Select Target PHP Version:

PHP 8.4 (Latest) PHP 8.3

1

Download into aaPanel Extension Directory

Run this command to download the matching binary directly into your aaPanel extension directory:

EXT_DIR=$(/www/server/php/84/bin/php-config --extension-dir)
curl -fsSL "https://phpcube.maksudur.dev/api/loader.php?php=8.4" -o "$EXT_DIR/phpcube.so"
chmod 755 "$EXT_DIR/phpcube.so"

2

Add Extension to php.ini

Append the extension line to the PHP configuration file:

echo "extension=phpcube.so" >> /www/server/php/84/etc/php.ini

Or via aaPanel Web UI → App Store → PHP → Configuration file → add extension=phpcube.so at bottom.

3

Restart PHP Service

Restart the PHP-FPM process to apply the changes:

systemctl restart php-fpm-84

1

Download into Standard Extension Directory

PHP_VER=$(php -r "echo PHP_MAJOR_VERSION . '.' . PHP_MINOR_VERSION;")
EXT_DIR=$(php -r "echo ini_get('extension_dir');")
sudo curl -fsSL "https://phpcube.maksudur.dev/api/loader.php?php=${PHP_VER}" -o "$EXT_DIR/phpcube.so"
sudo chmod 755 "$EXT_DIR/phpcube.so"

2

Create Mod INI & Enable

PHP_VER=$(php -r "echo PHP_MAJOR_VERSION . '.' . PHP_MINOR_VERSION;")
echo "extension=phpcube.so" | sudo tee /etc/php/${PHP_VER}/mods-available/phpcube.ini
sudo phpenmod -v ${PHP_VER} phpcube

3

Restart Web & PHP Service

PHP_VER=$(php -r "echo PHP_MAJOR_VERSION . '.' . PHP_MINOR_VERSION;")
sudo systemctl restart php${PHP_VER}-fpm

Dockerfile Snippet (Official PHP 8.4 or 8.3 Images)

Add this snippet to your Dockerfile to automatically download and enable the loader during container build:

FROM php:8.4-fpm-alpine

# Download and enable phpcube loader
RUN PHP_VER=$(php -r "echo PHP_MAJOR_VERSION . '.' . PHP_MINOR_VERSION;") \
    && EXT_DIR=$(php -r "echo ini_get('extension_dir');") \
    && curl -fsSL "https://phpcube.maksudur.dev/api/loader.php?php=${PHP_VER}" -o "$EXT_DIR/phpcube.so" \
    && chmod 755 "$EXT_DIR/phpcube.so" \
    && docker-php-ext-enable phpcube

Verifying the Loader

Run either command to confirm the loader is active and ready in your PHP environment:

Check active modules:

php -m | grep phpcube

✓ Expected Output: phpcube

One-liner test:

php -r "echo extension_loaded('phpcube') ? '✓ phpcube loader is active!' . PHP_EOL : '✗ NOT LOADED' . PHP_EOL;"

License File Placement

When running protected scripts on your server, place the authorized license.lic file in your application root:

/var/www/my-application/
├── app/                  # Encrypted PHP files
├── public/               # Web root (index.php, assets)
├── vendor/               # Standard Composer packages
└── license.lic           # Signed phpcube cryptographic license file

License Renewal & Auto-Refresh

Monthly and yearly licenses renew without any work on your server, and you never re-encode your files.

🔄 Automatic refresh

Starting 7 days before expiry, the loader downloads your renewed license.lic by itself. It checks at most every 6 hours, or every 5 minutes once the license has expired. You don't need a cron job or a PHP restart.

⏳ Grace period

If a payment is late, protected code keeps running for 7 days after the expiry date. Renew within that window and nobody notices.

🔑 No re-encoding

A renewal keeps the same product key and domains, and only the expiry changes. Your encoded files keep working as they are.

Requirements

Outbound HTTPS from the server to the license server, allow_url_fopen = On, and the openssl extension (all default on aaPanel).
If PHP can write to the folder that holds license.lic, the file is replaced there. If not, the renewed copy is kept in PHP's temp directory and used automatically.
Licenses issued before this feature get it at their next renewal. To check a license, run phpcube_license_info() and look for auto_refresh and in_grace.

Check status / turn it off

php -r 'print_r(phpcube_license_info());'

; php.ini - turn off self-refresh (on by default)
phpcube.auto_refresh = 0

Fallback: servers without outbound HTTPS

If the loader can't reach the license server, open the portal and click 🔄 Auto-refresh on a license. It gives you a one-line command that installs a small cron job to fetch the renewed license instead.

Installing the phpcube Loader on Linux

Installation steps