Contact WHMCS Customer Service to get a development license.
- You can get one free development license for every active license that you purchase directly from whmcs.com.
- If you purchase your WHMCS license through a reseller, you will need to buy the development license.
The addons for your paid license will be available in your test installation, except Live Chat. Installations using this type of license must be private and must return a Forbidden
error or login prompt if accessed.
2. Meet the System Requirements
Your testing and development environment should meet the same system requirements as a production installation.
3. Duplicate your WHMCS Installation
For the most accurate results, your installation should be identical to your production setup, with the same data and configuration.
There are several methods to duplicate your installation. The method that you use will depend on many factors, including the hosting control panel you use.
If you’re using cPanel, copy your WHMCS installation in the File Manager interface:
- Log in to cPanel and go to Files >> File Manager.
- Select the folder for your production installation.
- Click Copy.
- Enter the new location (the location of your development installation).
- Edit the
configuration.php
file in your development environment to reflect the new location.
4. Duplicate your Database
You must also duplicate the data that WHMCS operates on. This means creating a second database, exporting the existing database, and then importing it to your new database. Like duplicating the installation, there are several ways to do this that partially depend on the hosting control panel you use.
If you’re using cPanel, you could follow this process:
- Use the MySQL Databases interface to create the new database.
- Use phpMyAdmin to export the existing data and import it into your new database.
5. Password Protect your Installation’s Directory
The development license requires you to make the development installation inaccessible, either using password protection or other methods that return an error or a login prompt.
In cPanel, you can password-protect the installation’s directory in Files >> Directory Privacy.