Step-by-Step Pi-hole Installation on Ubuntu Server (2025)

1. Update the system

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Set Static IP (if not already)

sudo nano /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

Example configuration:

network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    enp0s3:
      dhcp4: no
      addresses: [your.ip/24]
      gateway4: your.gateway
      nameservers:
        addresses: [1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8]
          

sudo netplan apply

3. Install Pi-hole

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

4. Configure Pi-hole via Wizard

• Select interface
• Choose upstream DNS (Cloudflare recommended)
• Accept default blocklists
• Enable logging (as needed)
• Note down the password

5. Access Web Interface

http://your.ip/admin

6. Set Router DNS to Pi-hole IP

Login to router → Set DNS Server to Pi-Hole server IP

7. (Optional) Enable Pi-hole DHCP

• Disable DHCP on router
• Enable Pi-hole DHCP in Settings → DHCP

8. Update and Maintain

pihole -g    # Update blocklists
pihole -up   # Update Pi-hole software
          

9. Change Web Admin Password

pihole -a -p

Use this command to set or reset the Pi-hole admin interface password.

Common Pi-hole Usage

• Monitor blocked domains and client activity in the web UI
• Whitelist or blacklist domains via the dashboard
• Temporarily disable Pi-hole using pihole disable
• Check system status using pihole status
• View logs: tail -f /var/log/pihole.log

Prepared by - Walid Al Habib