Decide when advanced administration or network infrastructure justifies moving beyond Free.
Stay on Free when
- You operate one server.
- SQLite fits the deployment.
- YAML is an acceptable administration workflow.
- You do not need a shared network market.
Move to Pro when
- Several servers need one auction house.
- You need MySQL storage.
- The team frequently edits interfaces or categories.
- Hot reload and in-game administration would remove operating friction.
Migration order
- Back up plugin files and auction data.
- Remove ModernHDV Free.
- Install ModernHDV Pro — never run both together.
- Start on staging and validate automatic file migration.
- Transfer SQLite data to MySQL only after the Pro setup works.
Keep the change controlled
Enable Pro administration on the current server first. Treat the later MySQL or multi-server move as a separate infrastructure change with its own test and rollback plan.