Getallheaders Laravel Package

Getting Started

This package is a polyfill for PHP’s getallheaders() function, which is not available in all SAPIs (notably, not in FastCGI Process Manager — FPM). To use it:

1. Install via Composer:

   composer require ralouphie/getallheaders
   

2. In code, simply call getallheaders() as usual — the polyfill auto-registers and detects if the native function exists; if not, it provides a compatible implementation.
3. First use case: accessing all incoming HTTP headers in a framework-agnostic way (e.g., in lightweight microservices, CLI scripts, or custom bootstrap files) where getallheaders() would otherwise fail silently or throw a fatal error.

Implementation Patterns

• Dependency injection: Wrap getallheaders() in a service class (e.g., RequestHeaders) to decouple from the polyfill and improve testability.
• Framework integration: In Laravel, use it in middleware or request handlers before or during the request lifecycle to normalize header access — especially when running on nginx+php-fpm or Apache without mod_headers.
• Testing setup: In phpunit.xml or bootstrap files, include a conditional check to load the polyfill only when needed (function_exists('getallheaders') || require 'vendor/autoload.php').
• Debugging endpoints: In development tools or diagnostic routes, use it to dump all headers for troubleshooting (e.g., Authorization, X-Request-ID).

Gotchas and Tips

• Performance: The polyfill reconstructs headers from $_SERVER variables, so avoid calling getallheaders() in tight loops — caching the result is recommended if used repeatedly.
• Header normalization: The polyfill normalizes keys (e.g., X-Request-Id → X-Request-Id), but custom SAPIs (e.g., some FastCGI configurations) may use inconsistent $_SERVER prefixes (HTTP_, REDIRECT_HTTP_, etc.). Verify $_SERVER content in non-standard environments.
• Conflict risk: Rarely, if your project already defines getallheaders() (e.g., via another polyfill or manually), Composer won’t warn — you may get redeclaration errors. Use class_exists() or Composer’s replace section to avoid duplicate polyfills.
• Not for outbound requests: This polyfill is strictly for incoming request headers — don’t use it for cURL or Guzzle header inspection.
• Future-proofing: PHP 7.3+ and modern frameworks (Laravel 6+) usually include native support on common SAPIs, but this polyfill remains valuable for backward compatibility or edge-case environments like embedded PHP or unconventional web servers.