Documentation
Migrate from BoxBilling

Migrate from BoxBilling

Please note that some legacy BoxBilling features, most notably forums have been removed in FOSSBilling. Although forum posts and user information will remain in the database after migration, they will not be displayed in any way in the new installation.

See the changelog (opens in a new tab) for more complete info.

Interested in the differences between BoxBilling and FOSSBilling? Our FAQ (opens in a new tab) covers why FOSSBilling exists and some of the more important differences between the two.

Updated system requirements

FOSSBilling has evolved significantly since forking from BoxBilling and as part of that, the system requirements have changed. We suggest reviewing the documented system requirements (opens in a new tab).

Breaking changes

Please note, FOSSBilling has made significant changes since forking from BoxBilling, it is very likely that all custom themes and modules will no longer work without being updated first. We recommended reading the changelog (opens in a new tab) to review "breaking changes".

Migration instructions

Before you do anything, make sure that you do a full backup (or two) of both the database and all files in your current BoxBilling installation. Not doing so will leave you with no way to restore your data if something goes wrong.

The migration has last been tested going from BoxBilling version 4.22.1.5 to FOSSBilling version 0.5.6. Things should still work without any issues going to a version of FOSSBilling that's newer than 0.5.6, however you should expect issues if updating from a version of BoxBilling older than 4.22.1.5. If you are running an out of date version of BoxBilling, you should first create a backup and then update to the most recent version to ensure things go smoothly.

Due to the importance of a smooth migration, we suggest first cloning your BoxBilling instance and doing a test migration on a separate instance of it. Doing so will give you the opportunity to uncover any potential issues or misunderstandings with the process so the actual migration goes as smooth as possible with minimal downtime.

READ THIS: In the process of updating the folder structure, bb-ipn.php has been renamed to ipn.php. If at all possible, you should create a virtual alias from bb-ipn.php to ipn.php on your server. If you cannot do this, you must create a copy of ipn.php and name it bb-ipn.php for old subscriptions to continue to function.

Steps

  1. Change your active client area theme to Huraga.
  2. Delete all BoxBilling files except the bb-config.php file.
  3. Upload a copy of the latest stable release (opens in a new tab) of FOSSBilling into the document root.
  4. Extract the FOSSBilling release archive.
  5. Rename your bb-config.php file to config.php and delete the install directory.
  6. Visit yourdomain.com/run-patcher twice. The first time, errors are expected, however on the second run no errors should be displayed.
  7. Edit your config.php file to remove the bb- prefix from file paths.
  8. If needed, reconfigure your timezone and localization settings from within the config.php file.
  9. Check the "post migration notes" section for information on other additional steps that may be needed.

Post migration notes

  • If you want to limit what languages you support, disable any unwanted from the administrator panel.
  • We've made the permissions system much more flexible and as such staff permissions need to be redone.
  • SSL is now a requirement for SMTP email usage, although you may use a custom DSN from the email settings to disable peer verification.
  • Quite a lot of work has gone into the Huraga theme, we suggest taking a look at it's settings after migrating.
  • If you run into any issues, be sure to check the troubleshooting documentation (opens in a new tab).