Development Installation | HERZA Documentation

Prepare The Test Instance

Before You Continue

Operator/development guidance only. Use an approved test package and a consented test mailbox; do not enable this development snapshot for all customers.

Back up WHMCS files and its database. Confirm native WHMCS email delivery works before adding the gate. Do not copy secrets, configuration or challenge tables from the internal HERZA addon.

Copy The Customer Components

Place the addon and hook from the verified package at the corresponding paths under your WHMCS root:

modules/addons/herza_email_verification/
includes/hooks/herza_email_verification.php

Keep the existing internal addon directory untouched. Build tooling and private configuration do not belong in the public WHMCS directory.

Prepare Private Runtime Configuration

The development installer uses a private PHP configuration file outside the web root. The suffix is the SHA-256 digest of the canonical WHMCS root:

/etc/whmcs-required-email-verification/runtime-<sha256(canonical-WHMCS-root)>.php

Use the supplied runtime example. Generate a fresh per-installation secret of at least 32 bytes. Set the private parent directory to 0750 and configuration to 0640, with root ownership and the actual PHP service group. Pin the hostname, root, SystemURL and exact runtime versions. Have the server operator prepare this path; it is not a public download.

Activate In Pilot Mode

Set mode to email_pilot and define matching test client IDs, recipient addresses and pilot account mappings.
Select the expected WHMCS mail provider. Email remains paused until native_email_enabled is explicitly enabled.
Activate WHMCS Required Email Verification in WHMCS Addon Modules and grant the intended administrator role access.
Review any activation failure. Activation validates runtime configuration and creates module tables; do not bypass validation.

Verify Before Expanding

Follow the configuration and validation checklist. Keep enforcement limited to pilot accounts until the exact package and environment are accepted.