Installation & activation

Drop the two module directories into modules/, activate the addon to install tables and register with ImpulseCore, then add a license key for the premium tiers. A Shared-only launch is done in about 15 minutes.

Time: ~15 min · Requires: WHMCS 9.0+ · Core: 1.61.13+

1. Prerequisites

ImpulseSecrets is a hard-dependency module — it will not operate without ImpulseCore. Confirm the WHMCS host has these in place first:

• WHMCS 9.0 or later, with admin access to Addon Modules and Products/Services.
• PHP 8.2, 8.3, or 8.4. The module’s PHP is ionCube-encoded for PHP 8.2 and runs on all three.
• ionCube Loader 13+ for your PHP version — required, because the module’s PHP is encoded.
• ImpulseCore 1.61.13+, installed and active before you activate ImpulseSecrets. Core owns project membership, hook dispatch, the cron runner, the licensing client, the audit log, per-region admin-proxy authentication, and the shared email-delivery service.
• A VPS provider account (Vultr, Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Linode, Proxmox, AWS, Azure, or GCP) — needed for the Dedicated and BYOK tiers, and to provision a shared server from the addon.
• Cloudflare (optional) for server DNS records and Let’s Encrypt certificates on provisioned servers, and for Cloudflare for SaaS custom domains.
• S3-compatible or local backup storage (optional) for the premium backups feature.

Shared-only needs almost nothing

A Shared (Free) launch needs only WHMCS, ImpulseCore, and one registered shared server — a host you already run, registered with + Add Existing Server. You can add provider, storage, and Cloudflare credentials later, when you enable Dedicated, BYOK, backups, or custom domains, or want the addon to provision servers for you.

Upgrade ImpulseCore first

ImpulseCore must be at 1.61.13 or later and active before you upload and activate ImpulseSecrets — an older ImpulseCore refuses the registration.

2. Install the module files

Download the release from your license in the Impulse Software portal and unzip it into the WHMCS root so the two module folders sit at these paths (or paste your ISEC- key under ImpulseCore → Modules & Licensing → Install and Core installs it for you):

modules/
├── addons/impulsesecrets_addon/     ← Operator console + Core registration
└── servers/impulsesecrets/          ← Provisioning + client area

The release’s docs folder holds these guides; don’t upload it to WHMCS. Make sure the WHMCS web user can read both module directories — on Plesk that is the subscription owner, on cPanel the cPanel user, on a vanilla LAMP typically www-data.

3. Activate & register with Core

Activating the addon installs the module’s tables and registers it with ImpulseCore in one step.

1. In WHMCS admin, open System Settings → Addon Modules.
2. Find ImpulseSecrets and click Activate. This runs the schema installer (every mod_impulsesecrets_* table) and registers the module with ImpulseCore from its manifest.
3. Grant admin-role access when prompted so your admin team can see the addon tabs.
4. Open the addon (Addons → ImpulseSecrets). The Dashboard stats bar should read Core: Registered.

Activation is idempotent

Deactivating retains all data tables; reactivating re-runs the schema installer and refreshes Core registration. An addon upgrade also re-asserts each live service’s engine into Core. If the Dashboard shows “Not registered,” confirm ImpulseCore is active, then deactivate and reactivate ImpulseSecrets.

4. Enter your license key

The Shared (Free) tier is fully functional without a license. Dedicated, BYOK, backups, migration, and custom domains are premium features gated by a valid key.

1. Open ImpulseCore → Modules & Licensing → Licenses — Diagnostics → License in the addon links straight there.
2. Paste your ISEC- key for impulsesecrets and save. ImpulseCore validates it and caches the result.
3. Back in the addon, Diagnostics → License shows the status, tier, grace state, and the premium feature set (dedicated, byok, backups, migration, custom_domain) once a valid key is active.

The install domain is captured automatically on first validation; you do not enter it anywhere. When the licensing server is unreachable, premium features run in a grace window then disable gracefully, while Free/Shared features stay live.

Developer keys

Developer keys (ISECDEV-) are not sold with the module. If you have been given one, it unlocks the premium features for testing, except custom domains, which it refuses.

5. Core settings & cron

Two settings on Settings → General & Access matter before you provision anything:

• WHMCS host identity (IPv4/IPv6). These identify this WHMCS host to provisioned Secrets servers — the IPs are baked into Admin Proxy allow rules and bootstrap payloads. Set IPv4 before provisioning any server (provisioning refuses without it); leave IPv6 blank for v4-only hosts.
• Backup storage driver. Choose Disabled, Local WHMCS filesystem, or the S3-compatible option. You can set this later when you enable premium backups.

All background work — provisioning retries, health checks, usage metering, backup sweeps, reseal, migrations, and free-tier inactivity checks — runs through ImpulseCore’s cron runner. Confirm Core’s master cron entry is installed; ImpulseSecrets does not add its own crontab line. The addon links straight to Core’s Cron tab for schedule and recent-run visibility.

6. Register capacity, then smoke test

The Shared tier does not auto-provision infrastructure — register at least one active shared server with free capacity for the region customers will order (see Plans & WHMCS products). Then walk a clean-install smoke test:

• Registration: Dashboard shows Core: Registered with the installed version.
• Cron: Core’s Cron tab lists the ImpulseSecrets tasks (provision, health_check, usage_metering, and the rest) with recent runs.
• Provision: order a Shared product to a test client; the service reaches active and a row appears under Customers.
• Client area: open the service — the Overview, Usage, Backups, Domains, Settings, and Help tabs render. An Infisical service adds Secrets, Access, and Certificates tabs; add a test secret there. On OpenBao, the default engine, the Secrets, Certificates, Cryptography, and Databases tabs appear on Dedicated/BYOK services only.
• Admin actions: from the WHMCS service page, run Health Check Now and Sync Usage Now — both return success.
• Lifecycle: Suspend, Unsuspend, then Terminate the test service and confirm each transition.

Empty is correct

Usage metrics populate within about 15 minutes of provisioning (the metering cadence). An empty Usage tab immediately after provisioning is expected, not a fault.