StackWatch Laravel SDK

AI-powered application monitoring for Laravel applications.

🤖 AI-Assisted Installation (For Vibe Coders)

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Install StackWatch Laravel SDK for application monitoring in my Laravel project.

================================================================================
MY PROJECT DETAILS
================================================================================
- API Key: [YOUR_STACKWATCH_API_KEY]
- Environment: [production/staging/local]
- Laravel Version: [8/9/10/11/12]

================================================================================
WHAT I NEED YOU TO DO
================================================================================
1. Install the package: composer require stackwatch/laravel
2. Run setup: php artisan stackwatch:install (or manually publish config)
3. Add environment variables to .env file
4. Register StackWatchMiddleware in my application
5. Enable log integration with auto-register
6. Test the connection: php artisan stackwatch:test

================================================================================
OPTIONAL INTEGRATIONS (check the ones you want)
================================================================================
- [ ] Spatie Laravel Backup monitoring
- [ ] Spatie Laravel Health checks
- [ ] Spatie Activity Log tracking
- [ ] Performance monitoring with aggregation
- [ ] Slow request alerts (threshold: ___ms)

================================================================================
MY PREFERENCES
================================================================================
- Log level: [debug/info/warning/error]
- Rate limit per minute: [60]
- Custom exceptions to ignore: [list any]

================================================================================
TECHNICAL REFERENCE FOR AI
================================================================================
Package: stackwatch/laravel
Namespace: StackWatch\Laravel
Facade: StackWatch\Laravel\Facades\StackWatch
Middleware: StackWatch\Laravel\Middleware\StackWatchMiddleware
Config File: config/stackwatch.php
Install Command: php artisan stackwatch:install
Test Command: php artisan stackwatch:test
Deploy Command: php artisan stackwatch:deploy --release=VERSION

================================================================================
ALL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES (with defaults)
================================================================================

# CORE SETTINGS
STACKWATCH_API_KEY=your-api-key-here           # Required - Get from dashboard
STACKWATCH_ENDPOINT=https://api.stackwatch.dev/v1  # API endpoint
STACKWATCH_ENVIRONMENT=production              # Environment name (default: APP_ENV)
STACKWATCH_RELEASE=                            # Release version (default: APP_VERSION)
STACKWATCH_ENABLED=true                        # Enable/disable SDK entirely

# EXCEPTION TRACKING
STACKWATCH_CAPTURE_EXCEPTIONS=true             # Auto-capture exceptions

# LOG INTEGRATION
STACKWATCH_LOG_LEVEL=debug                     # Minimum log level to capture
STACKWATCH_CAPTURE_LOGS_AS_EVENTS=true         # Send logs as separate events
STACKWATCH_AUTO_REGISTER_LOG=false             # Auto-add to Laravel log stack
STACKWATCH_LOG_SAMPLE_RATE=1.0                 # Log sampling rate (0.0-1.0)

# RATE LIMITING
STACKWATCH_RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTE=60            # Max events per minute

# FLOOD PROTECTION
STACKWATCH_FLOOD_PROTECTION=true               # Enable flood protection
STACKWATCH_FLOOD_DUPLICATE_WINDOW=60           # Seconds for duplicate detection
STACKWATCH_FLOOD_MAX_DUPLICATES=5              # Max same message in window
STACKWATCH_CIRCUIT_BREAKER=true                # Enable circuit breaker
STACKWATCH_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_THRESHOLD=100       # Logs in window to trip breaker
STACKWATCH_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_WINDOW=10           # Seconds for threshold detection
STACKWATCH_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_COOLDOWN=30         # Cooldown after breaker trips

# PERFORMANCE MONITORING
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_ENABLED=true            # Enable performance monitoring
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_GROUP_BY=path           # Group by 'path' or 'route'
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_SAMPLE_RATE=0.1         # Sampling when aggregation disabled
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_AGGREGATE=true          # Aggregate metrics before sending
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_BATCH_SIZE=50           # Requests before sending aggregate
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_FLUSH_INTERVAL=60       # Seconds before time-based flush
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_MIN_FLUSH_COUNT=5       # Min requests for time-based flush
STACKWATCH_SLOW_REQUEST_THRESHOLD=3000         # Slow request threshold in ms

# SPATIE INTEGRATIONS
STACKWATCH_SPATIE_BACKUP_ENABLED=true          # Laravel Backup integration
STACKWATCH_SPATIE_HEALTH_ENABLED=true          # Laravel Health integration
STACKWATCH_SPATIE_ACTIVITYLOG_ENABLED=true     # Activity Log integration

================================================================================
MINIMUM REQUIRED .ENV
================================================================================
STACKWATCH_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
STACKWATCH_ENVIRONMENT=production

================================================================================
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTION .ENV
================================================================================
STACKWATCH_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
STACKWATCH_ENVIRONMENT=production
STACKWATCH_AUTO_REGISTER_LOG=true
STACKWATCH_CAPTURE_LOGS_AS_EVENTS=true
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_ENABLED=true
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_AGGREGATE=true
STACKWATCH_SLOW_REQUEST_THRESHOLD=3000

Features

🔴 Error Tracking - Automatic exception capture with full stack traces
🤖 AI Analysis - Get AI-powered insights and fix suggestions
⚡ Performance Monitoring - Track response times and slow queries
🍞 Breadcrumbs - Automatic logging of events leading up to errors
👤 User Context - Automatically capture authenticated user info
📝 Log Integration - Capture all Laravel logs (debug, info, warning, error)
💾 Backup Monitoring - Spatie Laravel Backup integration
🏥 Health Checks - Spatie Laravel Health integration
📊 Activity Logging - Spatie Activity Log integration
🔔 Notifications - Get alerted via Slack, Discord, or email
⏱️ Rate Limiting - Smart rate limiting with event buffering

Requirements

PHP 8.0+
Laravel 8.x, 9.x, 10.x, 11.x, or 12.x

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

composer require stackwatch/laravel
php artisan stackwatch:install

The install command will guide you through:

Publishing the configuration
Setting up your API key
Testing the connection

Manual Install

composer require stackwatch/laravel
php artisan vendor:publish --tag=stackwatch-config

Add to .env:

STACKWATCH_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
STACKWATCH_ENVIRONMENT=production

Test your installation:

php artisan stackwatch:test

Usage

Automatic Exception Capture

Exceptions are automatically captured and sent to StackWatch. No additional code needed!

Manual Exception Reporting

use StackWatch\Laravel\Facades\StackWatch;

try {
    // Your code
} catch (Exception $e) {
    StackWatch::captureException($e);
}

Capture Messages

use StackWatch\Laravel\Facades\StackWatch;

// Info message
StackWatch::captureMessage('User signed up', 'info', [
    'plan' => 'pro',
]);

// Warning
StackWatch::captureMessage('Rate limit approaching', 'warning');

// Error
StackWatch::captureMessage('Payment failed', 'error', [
    'user_id' => $user->id,
]);

Capture Custom Events

use StackWatch\Laravel\Facades\StackWatch;

// Backup event
StackWatch::captureEvent('backup', 'info', 'Daily backup completed', [
    'size' => '2.5 GB',
    'duration' => '5 minutes',
]);

// Health check
StackWatch::captureEvent('health', 'warning', 'Disk space low', [
    'disk' => 'primary',
    'usage' => '85%',
]);

Add Custom Context

use StackWatch\Laravel\Facades\StackWatch;

// Set user context
StackWatch::setUser([
    'id' => $user->id,
    'email' => $user->email,
    'name' => $user->name,
]);

// Add tags
StackWatch::setTag('feature', 'checkout');
StackWatch::setTags([
    'version' => '2.0',
    'region' => 'eu-west',
]);

// Add extra context
StackWatch::setExtra('order_id', $order->id);

// Add custom context
StackWatch::setContext('payment', [
    'provider' => 'stripe',
    'amount' => 9900,
]);

Add Breadcrumbs

use StackWatch\Laravel\Facades\StackWatch;

StackWatch::addBreadcrumb('user', 'Clicked checkout button');
StackWatch::addBreadcrumb('api', 'Called payment API', [
    'provider' => 'stripe',
    'amount' => 9900,
]);

Log Integration

StackWatch can capture all Laravel logs as separate events.

Option 1: Auto-register (Recommended)

Add to .env:

STACKWATCH_AUTO_REGISTER_LOG=true
STACKWATCH_LOG_LEVEL=debug
STACKWATCH_CAPTURE_LOGS_AS_EVENTS=true

Option 2: Manual Configuration

In config/logging.php:

'channels' => [
    'stack' => [
        'driver' => 'stack',
        'channels' => ['daily', 'stackwatch'],
    ],
    
    'stackwatch' => [
        'driver' => 'custom',
        'via' => \StackWatch\Laravel\Logging\StackWatchLogChannel::class,
        'level' => env('STACKWATCH_LOG_LEVEL', 'debug'),
    ],
],

Log Sampling

To reduce volume for high-traffic applications:

# Only send 10% of info/debug logs (errors always sent)
STACKWATCH_LOG_SAMPLE_RATE=0.1

Middleware

Add the middleware to capture request context and performance data:

// app/Http/Kernel.php (Laravel 10)
protected $middleware = [
    // ...
    \StackWatch\Laravel\Middleware\StackWatchMiddleware::class,
];

// Or for specific routes
Route::middleware(['stackwatch'])->group(function () {
    // Routes
});

// Laravel 11+ (bootstrap/app.php)
->withMiddleware(function (Middleware $middleware) {
    $middleware->append(\StackWatch\Laravel\Middleware\StackWatchMiddleware::class);
})

Integrations

Spatie Laravel Backup

Automatically monitors your backups when spatie/laravel-backup is installed.

composer require spatie/laravel-backup

Events captured:

✅ Backup successful
❌ Backup failed
🧹 Cleanup successful/failed
🏥 Backup health checks

To disable:

STACKWATCH_SPATIE_BACKUP_ENABLED=false

Spatie Laravel Health

Monitors health checks when spatie/laravel-health is installed.

composer require spatie/laravel-health

Only failed or warning health checks are sent to reduce noise.

To disable:

STACKWATCH_SPATIE_HEALTH_ENABLED=false

Spatie Activity Log

Captures activity logs when spatie/laravel-activitylog is installed.

composer require spatie/laravel-activitylog

Filter by log name or event type in config/stackwatch.php:

'integrations' => [
    'spatie_activitylog' => [
        'enabled' => true,
        'log_names' => ['default', 'audit'], // Only these log names
        'event_types' => ['created', 'deleted'], // Only these events
    ],
],

Ignored Exceptions

By default, StackWatch ignores common exceptions that are not actual errors:

NotFoundHttpException (404 errors)
ModelNotFoundException (404 for missing models)
AuthenticationException (401 errors)
AuthorizationException (403 errors)
ValidationException (422 validation errors)
TokenMismatchException (CSRF errors)

To customize ignored exceptions, modify config/stackwatch.php:

'ignored_exceptions' => [
    // Keep defaults
    Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\NotFoundHttpException::class,
    Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\ModelNotFoundException::class,
    Illuminate\Auth\AuthenticationException::class,
    Illuminate\Auth\Access\AuthorizationException::class,
    Illuminate\Validation\ValidationException::class,
    Illuminate\Session\TokenMismatchException::class,
    
    // Add your own
    App\Exceptions\SomeCustomException::class,
],

To report all exceptions (including 404s):

'ignored_exceptions' => [],

Rate Limiting

StackWatch includes smart rate limiting to prevent overwhelming the API:

# Maximum events per minute
STACKWATCH_RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTE=60

When rate limited, events are automatically buffered and sent with the next successful request. No events are lost!

To disable buffering (drop events when rate limited):

// config/stackwatch.php
'rate_limit' => [
    'buffer_on_limit' => false,
],

Performance Monitoring

Performance monitoring is enabled by default with smart defaults to minimize overhead:

Transaction Grouping

Configure how requests are grouped for aggregation:

# Group by full path (default) - each unique URL tracked separately
# e.g., "GET /blog/post-1", "GET /blog/post-2"
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_GROUP_BY=path

# Group by route name - same endpoint grouped together
# e.g., "GET blog.show" (includes all blog posts)
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_GROUP_BY=route

Aggregation (Default)

Instead of sending every request, StackWatch aggregates metrics and sends summaries:

Collects requests until batch size reached (default: 50)
Sends aggregated stats: avg/min/max duration, error rate, request count
Time-based flush: after interval passes AND minimum count reached
Prevents sending useless aggregates with only 1-2 requests

# Disable aggregation (send individual requests with sampling)
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_AGGREGATE=false

# Number of requests to trigger immediate aggregate send
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_BATCH_SIZE=50

# Seconds to wait before time-based flush
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_FLUSH_INTERVAL=60

# Minimum requests required for time-based flush
# If only 3 requests after 60s, wait until 5 or batch_size reached
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_MIN_FLUSH_COUNT=5

Slow Requests

Requests slower than the threshold are always sent immediately (not aggregated):

# Requests over 3000ms (3s) are always reported (default)
STACKWATCH_SLOW_REQUEST_THRESHOLD=3000

# Lower threshold for more sensitive monitoring
STACKWATCH_SLOW_REQUEST_THRESHOLD=1000

Sampling (When Aggregation Disabled)

If aggregation is disabled, sampling controls how many requests are sent:

# Only send 10% of requests (default)
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_SAMPLE_RATE=0.1

# Send all requests (not recommended for production)
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_SAMPLE_RATE=1.0

Disable Performance Monitoring

STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_ENABLED=false

Deployment Notifications

Notify StackWatch when you deploy:

php artisan stackwatch:deploy --release=v1.2.3

Or in your CI/CD pipeline:

php artisan stackwatch:deploy --release=$GITHUB_SHA

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`STACKWATCH_API_KEY`	Your API key (required)	-
`STACKWATCH_ENDPOINT`	API endpoint	`https://api.stackwatch.dev/v1`
`STACKWATCH_ENVIRONMENT`	Environment name	`APP_ENV`
`STACKWATCH_RELEASE`	Release version	`APP_VERSION`
`STACKWATCH_ENABLED`	Enable/disable	`true`
`STACKWATCH_CAPTURE_EXCEPTIONS`	Auto-capture exceptions	`true`
`STACKWATCH_LOG_LEVEL`	Minimum log level	`debug`
`STACKWATCH_CAPTURE_LOGS_AS_EVENTS`	Send logs as events	`true`
`STACKWATCH_AUTO_REGISTER_LOG`	Auto-add to log stack	`false`
`STACKWATCH_LOG_SAMPLE_RATE`	Log sampling rate (0-1)	`1.0`
`STACKWATCH_RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTE`	Rate limit	`60`
`STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_ENABLED`	Performance monitoring	`true`
`STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_GROUP_BY`	Group by 'path' or 'route'	`path`
`STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_SAMPLE_RATE`	Performance sampling (when aggregation disabled)	`0.1`
`STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_AGGREGATE`	Aggregate performance metrics	`true`
`STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_BATCH_SIZE`	Requests before sending aggregate	`50`
`STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_FLUSH_INTERVAL`	Seconds before time-based flush	`60`
`STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_MIN_FLUSH_COUNT`	Min requests for time-based flush	`5`
`STACKWATCH_SLOW_REQUEST_THRESHOLD`	Slow request threshold (ms)	`3000`
`STACKWATCH_SPATIE_BACKUP_ENABLED`	Backup integration	`true`
`STACKWATCH_SPATIE_HEALTH_ENABLED`	Health integration	`true`
`STACKWATCH_SPATIE_ACTIVITYLOG_ENABLED`	Activity log integration	`true`
`STACKWATCH_FLOOD_PROTECTION`	Enable flood protection	`true`
`STACKWATCH_FLOOD_DUPLICATE_WINDOW`	Duplicate detection window (seconds)	`60`
`STACKWATCH_FLOOD_MAX_DUPLICATES`	Max same message per window	`5`
`STACKWATCH_CIRCUIT_BREAKER`	Enable circuit breaker	`true`
`STACKWATCH_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_THRESHOLD`	Logs to trip breaker	`100`
`STACKWATCH_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_WINDOW`	Circuit breaker window (seconds)	`10`
`STACKWATCH_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_COOLDOWN`	Cooldown after trip (seconds)	`30`

Flood Protection

StackWatch includes built-in flood protection to prevent log storms from crashing your application or creating massive log files.

How It Works

Duplicate Detection: Same log message can only be sent 5 times per minute (configurable). Messages are normalized to ignore dynamic parts like UUIDs, timestamps, and IPs.
Circuit Breaker: If 100+ logs occur within 10 seconds, the circuit breaker trips and blocks all logs for 30 seconds. This prevents infinite loops from overwhelming your system.

Configuration

// config/stackwatch.php
'flood_protection' => [
    'enabled' => true,
    'duplicate_window' => 60,      // seconds
    'max_duplicates' => 5,         // same message max 5x per minute
    'circuit_breaker' => [
        'enabled' => true,
        'threshold' => 100,        // 100 logs in 10 seconds trips breaker
        'window' => 10,            // seconds
        'cooldown' => 30,          // block all logs for 30 seconds
    ],
],

Manual Control

use StackWatch\Laravel\FloodProtection;

// Check circuit breaker state
$state = FloodProtection::getCircuitBreakerState();
// ['status' => 'open', 'remaining_cooldown' => 15, ...]

// Get statistics
$stats = FloodProtection::getStats();

// Reset flood protection (useful for testing)
FloodProtection::reset();

Artisan Commands

StackWatch provides several Artisan commands for managing monitoring:

Test Connection

# Test your StackWatch connection and API key
php artisan stackwatch:test

Deployment Tracking

# Notify StackWatch about a deployment
php artisan stackwatch:deploy --release=v1.2.3

Performance Buffer Management

Performance metrics are aggregated in a buffer before being sent. You can manage this buffer:

# View buffer status and statistics
php artisan stackwatch:buffer status

# Force flush the buffer (sends aggregated metrics now)
php artisan stackwatch:buffer flush

# Clear the buffer without sending (discards data)
php artisan stackwatch:buffer clear

Example output:

StackWatch Performance Buffer Status

+--------------------+-----------------------------+
| Metric             | Value                       |
+--------------------+-----------------------------+
| Total Requests     | 156                         |
| Unique Transactions| 12                          |
| Last Flush         | 2026-03-24 14:30:00         |
| Seconds Since Flush| 1847                        |
| Storage Path       | /var/www/storage/stackwatch |
+--------------------+-----------------------------+

Buffered Transactions:

+---------------------------+-------+---------+--------+--------+--------+
| Transaction               | Count | Avg     | Min    | Max    | Errors |
+---------------------------+-------+---------+--------+--------+--------+
| GET /api/users            | 45    | 125.3ms | 45.2ms | 890.1ms| 2      |
| POST /api/orders          | 23    | 234.5ms | 112ms  | 456ms  | 0      |
+---------------------------+-------+---------+--------+--------+--------+

Note: The performance buffer is stored in storage/stackwatch/ directory. Make sure this directory is writable by your web server. You may want to add storage/stackwatch/ to your .gitignore.

Troubleshooting

Events not appearing

Check your API key:
```
php artisan stackwatch:test
```

Check for rate limiting:

# View buffered events count
php artisan tinker
>>> app(\StackWatch\Laravel\Transport\HttpTransport::class)->getBufferSize()

High memory usage

Reduce breadcrumb count:

// config/stackwatch.php
'breadcrumbs' => [
    'max_breadcrumbs' => 20, // Default: 50
],

Too many events

Use sampling:

STACKWATCH_LOG_SAMPLE_RATE=0.1
STACKWATCH_PERFORMANCE_SAMPLE_RATE=0.5

Testing

composer test

Changelog

Please see CHANGELOG for more information on what has changed recently.

Contributing

Please see CONTRIBUTING for details.

Security

If you discover any security-related issues, please email security@stackwatch.dev instead of using the issue tracker.

License

The MIT License (MIT). Please see License File for more information.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 30 Commits
.github		.github
config		config
src		src
tests		tests
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
README.md		README.md
composer.json		composer.json
phpunit.xml		phpunit.xml

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StackWatch Laravel SDK

🤖 AI-Assisted Installation (For Vibe Coders)

Copy This Entire Prompt

Features

Requirements

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

Manual Install

Usage

Automatic Exception Capture

Manual Exception Reporting

Capture Messages

Capture Custom Events

Add Custom Context

Add Breadcrumbs

Log Integration

Option 1: Auto-register (Recommended)

Option 2: Manual Configuration

Log Sampling

Middleware

Integrations

Spatie Laravel Backup

Spatie Laravel Health

Spatie Activity Log

Ignored Exceptions

Rate Limiting

Performance Monitoring

Transaction Grouping

Aggregation (Default)

Slow Requests

Sampling (When Aggregation Disabled)

Disable Performance Monitoring

Deployment Notifications

Environment Variables

Flood Protection

How It Works

Configuration

Manual Control

Artisan Commands

Test Connection

Deployment Tracking

Performance Buffer Management

Troubleshooting

Events not appearing

High memory usage

Too many events

Testing

Changelog

Contributing

Security

License

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