If your host runs PHP 8.3 and cron, you are ready.
This is the page that decides it for most people, so it is specific rather than vague. Below is exactly what Gyro Suite needs, exactly what is optional, the volumes at which shared hosting stops being enough, and a checker you can upload to your own server right now to get a definite answer.
The whole list. There is nothing else.
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.5 supported. One build per major version |
| ionCube Loader | matching your PHP | 13.x | The one people miss. Standard on most cPanel hosts |
| MySQL or MariaDB | MySQL 8.0 / MariaDB 10.6 | MySQL 8.0 | InnoDB, utf8mb4 |
| PHP extensions | mbstring, intl, gd, curl, openssl, zip, pdo_mysql, xml, fileinfo, bcmath, iconv | same | All standard on cPanel |
| memory_limit | 256M | 512M | 512M for manufacturing or payroll |
| max_execution_time | 30s | 120s | Long jobs are chunked to survive 30s |
| Cron | once per minute | once per minute | One line, pasted from the installer |
| Disk | 500 MB | 2 GB and up | Grows with attachments |
| Outbound HTTPS | to gyrosuite.com | same | Or use offline activation |
| Web server | Apache, LiteSpeed or Nginx | LiteSpeed | mod_rewrite or equivalent |
No root access, no SSH, no Docker, no Composer, no Node, no Redis, no queue supervisor, no websocket port and no command line. If that list surprises you, it is because most software in this category assumes all of them.
Things that make it faster, and none of which it needs.
| Component | Required? | What it improves | Detected automatically? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redis | Optional | Cache, sessions and queue throughput | Yes |
| Queue worker or Supervisor | Optional | Background jobs run instantly instead of within a minute | Yes |
| Websockets | Optional | Live chat and notifications become instant instead of a few seconds | Yes |
| Meilisearch | Optional | Search across very large datasets | Yes |
| Gotenberg or headless Chrome | Optional | Pixel-perfect PDF for complex templates | Yes |
| S3-compatible storage | Optional | Off-site attachments and backups | No |
| imagick | Optional | Faster image processing in the storefront | Yes |
The software detects what is present at install and re-checks on a schedule. If you later add Redis, it starts using it without you configuring anything. The Module Manager shows the current capability tier and what each upgrade would change.
Where shared hosting stops being enough.
| Measure | Shared cPanel | VPS with Redis | What happens past the limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concurrent users | ~10 | ~50 | Pages get slower, nothing breaks |
| Invoices | 50,000 | 250,000 | List views stay fast, exports move to background |
| Journal lines | 500,000 | 5,000,000 | Period balances are materialised, so reports stay fast |
| Stock ledger rows | 250,000 | 2,500,000 | Balance rebuilds take longer, run out of hours |
| Employees on payroll | ~150 | ~1,000 | A run splits into chunks across cron ticks |
| Published store items | ~3,000 | ~25,000 | Category pages need caching |
| Attachments | 5 GB | 50 GB | Move to S3-compatible storage |
These are engineering targets measured on a mid-range shared plan, not guarantees, and your host's disk speed matters more than any other single factor. The Health page warns you as you approach them rather than letting you discover it during month end.
Three ways to know for certain, in order of speed.
Look in cPanel, about 30 seconds
Open Select PHP Version in cPanel. The version dropdown tells you the PHP version, and the extensions list has a checkbox named ioncube_loader. If it says 8.3 or higher and the ionCube box is ticked, you are done.
Upload the checker, about 2 minutes
Download gyro-check.php, upload it to your public_html folder, and open it in a browser. It prints a pass or fail against every requirement on this page and then offers to delete itself. It writes nothing and connects to nothing.
Ask us, one business day
Send us your host's name and plan through the contact form and we will tell you. We keep a list of hosts we have tested, and if yours is not on it we will check the published specification for you.
Hosts we have tested and know work
Hostinger, Namecheap, SiteGround, A2 Hosting, InMotion, GreenGeeks, ChemiCloud, Krystal, Hetzner (VPS and webhosting), Contabo, IONOS, and any cPanel or DirectAdmin account meeting the table above.
Known not to work: hosts that cap PHP at 8.1 or below, hosts that refuse to enable ionCube, free hosting tiers with no cron, and platforms that only run their own stack such as WordPress-only managed hosting. If you are on one of those, the fix is a different host rather than different software.
About hosting and requirements.
Why does it need ionCube at all?
Because the application is encoded to protect it from being copied and resold, which is what keeps a $9 per company price viable in a market where the same thing has happened to almost every PHP business application ever sold. ionCube is the most widely deployed PHP encoder and is a standard cPanel extension, which is why we chose it over alternatives that fewer hosts support.
Can I run it on a subdomain or in a subfolder?
Both. A subdomain such as books.yourcompany.com is the cleanest and is what we recommend. A subfolder works too. The installer detects which layout you are using, including the more secure arrangement where the application sits above public_html and only its public folder is exposed.
Does it work with LiteSpeed and LSCache?
Yes, and LiteSpeed is what we recommend. The shipped .htaccess sets cache headers that LSCache respects: long-lived immutable caching for versioned assets and no-cache for application responses. Nothing needs configuring beyond uploading the file.
What about PHP 8.5?
Supported, with its own build. In practice the limiting factor is not PHP but whether your host has an ionCube Loader for that version yet, since the loader always lags a new PHP release by a few weeks. If you are on 8.5 and the loader is not available, use the 8.4 build until it is.
Do I need a dedicated IP or an SSL certificate?
No dedicated IP. SSL yes, and every host worth using now issues a free Let's Encrypt certificate from cPanel with two clicks. The installer refuses to complete over plain HTTP for anything other than a local test, because sending payroll data over an unencrypted connection is not a choice we are willing to let you make by accident.
Requirements met? It takes about six minutes.
The installation guide walks every step with screenshots, and there is a paid install service if you would rather we did it.