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Maho 25.11.0 is out today!

This has been one of the most intensive releases we've ever shipped, and the name says it all, Core Fission represents the moment Maho stops being a fork and becomes a drop-in modern replacement for the Magento 1 framework, the ecommerce framework that everybody loved, with complete compatibility. We've eliminated every last piece of Zend Framework, purged all the old JavaScript libraries for modern vanilla, and migrated the entire Varien namespace to proper Maho classes with PHP 8.3+ namespacing.

This isn't just cleaning house, it's splitting off from two decades of accumulated tech debt to emerge as something entirely new. Maho's framework is now based on Symfony, Doctrine, Laminas, and other major modern maintained libraries that will be around for years to come.

The result? A cleaner, faster, more maintainable platform that drops right into your existing setup and is ready for the next decade of ecommerce.

This release also introduces what might just be the best email automation platform ever built into an ecommerce system, giving you enterprise-level marketing tools right out of the box.

Highlights

  • Complete email automation system with multi-step campaigns, automatic coupon generation, and segment-based triggers.
  • 100% VanillaJS: Removed all JavaScript libraries for a modern, lightweight frontend and backend.
  • Zend Framework completely removed: Now built on Symfony, Laminas, and Doctrine DBAL.
  • All Varien classes migrated to Maho namespace with proper PHP 8.3+ namespacing and backward compatibility.
  • Modern web installer design with responsive layout, CSS animations, and improved UX.
  • Array Adapter for ImportExport module for direct PHP array imports.
  • SVG support for favicon and placeholder uploads with security sanitization.

🚀 New features and major improvements

Added email automation system for customer segments

We're introducing a complete email automation system that rivals enterprise marketing platforms, built right into Maho's customer segmentation module. You can now create sophisticated multi-step email campaigns that trigger automatically when customers enter or exit segments, think cart abandonment recovery with progressive discounts, welcome series for new customers, post-purchase follow-ups, VIP nurturing campaigns, or win-back sequences for inactive shoppers.

Each sequence can include multiple steps with configurable delays (from minutes to days), and here's where it gets really powerful: every email can automatically generate unique, personalized coupon codes with custom prefixes and expiration dates, all integrated with your existing sales rules. The system tracks each customer's progress through your campaigns, respects newsletter subscriptions and GDPR requirements, and runs on dedicated cron jobs that handle everything from email processing to automatic cleanup of expired coupons.


Maho goes 100% vanillaJS

Maho 25.11 completely removes all javascript libraries from our repo for a complete modern vanillaJS experience of both frontend and backend.

In detail: Rewrote adminhtml/loader.js, Rewrote adminhtml/giftmessage.js, Rewrote adminhtml/events.js, Rewrote adminhtml/tabs.js, Rewrote store/switcher/enhanced.phtml, Rewrote applicable_country.phtml, Rewrote system/config/js.phtml, Rewrote customer/tab/addresses.phtml, Rewrote bundle related phtml files.


No Zend Framework anymore

We finally cuts the cord with Zend Framework (which is no longer part of this repo) - the aging monolith that's been weighing down the codebase since the Magento 1 days. Maho is completely built on the shoulders of the best modern PHP giants - Symfony, Laminas, Doctrine DBAL and so much more - projects that are actively developed and will be around for years to come. The payoff is real: a cleaner, faster, more secure codebase that actually makes sense to work with, all while keeping full backward compatibility (as much as possible) for extensions so nobody gets left behind.

In detail: Removed Zend_File_Transfer, Removed Zend_Translate, Removed Zend_Feed, Removed Zend_Oauth, Removed Zend_View, Removed Zend_Controller, Removed Zend_Acl, Migrated from Zend_DB to Doctrine DBAL


No Varien anymore

This release migrates all Varien classes from lib/Varien/ to lib/Maho/ with proper PHP namespaces, converting underscore-based pseudo-namespaces (e.g., Varien_Data_Form) to modern namespaced classes (e.g., Maho\Data\Form).

To ensure a smooth transition, we've implemented PHP 8.3+ eager class aliases for all ~108 Varien classes, maintaining 100% backward compatibility with third-party extensions while giving us a clear path forward with consistent, professional naming throughout the platform.


New design for the web installer

The web installer got a complete visual overhaul with a modern, responsive design.

We've rebuilt it with pure CSS and vanilla JavaScript, adding smooth CSS animations, a proper step-by-step progress indicator, password strength indicators and an interface that actually looks professional.

Sure, web installers might feel a bit old-school in today's containerized DevOps world where everything's automated, but they're still crucial for new users and smaller deployments who just want to get Maho up and running without wrestling with deployment pipelines.


Major, but not headline

Important, but not major

Less important changes

And much more, be sure to check the full release announcement.