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Install

Requirements​

  • XenForo 2.3.0 or newer.
  • PHP 7.2 or newer.
  • MySQL 5.7 / MariaDB 10.2 with utf8mb4.

Install​

  1. Download the release archive and extract it into your installation. The src/addons/MC/Sunset/ directory should sit alongside the other add-ons.
  2. Navigate to AdminCP > Add-ons and click Install next to [MC] Sunset. The add-on creates five storage tables (xf_mc_sun_user_state, xf_mc_sun_snapshot, xf_mc_sun_released_username, xf_mc_sun_audit_log, xf_mc_sun_reactivation_request) and adds mcsun_warning_optout to xf_user_option.
  3. Two cron entries are registered: MC Sunset: Evaluate inactive users and MC Sunset: retention enforcer. Both gate on the Enable evaluator option, so they do nothing until the master switch is turned on.

First-run checklist​

The add-on ships with Enable evaluator set to Off and a seeded set of policy assignments that include destructive actions (anonymise profile fields, release username). Review every step below before turning the master switch on.

  1. Open AdminCP > Users > Sunset > Dashboard. The tier counts should all read zero on a fresh install.
  2. Review AdminCP > Setup > Options > [MC] Sunset > Tiers. Defaults are 180 days to Warned, 365 to Soft sunset, 730 to Hard sunset, and 1825 to Released. Adjust to match your inactivity policy.
  3. Open AdminCP > Users > Sunset > Policies. The seeded assignments wire notify_user to Warned, deindex_profile and anonymize_field (about, location, signature) to Soft and Hard, notify_admin to Hard, and release_username plus notify_admin to Released. Toggle off anything you don't want firing.
  4. Confirm the per-tier reactivation models at the bottom of the Policies page. Defaults are auto for Warned, auto_notify for Soft, request for Hard, partial for Released. See Reactivation.
  5. Add staff and moderator groups to Excluded user groups so the evaluator never sunsets them.
  6. Open the Preview page from the Dashboard to see exactly which members the next evaluator pass would tier and what each policy would do, with no live writes. Run it before flipping the master switch.
  7. Once the matrix and thresholds look right, set Enable evaluator to On.
  8. Optionally remove branding under AdminCP > Setup > Options > [MC] Sunset > General.

Verifying the install​

  • Confirm the add-on is Active at AdminCP > Add-ons.
  • Visit AdminCP > Users > Sunset > Dashboard. The page should render with zero tier counts and an empty recent-activity ledger.
  • Confirm both cron entries are listed at AdminCP > Tools > Cron entries with MC Sunset in the title.
  • Run php cmd.php mc-sunset:self-test from the installation root. The command creates a synthetic user inside a rolled-back transaction and exercises the full lifecycle (snapshot capture, transitions through all tiers, reactivation, approval-queue sync, request-model lockout) without leaving any rows behind. Exit code must be zero.