echo "Unable to get lock on $LOCK and /etc/passwd.lock still exists. User $username not created"
        exit 1
    fi

    echo "Unable to get lock on $LOCK but /etc/passwd.lock does not exist. Proceeding anyway"
    rm -f $LOCK
fi

exit 0

6.2 Create post creation cleanup script

/usr/local/directadmin/scripts/custom/user_create_post/lock.sh

Content:

#!/bin/bash
LOCK=/etc/passwd.da_lock
rm -f $LOCK
exit 0

6.3 Make both scripts executable

chmod 755 /usr/local/directadmin/scripts/custom/user_create_pre/lock.sh
chmod 755 /usr/local/directadmin/scripts/custom/user_create_post/lock.sh

This ensures only one useradd process runs at a time during mass restores.