Migrate from BoxBilling

Please note that some legacy BoxBilling features, most notably forums have been deprecated in FOSSBilling (as well as in the latest BoxBilling releases). 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.

The FOSSBilling project was forked from BoxBilling in 2022. FOSSBilling aims to provide a more stable and secure open source billing platform with a clear roadmap and more transparent governance.

If you are currently using BoxBilling and want to migrate to FOSSBilling then you can, and we aim to make the process as simple and painless as possible.

These instructions assume that you are using the latest version of BoxBilling (4.22.1.5). If you are using an older version then it is highly recommended to update your install before migrating.

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.

Breaking Changes

Please note, FOSSBilling has made significant changes since forking from BoxBilling, custom themes and modules may no longer work. We recommended reading the changelog (opens in a new tab) to review any changes listed as a breaking change.

Download the latest release

Download the latest release of FOSSBilling using this link: Latest Stable Release (opens in a new tab)

Prepare your existing installation

Themes created for BoxBilling will not function inside of FOSSBilling and need to be manaully ported to be compatible with FOSSBilling.

Make a full backup of your database and all of the existing files and folders in your BoxBilling installation.
Remove the 'bb-vendor' and 'bb-themes' folders (create a backup of your theme if you are using a custom theme).
Rename the following folders and files to remove the bb- prefix:
- bb-data -> data
- bb-library -> library
- bb-locale -> locale
- bb-modules -> modules
- bb-uploads -> uploads
- bb-config.php -> config.php
Delete the following files:
- bb-cron.php (you will need to update your cron job to point to cron.php)
- bb-di.php
- bb-load.php
- rb.php
- bb-ipn.php
- bb-update.php
- You should also delete all files and folders under data/cache

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.

Upload and extract the FOSSBilling files

Upload and extract the contents of the preview build archive over the files in your existing BoxBilling installation and replace any existing files.

Remove the install folder

Delete the 'install' folder and all of the files inside it. Since you already had BoxBilling installed, you will not need to go through the FOSSBilling installer again.

Migrate the configuration file and Database

Edit your config.php file and update the twig->cache key to point to /data/cache instead of /bb-data/cache.
Navigate to example.com/run-patcher to use FOSSBilling's backup patching method. This will automatically migrate the configuration file and database to be compatible with the current versions of FOSSBilling.

Install using Softaculous Updating FOSSBilling