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The plugin manages every customer sub-account through one MailChannels parent account. You connect it once from the addon page.

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Prerequisites

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Create a parent API key

1

Open API keys in the Console

Sign in to the MailChannels Console and open Account > API Keys.
2

Create the key

Click Create API Key. Give it a label such as WHMCS and set the scope to Sending Email (api). Copy the key. You cannot view it again.
Treat this key like a root password for your customers’ email. It can create, suspend, and delete sub-accounts and their credentials. Store it only in WHMCS, where the plugin encrypts it. Do not reuse it in other integrations.
Use a dedicated key for WHMCS. If you ever need to rotate it, you can disconnect and reconnect the addon without affecting other systems that use your parent account.

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Connect the key in WHMCS

1

Open the addon

In the WHMCS admin area, go to Addons > MailChannels Email API.
2

Enter the key

Under 1. Connect the parent account, paste the key into Parent API key and click Validate and connect.
Connect the parent account card with the Parent API key field and the Validate and connect button
3

Confirm the connection

The plugin validates the key by retrieving your parent account’s current-period usage and listing sub-accounts. If both calls succeed, it encrypts the key with the WHMCS encryption API, saves it, and shows a success message with your current usage and limit.The Parent connection card changes to Connected and records the validation time.
The Shared parent ceiling card now shows your parent account’s used and total sends for the current billing period.
Addon status cards showing Parent connection as Connected, Active allocations, and Shared parent ceiling usage
If the key is stored but MailChannels cannot return parent usage, the Shared parent ceiling card shows Unavailable with the reason.

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If validation fails

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Disconnect

Once a key is connected, the connection form is collapsed. To remove the stored key, expand Disconnect under 1. Connect the parent account, type DISCONNECT in the confirmation field, and click Disconnect. Disconnecting deletes the encrypted key and the validation timestamp. It does not change any sub-account at MailChannels, and existing WHMCS service records are retained. Until you connect a key again, every provisioning action fails with the message Connect a MailChannels parent account in the addon module before provisioning.

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Rotate the parent key

  1. Create a new API key in the MailChannels Console.
  2. In the addon, expand Replace the API key, paste the new key, and click Validate and connect. The new key replaces the old one.
  3. Revoke the old key in the Console.
Existing sub-accounts and customer credentials are unaffected. The parent key is used only for management calls, never for customer sending.