If you’re using Blesta to manage hosting services with DirectAdmin, you might want to provide your clients with a seamless way to access their DirectAdmin control panel directly from the Blesta client area. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the steps to add a “Login” tab and a login link to the service information page in Blesta’s DirectAdmin module.

Prerequisites

• Blesta installed and configured.
• DirectAdmin module activated in Blesta.
• Basic understanding of PHP and Blesta’s module structure.

Overview

We’ll be making changes to the following files:

• api/direct_admin_api.php
• language/en_us/direct_admin.php
• direct_admin.php
• views/default/tab_login.pdt
• views/default/client_service_info.pdt

Let’s get started!
 

Step 1: Update the API file

First, we’ll add two new functions to the DirectAdmin API Functions to handle SSO requests and to get the Single Sign-On (SSO) URL.

File: api/direct_admin_api.php

Add the following functions inside the class:

private function jsonRequest($url, $method, $data) 
{
    $curl = curl_init();

    curl_setopt_array($curl, [
        CURLOPT_URL => trim($this->apiUrl, '/') . '/' . $url,
        CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
        CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
        CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => $method,
        CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode($data),
        CURLOPT_USERPWD => $this->user . ':' . $this->pass,
        CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH => CURLAUTH_BASIC
    ]);

    $response = curl_exec($curl);

    curl_close($curl);
    return json_decode($response);
}

public function getSSOUrl($username, $password)
{
    return $this->jsonRequest('api/login', 'POST', ['username' => $username, 'password' => $password]);
}

These functions will allow us to make requests to DirectAdmin and retrieve the SSO URL for client login.

Step 2: Add Language Definitions

Next, we’ll add a new language definition for our “Login” tab.

File: language/en_us/direct_admin.php

Add the following line:

$lang['DirectAdmin.tab_login'] = "Login";

This defines the label for the new tab we’ll be adding.

Step 3: Create the tabLogin Function

We’ll add a new function in the main module file to handle the content of the “Login” tab.

File: direct_admin.php

Add the following function:

/**
 * Client Login
 *
 * @param stdClass $package A stdClass object representing the current package
 * @param stdClass $service A stdClass object representing the current service
 * @param array $get Any GET parameters
 * @param array $post Any POST parameters
 * @param array $files Any FILES parameters
 * @return string The string representing the contents of this tab
 */
public function tabLogin($package, $service, array $get = null, array $post = null, array $files = null)
{
    $this->view = new View('tab_login', 'default');
    $this->view->base_uri = $this->base_uri;
    // Load the helpers required for this view
    Loader::loadHelpers($this, ['Form', 'Html']);

    $row = $this->getModuleRow();
    $api = $this->getApi(
        $row->meta->host_name,
        $row->meta->user_name,
        $row->meta->password,
        ($row->meta->use_ssl == 'true'),
        $row->meta->port
    );

    $service_fields = $this->serviceFieldsToObject($service->fields);

    $this->view->set('login_url', $api->getSSOUrl($service_fields->direct_admin_username, $service_fields->direct_admin_password)->loginURL ?? '');
    $this->view->set('service_fields', $service_fields);
    $this->view->set('service_id', $service->id);
    $this->view->set('vars', (isset($vars) ? $vars : new stdClass()));

    $this->view->setDefaultView('components' . DS . 'modules' . DS . 'direct_admin' . DS);
    return $this->view->fetch();
}

This function sets up the view for the “Login” tab and fetches the SSO URL from DirectAdmin.

Step 4: Update Client Tabs

We need to register our new tab so it appears in the client interface.

File: direct_admin.php

Find the getClientTabs function and modify it as follows:

/**
 * Returns all tabs to display to a client when managing a service whose
 * package uses this module
 *
 * @param stdClass $package A stdClass object representing the selected package
 * @return array An array of tabs in the format of method => title.
 *  Example: ['methodName' => 'Title', 'methodName2' => 'Title2']
 */
public function getClientTabs($package)
{
    return [
        'tabClientActions' => Language::_('DirectAdmin.tab_client_actions', true),
        'tabLogin' => Language::_('DirectAdmin.tab_login', true)
    ];
}

By adding 'tabLogin' => Language::_('DirectAdmin.tab_login', true), we’re telling Blesta to include our new tab.

Step 5: Create the View for the “Login” Tab

Now, we’ll create the view file that contains the HTML for the “Login” tab.

File: views/default/tab_login.pdt

Create a new file with the following content:

<div id="login">
    <h4><?php $this->_('DirectAdmin.tab_login');?></h4>

    <a class="btn btn-light float-right" href="<?= $login_url ?>" target="_blank">
        <i class="fas fa-user"></i> <?php $this->_('DirectAdmin.tab_login');?>
    </a>
</div>

This view displays a button that links to the DirectAdmin control panel using the SSO URL.

Step 6: Enhance the Service Information Page

We also want to add a login link directly on the service information page.

File: direct_admin.php

Modify the getClientServiceInfo function to include the login URL:

/**
 * Fetches the HTML content to display when viewing the service info in the
 * client interface.
 *
 * @param stdClass $service A stdClass object representing the service
 * @param stdClass $package A stdClass object representing the service's package
 * @return string HTML content containing information to display when viewing the service info
 */
public function getClientServiceInfo($service, $package)
{
    $row = $this->getModuleRow();

    // Load the view into this object, so helpers can be automatically added to the view
    $this->view = new View('client_service_info', 'default');
    $this->view->base_uri = $this->base_uri;
    $this->view->setDefaultView('components' . DS . 'modules' . DS . 'direct_admin' . DS);

    // Load the helpers required for this view
    Loader::loadHelpers($this, ['Form', 'Html']);

    $row = $this->getModuleRow();
    $api = $this->getApi(
        $row->meta->host_name,
        $row->meta->user_name,
        $row->meta->password,
        ($row->meta->use_ssl == 'true'),
        $row->meta->port
    );

    $service_fields = $this->serviceFieldsToObject($service->fields);

    $this->view->set('login_url', $api->getSSOUrl($service_fields->direct_admin_username, $service_fields->direct_admin_password)->loginURL ?? '');
    $this->view->set('module_row', $row);
    $this->view->set('package', $package);
    $this->view->set('service', $service);
    $this->view->set('service_fields', $service_fields);

    return $this->view->fetch();
}

This adds the login_url variable to the view.

Step 7: Update the Service Information View

Finally, we’ll modify the service information view to include the login link.

File: views/default/client_service_info.pdt

Locate the last <td> element and modify it as follows:

<td><a href="<?= $login_url ?>" target="_blank"><?php $this->_('DirectAdmin.service_info.option_login');?></a></td>

The updated file should look like this:

<div class="table-responsive">
    <table class="table table-curved table-striped">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th><i class="fas fa-share fa-flip-vertical"></i></th>
                <th><?php $this->_('DirectAdmin.service_info.username');?></th>
                <th><?php $this->_('DirectAdmin.service_info.password');?></th>
                <th><?php $this->_('DirectAdmin.service_info.server');?></th>
                <th><?php $this->_('DirectAdmin.service_info.options');?></th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td></td>
                <td><?php echo (isset($service_fields->direct_admin_username) ? $this->Html->safe($service_fields->direct_admin_username) : null);?></td>
                <td><?php echo (isset($service_fields->direct_admin_password) ? $this->Html->safe($service_fields->direct_admin_password) : null);?></td>
                <td><?php echo (isset($module_row->meta->host_name) ? $this->Html->safe($module_row->meta->host_name) : null);?></td>
                <td><a href="<?= $login_url ?>" target="_blank"><?php $this->_('DirectAdmin.service_info.option_login');?></a></td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>
</div>

This adds a login link in the options column, allowing clients to access DirectAdmin directly from their service information page.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you’ve successfully added a “Login” tab and a login link to the service information page in Blesta’s DirectAdmin module. This enhancement provides a more seamless experience for your clients, allowing them to access their DirectAdmin control panel with a single click.

Feel free to customize the views and styles to match your branding and improve the user experience further.

Note: Always make sure to backup your files before making any changes, and test the modifications in a development environment if possible.

If you need further assistance, We are available to hire to make these changes for you at a reasonable price!