Outline. Managing the module

This article continues Outline quick start. If you haven't installed the module and created the first user yet — start there. Here we cover operations on the module itself: starting and stopping the service, updating, reinstalling, and uninstalling. User management lives in a separate article — Outline. Managing users.

Page header and actions menu

The page header exposes the core module actions — start, stop, and restart the service. The service state is shown by an indicator and a chip with the Outline version. The three-dot menu next to it groups the rest: open logs, run an update, reinstall, or uninstall the module.

Managing the service

• Start — brings the Outline service up from a stopped state.
• Stop — turns the service off. All active connections drop, and no new ones can be established.
• Restart — stops and immediately starts the service again. Open connections are reset.

User list changes apply on the fly, without restarting the service: add, disable, or delete — the configuration is picked up right away. Outline runs on Shadowsocks without a separate revocation list, so a disabled or deleted access key stops accepting new connections automatically — a restart is only needed if you want to forcibly drop already established sessions.

⚠️ Stopping the service drops all connections

While the service is off, no user can connect. Plan stops and restarts for a maintenance window, or warn your users in advance.

While the module is updating, reinstalling, or being uninstalled, the service control buttons and the actions menu are temporarily disabled.

Module logs

In the actions menu pick Logs — the lifecycle action log opens: install, update, reinstall, uninstall. Each entry shows a status and the full execution output. Useful when an action ends in an error and you need to understand why.

Server settings

Outline has no separate server settings page: technical parameters (the ChaCha20‑Poly1305 cipher, master keys, per-user access keys) are picked by the BeAdmin panel itself at install time and kept under the hood. The server accepts incoming connections over TCP and UDP on port 9000 — the port is fixed, and all access keys run on it. If that port is taken by another service on the host, free it before installing the module.

ℹ️ When VPN is blocked by port

Plain Shadowsocks without obfuscation can be detected by DPI filters based on characteristic traffic patterns, and changing the port does not help against active blocking. In networks with strict censorship, use Amnezia (AmneziaWG with obfuscation) or Xray.

Updating the module

In the actions menu pick Update Outline. The panel checks whether a newer Outline version is available in the repository, installs it on top of the current one, and restarts the service. The user list and their access keys are preserved — there's no need to re-add ss://… links in the client apps.

There is no confirmation for an update — the action runs immediately. While the update is in progress, the service control buttons and menu items are disabled; the current module version is visible on the Outline chip in the header. If the current version is already up to date, the update does not run — the panel will say so.

Reinstalling the module

In the actions menu pick Reinstall Outline. The panel asks for confirmation in the Confirm reinstalling Outline dialog — click Confirm. The same Outline version is deployed on top of the current one and the service is restarted. The user list and their access keys are preserved — there's no need to re-add servers in the Outline Client or any other Shadowsocks-compatible client.

Use a reinstall when the module is behaving unstably and you want to run the install again without losing users. Unlike uninstall, a reinstall does not wipe users or their keys — ss://… links already added on devices keep working without reimport.

The connection parameters do not change with a reinstall — the module comes back up on the same port 9000 with the same access keys. Outline installs with a single button without a parameters dialog, so there's nothing to pick before a reinstall.

If clients stop connecting after a reinstall, disable the user in the list, enable again, and re-add the access key in the Outline Client. If errors persist, the last resort is to uninstall the module completely and install it from scratch.

Uninstalling the module

In the actions menu pick Uninstall Outline. The panel asks for confirmation in the Confirm uninstalling the Outline module dialog: along with the module, all access keys and user connections are removed; after a reinstall the module starts from scratch.

‼️ Uninstalling the module wipes all access keys

Uninstall is irreversible: along with the module, all Outline users and their access keys are gone. Servers already added in client apps stop working — ss://… links become invalid after uninstall, and the server's master key disappears with the module. After a fresh install, the module and users have to be created from scratch; new keys are issued, and servers have to be added in the client apps again.

After confirmation, the panel runs the uninstall. When it finishes, the module page returns to its initial state with the Install button.

What's next

• Outline quick start — installing the module and the first connection.
• Outline. Managing users — creating, editing, and deleting users, getting the access link.
• How to set up an SMTP relay for sending email — so you can email users the connection link.