Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System: Safe Upgrade Guide, Full Changelog & Pro Merge Workflows

Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System: the complete, safe‑update playbook (with 3‑way merge workflows)

If your website runs on Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System, upgrading is not just about new features—it’s about performance, security, and SEO. This in‑depth guide explains how to update safely even when you’ve already modified the code, with practical, tool‑specific merge instructions (WinMerge, Beyond Compare, Meld, P4Merge, DiffMerge, KDiff3), a production‑grade checklist, and a full changelog.

Important: If your site was installed from a nulled (pirated) package, you’re at serious risk of hidden backdoors, cryptominers, and tampered dependencies that block clean updates. We help migrate you to a legitimate license, remove malicious code, and perform a clean, stable upgrade of Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System.

What’s new at a glance (high‑impact features)

• Organized amenities, distance units (mi/km), and attribute sort order to refine UX and search filters.
• Currency settings for rentals/services + tax/commission models to monetize properly.
• Vendor earnings & withdrawals plus hide car owner option for privacy.
• API endpoints for rentals, push notifications, and API key security.
• Admin booking creation, external booking URL, printable invoices.
• Laravel 11 → 12, PHP 8.3 & 8.4 compatibility in newer versions; 1.1.8.1 requires PHP ≥ 8.2.
• IndexNow, sitemap enhancements (incl. Google News & XML mobile), and major cache/perf upgrades.

Pre‑flight: environment & requirements

Server needs (minimum for current builds):

• Web server: Apache or nginx (URL rewrites / mod_rewrite).
• PHP ≥ 8.2 (1.1.8.1 explicitly requires this). Many releases also support PHP 8.3, with 1.1.6 marked compatible with PHP 8.4.
• MySQL
• PHP extensions: PDO, OpenSSL, Mbstring, Exif, Fileinfo, XML, Ctype, JSON, Tokenizer, cURL
• Recommended: OPcache; tune memory_limit, post_max_size, upload_max_filesize.

Safe upgrade strategy when you’ve customized the code

The golden rule for Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System is “clean install + selective merge of your changes”—not dragging legacy files over a new core. Here’s the proven, production‑grade workflow.

1) Audit & backups

1. Identify your current Carento version (admin panel or changelog file).
2. Put your current site under Git if it isn’t already:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Baseline before Carento upgrade"

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Baseline before Carento upgrade"

Back up everything:

1. Keep storage/app/public and public/uploads safe (user files).

2) Spin up a clean copy of the target version (staging)

• Extract the latest official Carento package into a separate folder (e.g., carento-clean/).
• Create a .env that points to a staging database.
• Install and initialize:

php -v                       # ensure ≥ 8.2 for 1.1.8.1
composer install --no-dev -o
php artisan key:generate
php artisan storage:link
php artisan migrate --force
# If UI assets are used:
npm ci && npm run build

php -v                       # ensure ≥ 8.2 for 1.1.8.1
composer install --no-dev -o
php artisan key:generate
php artisan storage:link
php artisan migrate --force
# If UI assets are used:
npm ci && npm run build

3) Compare & merge your customizations (the right way)

Use a diff/merge tool to bring your changes into the clean codebase—not the other way around. Ignore runtime/vendor folders:

vendor/
node_modules/
storage/
bootstrap/cache/
public/storage/
public/vendor/
*.map
*.lock

vendor/
node_modules/
storage/
bootstrap/cache/
public/storage/
public/vendor/
*.map
*.lock

3‑way merge model:

• Base — the unmodified file from your original Carento version (if you have it).
• Mine — your customized file (from production).
• New — the same file from the latest clean version.

If you don’t have “Base”, you can still do a careful 2‑way merge, but 3‑way is safer and faster.

4) Composer, migrations, caches

After merging:

composer install --no-dev -o
php artisan migrate --force
php artisan optimize:clear
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:clear
php artisan queue:restart

composer install --no-dev -o
php artisan migrate --force
php artisan optimize:clear
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:clear
php artisan queue:restart

Check file permissions for storage/ and bootstrap/cache/.

5) Post‑upgrade QA checklist

• Auth & social login (Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, GitHub, X/Twitter).
• Bookings: create from admin, front‑end, external booking URL, invoice preview/print.
• Filters: brand, horsepower, amenity categories, miles/km; verify brand filter fix.
• Vendor dashboard: create/edit cars, car availability and saving, toggle hide owner.
• Money: taxes, per‑category commissions, currency settings for rentals & services, withdrawals.
• Content & SEO: sitemap (incl. IndexNow, Google News, XML mobile), caching for UI blocks.
• Emails: template rendering, translations/RTL, email verification expiry.
• API: endpoints for rentals, API key + push notifications.
• Performance: cold and warm loads, cache priming, TTFB, Lighthouse pass.

6) Rollback plan

Always keep the DB dump and the pre‑merge code archive. If needed, switch your web root back to the previous release and restore the DB dump.

Tool‑by‑tool: practical diff/merge workflows

Below are concise, senior‑level instructions to safely merge customizations into the latest Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System core.

WinMerge (Windows, free)

Ideal for: quick 2‑pane folder/file diffs.
Limitation: no native 3‑way merge; for complex conflicts use Beyond Compare/Meld.

Workflow

1. File → Open… and select left = Mine (your current site), right = New (clean latest).
2. Configure Filters to exclude runtime/vendor folders.
3. Options → Compare: enable Ignore whitespace; ensure UTF‑8.
4. Double‑click each file, copy changes from left to right only where you added custom logic.
5. Do not wholesale replace config or .env—transfer keys line‑by‑line.

Risks & tips

• Direction mistakes (left → right) are common—double‑check before copying.
• Without 3‑way context, you may overwrite important upstream fixes. Use a 3‑way tool for conflicted files.

Beyond Compare (Windows/macOS, paid, trial available)

Ideal for: 3‑way merge, rule‑based folder diffs, large projects.

Workflow

1. Start Folder Compare in 3‑way mode: center = Base, left = Mine, right = New.
2. Session Settings → Filters: exclude vendor/runtime dirs.
3. Comparison → Compare contents and enable “Unimportant text” to ignore whitespace.
4. Open conflicted files in 3‑way merge; pick left/right hunks, edit inline as needed.
5. Save to your Git working tree, commit in small batches.

Risks & tips

• Be careful with executable bits on macOS/Linux.
• Don’t accept “everything from left/right” blindly; Blade directives often need manual attention.

Meld (Windows/macOS/Linux, free/open‑source)

Ideal for: free 3‑way merges with a clean UI.

Workflow

1. New Comparison → Directory Comparison (2‑ or 3‑way).
2. Set filter exclusions.
3. For hard files, open 3‑way Merge with Base/Mine/New.
4. Resolve, save, and commit.

Risks & tips

• Rendering large Blade/JS files can lag—be patient.
• Confirm UTF‑8 + LF line endings to avoid noisy diffs.

P4Merge (macOS/Windows/Linux, free)

Ideal for: robust 3‑way text/image merges; great conflict visualization.

Workflow

1. Launch Merge; set Base, Mine, New, and Output.
2. Preferences → Text: enable Ignore whitespace, set encodings.
3. Accept/reject hunks; hand‑edit complex blocks (Blade directives, policy checks).
4. Save to Output; review and commit.

Risks & tips

• Integrates well with Git hooks; worth the initial setup.
• Avoid global auto‑accept modes; protect upstream security fixes.

DiffMerge (macOS/Windows/Linux, free)

Ideal for: simple 2‑/3‑way merges with a minimal learning curve.

Workflow

1. File Diff/Merge → 3‑way: pick Base/Mine/New.
2. Enable ignore‑whitespace & EOL normalization.
3. Resolve section by section; comment tricky decisions in code.

Risks & tips

• Watch for tabs vs spaces in Blade and JS—keep formatting consistent to prevent accidental layout breaks.

KDiff3 (macOS/Windows/Linux, free)

Ideal for: powerful 3‑way with decent auto‑merge.

Workflow

1. Set A=Base, B=Mine, C=New.
2. Enable Auto solve simple conflicts, but manually review all remaining areas.
3. Configure UTF‑8 and LF in Settings; save merges to your working copy.

Risks & tips

• Auto‑merge can mishandle Blade blocks. Manually inspect @section/@endsection, @if/@endif, and component slots.

Production‑friendly Git habits (save upgrades from disaster)

• Create a feature branch (e.g., upgrade/carento-1.1.8.1).
• Commit in small logical chunks (“merge header.blade.php”, “update routes for API”).
• Tag the last known good state (e.g., v1.1.4-custom).
• Use conventional commit messages for traceability.
• Run your test checklist after each batch rather than only at the end.

Security note for nulled copies (read this if you installed from the internet)

Nulled packages frequently inject obfuscated code into Composer autoloaders, Blade templates, or scheduled tasks. Symptoms: unexplained CPU spikes, outgoing network calls, random admin users, broken updates.
Remediation plan:

1. Stand up a clean, licensed Carento on staging.
2. Migrate only content (DB + media) after scanning.
3. Re‑implement legitimate customizations via the merge workflow above.
4. Rotate all credentials, invalidate tokens, and audit admin accounts.

We specialize in this cleanup and can provide a fixed‑price plan.

Highlighted features (last updated: 10 Dec 2024)

• Buy once, free updates forever
• Free theme installation support
• Bootstrap 5.x; 100% responsive; touch friendly; RTL support
• Powerful admin panel (no hard‑coded values)
• Multi‑language, translation tool, child theme support
• Google AdSense placements; Google Analytics dashboard widgets
• Easy installation with UI and video tutorial
• Typography & dynamic color settings
• Fast support (responses typically within 1 business day)

Full changelog

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.8.1 (THIS VERSION REQUIRES PHP ≥ 8.2)

• Added amenity categories for better organization
• Added distance unit setting (miles/kilometers)
• Added sort order for car attributes
• Added option to hide car owner information
• Added currency settings for car rentals and services
• Added API endpoints for car rentals
• Added option to configure email verification expiration time
• Improved email templates and translations
• Improved currency settings and configuration
• Improved UI design and user experience
• Fixed car saving issues in vendor dashboard
• Fixed car availability in vendor dashboard
• Fixed filter cars by brand functionality
• Updated all third-party libraries to latest versions

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.8 – Jul 28, 2025

• Added amenity categories for better organization
• Added distance unit setting (miles/kilometers)
• Added sort order for car attributes
• Added option to hide car owner information
• Added currency settings for car rentals and services
• Added API endpoints for car rentals
• Added option to configure email verification expiration time
• Improved email templates and translations
• Improved currency settings and configuration
• Improved UI design and user experience
• Fixed car saving issues in vendor dashboard
• Fixed car availability in vendor dashboard
• Fixed filter cars by brand functionality
• Updated all third-party libraries to latest versions

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.7 – Jun 26, 2025

• Add horsepower and filter by horsepower
• Add option to enter coupon code and coupon amount in booking creation form
• Add IndexNow support for sitemap
• Add option to cache or ignore cache for specific widget/shortcode
• Add X (Twitter) social login
• Add email template for admin contact reply email
• Add push notifications for API and secure API by API key
• Improve performance
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.6 – Jun 10, 2025

• Add booking creation in the admin panel
• Add car availability
• Add external booking URL, allow customer book car from external website
• Add more information to booking info when booking is completed
• Add horsepower and filter by horsepower
• Add cache for UI blocks & widgets to make site loads faster
• Add option to import blog post translations from CSV/Excel file
• Add option to set default avatar for customer
• Add settings to control file max size upload and max images upload
• Improve booking reports page, add more info
• Improve invoice & add option to print booking
• Improve cars filter, add more filter options
• Improve UI for cookie consent
• Improve performance
• Optimize source code
• Make it compatible with PHP 8.4
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.5 – Apr 29, 2025

• Fix error when updating cache settings
• Add Bootstrap Grid Columns button to editor
• Update jquery validation to the latest version to prevent security issues
• Improve UI cookie consent
• Improve cache for better performance
• Optimize source code
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.4 – Apr 16, 2025

• Added commission settings, allow admin to set commission percentage for each car category
• Calculate revenue for car owner when car is rented
• Added vendor withdrawal system allowing car owners to withdraw their earnings
• Added tax support to car rentals for more accurate pricing
• Added option to enable or disable car rental and sale features
• Display missing values for car in car details page
• Add option to disable term & condition checkbox in registration form and contact form
• Added option to disable sitemap
• Improve cookie consent UI, make it GDPR compliant
• Improve cache for better performance
• Optimize source code
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.3 – Mar 25, 2025

• Upgrade to Laravel framework version 12.x
• Add car sales feature
• Add email notification for new booking and booking status changed
• Improve front theme UI & UI blocks
• Improve sitemap, split sitemap into multiple files if it has more than 1k items
• Improve Backblaze storage integration
• Improve cache for better performance
• Optimize source code
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.2 – Feb 25, 2025

• Fix deprecation warning logs in PHP 8.3
• Fix warning when importing blog posts
• Copy menu structure to the new language when adding language
• Improve sitemap: add Google news and XML mobile
• Improve email template, support RTL in email
• Improve newsletter: make it loads faster when loading the homepage
• Improve social sharing buttons
• Improve UI front theme and admin panel
• Improve cache for better performance
• Optimize source code
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.1.0 – Jan 17, 2025

• Fix blog categories sorting issue
• Fix import translations (issue when locale contains a dash)
• Fix some RTL issues
• Upgrade to Laravel 11.0, support PHP 8.3
• Update CKEditor, Google Fonts and Tabler icons
• Add an option to permanently delete media files (bypass trash)
• Add support for new HTML tags
• Improve backup: option to back up database only
• Improve front theme and admin panel UI
• Improve cache for better performance
• Optimize source code
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.0.2 – Dec 30, 2024

• Upgrade to Laravel 11
• Support PHP 8.3
• Fix minor theme UI issues
• Add multi‑vendor features (register as vendor/car owner to post cars for rent)
• Add missing captcha to forms to prevent spam tools
• Improve invoices
• Improve cache for better performance
• Optimize source code
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.0.1 – Dec 11, 2024

• Fix minor theme UI issues
• Add social login: Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, GitHub
• Add reCAPTCHA & Math captcha for login/register
• Add messages box to car detail page
• Improve cache for better performance
• Optimize source code
• Update third-party libraries to the latest version

Changelog Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System 1.0.0 – Dec 2024

• First release.

How we can help (fixed‑price, risk‑managed upgrades)

We provide end‑to‑end services for Carento – Car Rental Booking Laravel System:

• Security audit and nulled cleanup; migration to a licensed build
• 3‑way merge of custom code into the latest Carento core
• Staging environment, test plan, performance tuning (caching, indexes, CDN)
• SEO setup (sitemaps, IndexNow), analytics, cookie consent (GDPR‑ready)
• Clear rollback plan and post‑release monitoring

Want a risk‑free upgrade? Share your current version and custom feature list—we’ll return a concrete upgrade plan and a fixed quote.