Installation & activation

Upload the server module and the addon, activate under Addon Modules, and add your license key in ImpulseCore. From an empty install to unlocked admin tabs in about 10 minutes.

Time: ~10 min · Requires: WHMCS 9.0+ · Core: 1.61.13+

1. Prerequisites

Confirm the platform and dependencies before you upload anything:

• WHMCS 9.0 or newer.
• ImpulseCore 1.61.13 or newer, installed and activated first. ImpulseCore is a hard dependency of ImpulseValkey — the module registers with Core at activation and calls into the ImpulseCore::* facade for licensing, projects, secrets, cron, audit, and security. Step 3 says what activation reports when ImpulseCore isn’t ready.
• PHP 8.2, 8.3, or 8.4.
• ionCube Loader 13 or newer — the module’s PHP is ionCube-encoded, so the loader must be active for the PHP that runs WHMCS.
• A license key — an IVKEY- key. Your WHMCS install’s domain is recorded the first time the key is validated; you don’t enter it anywhere.
• A provisioning target — credentials for at least one supported VPS provider (for dedicated plans, or to provision a shared pool server from the addon), or a host you already run that you register with the built-in installer.

Verify ionCube first

Run php -m | grep -i ionCube with the PHP binary your WHMCS uses: /opt/plesk/php/8.3/bin/php on Plesk, /opt/cpanel/ea-php83/root/usr/bin/php on cPanel, or /usr/bin/php (whatever which php returns) on a plain Linux server. No output means the loader is missing — enable it under Tools & Settings → PHP Settings on Plesk or in WHM’s PHP extension settings on cPanel, or install the loader from ioncube.com and add its zend_extension line to php.ini. Restart PHP-FPM afterwards.

2. Upload the files

Two WHMCS modules ship together: the server module and the addon module. Extract the release archive into the WHMCS root, preserving the directory layout:

modules/servers/impulsevalkey/          ← Server module (provisioning + client area)
modules/addons/impulsevalkey_addon/     ← Addon module (operator admin UI)

The server module (impulsevalkey) owns provisioning, the WHMCS service lifecycle (create, suspend, unsuspend, terminate, change package), and the customer-facing service dashboard. The addon module (impulsevalkey_addon) owns the operator admin UI, the database schema, plans and settings, provider and region configuration, diagnostics, cron handlers, and ImpulseCore registration.

Make sure the WHMCS web user can read everything — on Plesk that’s the subscription owner, on cPanel the cPanel user, on a vanilla LAMP typically www-data.

3. Activate the addon

1. Log in to WHMCS Admin.
2. Go to System Settings → Addon Modules.
3. Find ImpulseValkey in the list and click Activate.
4. Grant the admin role(s) that should be able to open the addon when prompted.
5. Click Save Changes.

What activation does

On activation the addon creates its database tables (mod_impulsevalkey_*), seeds a set of example plans and default settings, and registers the module manifest with ImpulseCore — which registers the Valkey provisioning, usage, snapshot, credential-rotation, alert-detection, and upgrade cron tasks with Core’s runner.

If ImpulseCore isn’t ready

Activation installs the module’s tables either way, then says what happened with ImpulseCore at the end of its message:

• ImpulseCore isn’t installed or active — the message says ImpulseCore isn’t loaded. Activate ImpulseCore, then deactivate and activate ImpulseValkey again so it registers.
• ImpulseCore refused the registration — for example because it is older than 1.61.13 — the message reads ImpulseCore registration failed with the reason. Upgrade ImpulseCore, then deactivate and activate ImpulseValkey again.

The server module does not need separate activation — it becomes active when you attach it to a WHMCS product. The addon module is what you activate under Addon Modules.

4. Add your license key

Open Addons → ImpulseValkey. You’ll land on the Dashboard tab. Until a valid license is present, every tab except the Dashboard and Diagnostics → License shows a License Required prompt instead of its content.

Licensing is centralised in ImpulseCore — it is not entered in the ImpulseValkey addon itself:

1. From the License Required callout, click through to ImpulseCore’s Licenses page (ImpulseCore → Modules & Licensing → Licenses; the link opens it on impulsevalkey).
2. Paste your IVKEY- key and save. Core validates it against the licensing service and caches the result.
3. Return to Addons → ImpulseValkey. The tabs unlock and a license pill appears in the page header.

You can review license state any time under Diagnostics → License — status, tier, key, grace, and enabled features.

Developer keys

Developer keys (IVKEYDEV-) are not sold with the module. If you have been given one, it enables the same features for testing. Use an IVKEY- key in production.

5. Verify the install

Open Diagnostics → Health Checks and run the checks. Every check is read-only and reports pass, fail, or skip — together they isolate provider, DNS/TLS, server, cron, schema, and sync problems without touching a live instance. Two checks matter most right after install:

• Cron Jobs — confirms Core registration and that the Valkey provisioning, usage, snapshot, and credential-rotation tasks are registered.
• Schema & Runtime — confirms the expected tables, module version, PHP, database, and loader state.

You’re not ready to take an order yet — you still need a provisioning target and at least one configured plan. Continue with provider and region setup next.