Disable MySQL Strict Mode

You must disable MySQL® Strict Mode in order to run WHMCS on your server. We recommend disabling it at the time of installation to avoid later database errors.

For more information about WHMCS’s requirements, see System Requirements.
  • Disabling MySQL Strict Mode requires full root permissions for your server. If you do not have root-level access, contact your hosting provider or system administrator.
  • You can use several different methods to disable MySQL Strict Mode, depending on your preferences and the control panel you use. On cPanel & WHM servers, we recommend performing these steps by logging in to WHM as the root user and going to Server Configuration » Terminal.

Disable MySQL Strict Mode

To disable MySQL Strict Mode:

1. Open the MySQL configuration file.

Open the MySQL configuration file using your preferred text editor (for example, nano or vi).

For cPanel & WHM servers, this is the /etc/my.cnf file:

vi /etc/my.cnf

2. Edit the sql_mode setting.

Edit the sql_mode setting to remove the current value:

sql_mode=

3. Restart the MySQL service.

Restart the MySQL service.

To do this in WHM, go to Restart Services » SQL Server (MySQL).

database installation

Last modified: January 2, 2025