WHMCS 9.0 – Upcoming Changes to Module Requirements

[JNDEVELOPER]

Fortunately, we had already coded our plugin using the latest standards with PHP 8.4 support. Therefore, there shouldn't be many changes needed, unless WHMCS renames functions such as hooks or database methods.

[WHMCS John]

On 11/12/2025 at 11:05 PM, kon said:

Was there no release due to v9.0 or there is no such mention "1 major release per quarter"?

In short yes. We aim for 3 feature releases per year, but due to this extra work involved in a major release it has essentially consumed two release cycles. 

 

On 11/23/2025 at 11:50 AM, BENELUX said:

Any update on the planned release timeline would be appreciated.

The Release Candidate is coming next month.

General Availability aim is a month later (depending on feedback).

[BENELUX]

Is there any update on when a beta or release candidate for version 9.0 will be available? Should we expect it within the next few days or rather in the coming weeks?

[-M-]

On 11/27/2025 at 12:18 PM, WHMCS John said:

In short yes. We aim for 3 feature releases per year, but due to this extra work involved in a major release it has essentially consumed two release cycles. 

Sorry, but sounds more like a personal (shortage) issue to me. 

[WHMCS John]

On 12/4/2025 at 12:23 PM, BENELUX said:

Is there any update on when a beta or release candidate for version 9.0 will be available? Should we expect it within the next few days or rather in the coming weeks?

This week or next!

On 12/4/2025 at 6:47 PM, -M- said:

Sorry, but sounds more like a personal (shortage) issue to me. 

It sure would be nice to double the size of the engineering team temporarily for one release every few years! 

[Hal9000]

On 12/8/2025 at 6:12 PM, WHMCS John said:

It sure would be nice to double the size of the engineering team temporarily for one release every few years! 

Please don't. We cannot afford yet another price increase.

[BENELUX]

On 12/8/2025 at 6:12 PM, WHMCS John said:

This week or next!

 

Do you have an exact ETA?

[bear]

2 hours ago, BENELUX said:

Do you have an exact ETA?

An exact *estimated* time of arrival?

[BENELUX]

3 hours ago, bear said:

An exact *estimated* time of arrival?

For the BETA

[bear]

ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival. By definition, not exact. 😉

[WHMCS John]

@BENELUX,

Today's the day!! 

https://blog.whmcs.com/133775/whmcs-90-release-candidate-out-now

[Humanbeing]

@WHMCS John Good news. Thanks. Are there any screenshots of the new client UI/Nexus/Search/Ordering etc.

Edited 22 hours ago by Humanbeing

[-M-]

Yes screenshots please. Especially the Nexus cart.

 

[DennisHermannsen]

Nexus is gonna disappoint you. It's just a reskinned Twenty One template (for the system template) and a reskinned Standard Cart template (for the cart template).
It's only during checkout that it's different.

[JNDEVELOPER]

14 minutes ago, DennisHermannsen said:

Nexus is gonna disappoint you. It's just a reskinned Twenty One template (for the system template) and a reskinned Standard Cart template (for the cart template).
It's only during checkout that it's different.

Still using bootstrap 4.x ?

[DennisHermannsen]

I don't know, I gave up.
WHMCS shipped the v9.0 RC with hardcoded links to /var/www/html/whmcs in the Nexus cart assets.

It attempts to load Node modules but these were not part of the version they shipped. The cart doesn't work.

The Nexus template's all.css file has this, so I assume it's Bootstrap 4.
 

/**
  * bootstrap-switch - Turn checkboxes and radio buttons into toggle switches.
  *
  * @version v4.0.0-alpha.1
  * @homepage http://www.bootstrap-switch.org
  * @author Mattia Larentis <mattia@larentis.eu> (http://larentis.eu)
  * @license Apache-2.0
  */

I think WHMCS just rushed this release because they promised a release in December. This release is so botched.

They've technically delivered on their promise, but yeah...

[andp97]

15 minutes ago, DennisHermannsen said:

I don't know, I gave up.
WHMCS shipped the v9.0 RC with hardcoded links to /var/www/html/whmcs in the Nexus cart assets.

It attempts to load Node modules but these were not part of the version they shipped. The cart doesn't work.

The Nexus template's all.css file has this, so I assume it's Bootstrap 4.
 

/**
  * bootstrap-switch - Turn checkboxes and radio buttons into toggle switches.
  *
  * @version v4.0.0-alpha.1
  * @homepage http://www.bootstrap-switch.org
  * @author Mattia Larentis <mattia@larentis.eu> (http://larentis.eu)
  * @license Apache-2.0
  */

I think WHMCS just rushed this release because they promised a release in December. This release is so botched.

They've technically delivered on their promise, but yeah...

 

The Nexus theme have this bootstrap file:

/whmcs/templates/nexus/sass
stat ../../../node_modules/bootstrap-four/scss/bootstrap
stat: ../../../node_modules/bootstrap-four/scss/bootstrap: stat: No such file or directory

 

/*!
 * WHMCS Twenty-One Theme
 * Global Stylesheet
 * Copyright (c) 2020 WHMCS Limited
 * https://www.whmcs.com/license/
 */

@import "../../../node_modules/bootstrap-four/scss/bootstrap";
@import "global";
@import "forms";

[TheHostingHeroes]

14 hours ago, WHMCS John said:

@BENELUX,

Today's the day!! 

https://blog.whmcs.com/133775/whmcs-90-release-candidate-out-now

https://docs.whmcs.com/releases/9.0/9-0-release-notes/ broken from the blog but i did manage to find working link https://docs.whmcs.com/releases/9-0/9-0-release-notes/   

blog needs to replace 9.0 to 9-0

[DennisHermannsen]

Yeah, except for adding AI to domain search, this release doesn't really provide on any of the other promises. Credit notes doesn't work either.
When you cancel an invoice, WHMCS just adds a transaction to the invoice. If the invoice has a total of $100, WHMCS just adds a transaction of $100 and cancels the invoice. There's no credit note or anything.

[andp97]

The links to the template diffs are broken (or the tag for the new template has not been pushed to GitHub yet):

• Twenty-One Theme
• Six Theme
• Standard Cart Order Form

 

[DennisHermannsen]

Okay, maybe I was too quick about credit notes. It seems a lot of the features are "coming soon™️".

This is not a Release Candidate lol. This is not even alpha. This is internal development.

Nothing can convince me that this release didn't just happen because WHMCS promised us a release in December.

[BENELUX]

While I understand that bugs are part of any Release Candidate cycle, it's concerning that we are still discussing basic optimization issues like proper OPcache support.

And let's not even get started on the fact that we still don't have 100% native Nginx support. This becomes particularly ironic with the introduction of the new WHMCS Cloud Solution. With cloud hosting, the resource costs are on their side, so you'd think they'd be rushing to support Nginx to reduce their own infrastructure expenses. It's like being sold a high-performance engine but being told you have to power it with hamster wheels. Maybe once their bills start rolling in, Nginx support will suddenly become a priority.

This all points to the bigger issue: the development velocity. Core development feels like it's just about "keeping the lights on" (PHP/ionCube updates) rather than actual innovation. This stagnation has allowed third-party developers like ModulesGarden to build entire businesses by selling us functionality that should have been in the core a decade ago.

When you look at the "Total Cost of Ownership" license fees + necessary third-party modules, the value proposition is slipping.

Newer platforms like Upmind are entering the market with an API-first architecture and modern features built-in from day one. If WHMCS continues to outsource innovation to the community while raising prices for maintenance updates, that competitive threat is going to become an exodus very quickly. We need core features that match the modern hosting landscape, not just compatibility patches.
 

Edited 8 hours ago by BENELUX

[Hal9000]

It's quite bold to release an RC without any beta for a major new version. Sure not lacking confidence.

[Humanbeing]

Ah, whmcs. The gift that keeps on giving. Happy holidays. 

[JNDEVELOPER]

59 minutes ago, BENELUX said:

While I understand that bugs are part of any Release Candidate cycle, it's concerning that we are still discussing basic optimization issues like proper OPcache support.

And let's not even get started on the fact that we still don't have 100% native Nginx support. This becomes particularly ironic with the introduction of the new WHMCS Cloud Solution. With cloud hosting, the resource costs are on their side, so you'd think they'd be rushing to support Nginx to reduce their own infrastructure expenses. It's like being sold a high-performance engine but being told you have to power it with hamster wheels. Maybe once their bills start rolling in, Nginx support will suddenly become a priority.

This all points to the bigger issue: the development velocity. Core development feels like it's just about "keeping the lights on" (PHP/ionCube updates) rather than actual innovation. This stagnation has allowed third-party developers like ModulesGarden to build entire businesses by selling us functionality that should have been in the core a decade ago.

When you look at the "Total Cost of Ownership" license fees + necessary third-party modules, the value proposition is slipping.

Newer platforms like Upmind are entering the market with an API-first architecture and modern features built-in from day one. If WHMCS continues to outsource innovation to the community while raising prices for maintenance updates, that competitive threat is going to become an exodus very quickly. We need core features that match the modern hosting landscape, not just compatibility patches.
 

So your point is, whmcs should prioritize modern, clear and consistent development instead of just raising prices all the time?