Laravel Request Logger Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require bilfeldt/laravel-request-logger
   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Bilfeldt\RequestLogger\RequestLoggerServiceProvider" --tag="request-logger-migrations"
   php artisan migrate
   

2. First Use Case: Enable logging for a route via middleware:

   Route::middleware('requestlog')->get('/api/endpoint', [YourController::class, 'method']);
   

   This logs the request/response to the database with minimal configuration.

Key Configuration

• Publish the config file for customization:

  php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Bilfeldt\RequestLogger\RequestLoggerServiceProvider" --tag="request-logger-config"
  

• Configure log_methods or log_statuses in config/request-logger.php to filter logs (e.g., ['*'] for all requests or ['5**'] for server errors).

Implementation Patterns

1. Middleware-Based Logging

• Route-Level Control:

  Route::middleware(['requestlog'])->group(function () {
      Route::get('/admin', [AdminController::class, 'index']);
      Route::post('/api/webhook', [WebhookController::class, 'handle']);
  });
  

  • Useful for API endpoints or admin panels where detailed logging is critical.

• Conditional Logging:

  Route::middleware(['requestlog:custom-driver'])->get('/debug', [DebugController::class, 'log']);
  

  • Leverage custom drivers (e.g., S3, external APIs) for specialized logging needs.

2. Dynamic Logging via Request Macro

• Enable logging in controllers:

  public function sensitiveAction(Request $request) {
      $request->enableLog(); // Logs this specific request
      // ...
  }
  

  • Ideal for critical actions (e.g., payments, data exports) where logging is context-dependent.

3. Integration with Existing Workflows

• Error Handling: Combine with Laravel’s App\Exceptions\Handler to log failed requests automatically:

  public function register() {
      $this->renderable(function (Throwable $e, $request) {
          $request->enableLog(); // Log failed requests
          return response()->view('errors.500');
      });
  }
  

• Testing: Mock the RequestLog model in tests:

  $this->partialMock(RequestLog::class, function ($mock) {
      $mock->shouldReceive('create')->once();
  });
  

4. Custom Drivers

• Extend the package by creating a custom driver (e.g., for Elasticsearch):

  // app/Providers/RequestLoggerServiceProvider.php
  public function register() {
      $this->app->extend('request-logger', function () {
          return new ElasticsearchLogger();
      });
  }
  

  • Use in middleware:

  Route::middleware(['log:elasticsearch'])->get('/search', [SearchController::class, 'index']);
  

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Performance Overhead:

   • Logging every request adds latency. Use middleware selectively (e.g., exclude health checks):

     'log_methods' => ['GET', 'POST', 'PUT', 'PATCH', 'DELETE'], // Exclude OPTIONS, etc.
     

2. Database Bloat:

   • Prune logs regularly via scheduled command:

     // app/Console/Kernel.php
     protected function schedule(Schedule $schedule) {
         $schedule->command('requestlog:prune')->dailyAt('2:00');
     }
     

   • For large-scale apps, use a dedicated database connection:

     REQUEST_LOGGER_DB_CONNECTION=logging
     

3. Sensitive Data Leakage:

   • Exclude sensitive headers/params by default (e.g., api_token):

     'headers' => ['authorization', 'cookie'],
     'parameters' => ['password', 'credit_card'],
     

4. Proxy/Load Balancer IPs:

   • Trusted proxies must be configured in config/trustedproxies.php to log client IPs correctly:

     'proxies' => ['192.168.1.1', '10.0.0.1'],
     

Debugging Tips

1. Verify Logging: Check the request_logs table for entries after triggering a logged request. Use Laravel Scout for real-time monitoring:

   php artisan tinker
   >>> \Bilfeldt\RequestLogger\RequestLog::latest()->first();
   

2. Middleware Debugging: Add a temporary log to diagnose middleware issues:

   Route::middleware(['requestlog', function ($request, $next) {
       \Log::info('Middleware executed', ['path' => $request->path()]);
       return $next($request);
   }])->get('/test', [TestController::class, 'index']);
   

3. Custom Driver Issues:

   • Ensure the driver implements Bilfeldt\RequestLogger\Contracts\Logger:

     class ElasticsearchLogger implements Logger {
         public function log(Request $request, Response $response) {
             // Implementation
         }
     }
     

Extension Points

1. Modify Logged Data: Override the RequestLog model to customize fields:

   // app/Models/CustomRequestLog.php
   class CustomRequestLog extends \Bilfeldt\RequestLogger\RequestLog {
       protected $casts = [
           'user_agent' => 'encrypted', // Encrypt sensitive UAs
       ];
   }
   

   Update config:

   'model' => \App\Models\CustomRequestLog::class,
   

2. Add Metadata: Use the LogContextMiddleware (from bilfeldt/laravel-correlation-id) to attach context:

   Route::middleware(['requestlog', 'log-context'])->get('/tracked', [TrackedController::class, 'index']);
   

3. Filtering: Dynamically exclude routes in middleware:

   public function handle($request, Closure $next) {
       if ($request->is('health*')) return $next($request);
       return parent::handle($request, $next);
   }