Will AI kill WHMCS?

[gei]

Since being acquired by WebPros and the subsequent price gouging, I think WHMCS has killed any of the loyalty left from any of their clients.

AI can already build a system that replicates most of the WHMCS functionality for the majority of users today. A simple prompt in Claude Code will get you half way there. I imagine within 1-2 years (or less) it will be possible to have AI build a complete replacement almost on the fly.

Has anyone started experimenting with this? Thoughts?

[bear]

1 hour ago, gei said:

I imagine within 1-2 years (or less) it will be possible to have AI build a complete replacement almost on the fly

Assuming it's not already being used on the current one. 😉

[slim]

9 hours ago, gei said:

AI can already build a system that replicates most of the WHMCS functionality for the majority of users today

Good luck with that.

[gei]

12 hours ago, slim said:

Good luck with that.

"Luck" isn't really a component here. If you haven't played around with agentic coding I can see why this would seem like a stretch for you, but it's quite trivial to get a fairly simple billing system up and running quite rapidly.

And like I said this is with current-level tools, in a year or two, replicating the entirety of WHMCS would likely be very doable.

[zitu4life]

I think this kind a post is not suitable in WHMCS native community, but I do not think you can just replicate it in 2 years and or 5 years...WHMCS is here for over 20+ years. But a group of lot of human were involved. And unless AI can decode in full all encrypted files, a human must direct AI direction to follow, and huge work on prompt. I have AI to helped me fix an issue in WHMCS that even WHMCS support could not be able in same pace, but replicate WHMCS is another conversation. So no, it will not happen sooner.

[gei]

I think you guys may be dramatically underestimating what AI is capable of, but I suppose we shall see.

As for the post being suitable or not, Webpros has done everything in their power to alienate their client base - this type of post is the inevitable consequence of that.

[slim]

I’m pretty confident no one is vibe coding a WHMCS replacement in the near future. If you manage it let us all know.

[gei]

32 minutes ago, slim said:

I’m pretty confident no one is vibe coding a WHMCS replacement in the near future. If you manage it let us all know.

For sure! Actually WHMCS is one of the easier things to vibe code - it's functions are all well defined and there is nothing particularly complex about it. Seriously 5 minutes vibe coding will give you basic functionality.

cPanel on the other hand would be a whole different beast...

[slim]

Like I said, once your done - Let us all know.. 

[bear]

18 hours ago, zitu4life said:

a group of lot of human were involved.

At first, it was one (or so) that created it. Matt didn't have a large team, AFAIK. Development has a large team now (assuming) to get it done faster and hopefully with review and so on. It's more complex than the original, by a pretty large margin.

Quote

And unless AI can decode in full all encrypted files, a human must direct AI direction to follow

Decoding isn't needed, if they're trying to make a new one with the same or similar functions. They don't need line for line to reproduce functionality. If it did, what would be the point of making a new version, as it would be outright piracy/intellectual theft.

[DennisHermannsen]

20 hours ago, gei said:

Seriously 5 minutes vibe coding will give you basic functionality.

Show us. There's a reason you don't see any alternatives that come close to WHMCS - even with all of WHMCS' flaws.
The problem with vibe coding is that you will have to understand what's being coded. AI makes mistakes, and you don't want security flaws in software that handles sensitive data.

Even if you only focused on ordering (including client management), you wouldn't be able to have something ready in 15 minutes - let alone something that works well.
When you want to add new features, good luck. What WHMCS does is complicated. It might not seem like it but it is.

Oh, and don't forget WHMCS' modularity.