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Last Updated: 2023-01-24 23:17:02
Remember a visitor's original referer
License: MIT License
Languages: PHP
https://freek.dev/686-a-package-to-remember-a-visitors-original-referer
Remember a visitor's original referer in session. The referer is (highest priority first):
utm_source
query parameterReferer
header if there's an external host in the URLWe invest a lot of resources into creating best in class open source packages. You can support us by buying one of our paid products.
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You can install the package via composer:
composer require spatie/laravel-referer
The package will automatically register itself in Laravel 5.5. In Laravel 5.4. you'll manually need to register the Spatie\Referer\RefererServiceProvider
service provider in config/app.php
.
You can publish the config file with:
php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\Referer\RefererServiceProvider"
Publishing the config file is necessary if you want to change the key in which the referer is stored in the session or if you want to disable a referer source.
return [
/*
* The key that will be used to remember the referer in the session.
*/
'session_key' => 'referer',
/*
* The sources used to determine the referer.
*/
'sources' => [
Spatie\Referer\Sources\UtmSource::class,
Spatie\Referer\Sources\RequestHeader::class,
],
];
To capture the referer, all you need to do is add the Spatie\Referer\CaptureReferer
middleware to your middleware stack. In most configuration's, you'll only want to capture the referer in "web" requests, so it makes sense to register it in the web
stack. Make sure it comes after Laravel's StartSession
middleware!
// app/Http/Kernel.php
protected $middlewareGroups = [
'web' => [
// ...
\Illuminate\Session\Middleware\StartSession::class,
// ...
\Spatie\Referer\CaptureReferer::class,
// ...
],
// ...
];
The easiest way to retrieve the referer is by just resolving it out of the container:
use Spatie\Referer\Referer;
$referer = app(Referer::class)->get(); // 'google.com'
Or you could opt to use Laravel's automatic facades:
use Facades\Spatie\Referer\Referer;
$referer = Referer::get(); // 'google.com'
The captured referer is (from high to low priority):
utm_source
query parameter, or:Referer
header if there's an external host in the URL, or:An empty referer will never overwrite an exisiting referer. So if a visitor comes from google.com and visits a few pages on your site, those pages won't affect the referer since local hosts are ignored.
The Referer
class provides dedicated methods to forget, or manually set the referer.
use Facades\Spatie\Referer\Referer;
Referer::put('google.com');
Referer::get(); // 'google.com'
Referer::forget();
Referer::get(); // ''
The referer is determined by doing checks on various sources, which are defined in the configuration.
return [
// ...
'sources' => [
Spatie\Referer\Sources\UtmSource::class,
Spatie\Referer\Sources\RequestHeader::class,
],
];
A source implements the Source
interface, and requires one method, getReferer
. If a source is able to determine a referer, other sources will be ignored. In other words, the sources
array is ordered by priority.
In the next example, we'll add a source that can use a ?ref
query parameter to determine the referer. Additionally, we'll ignore ?utm_source
parameters.
First, create the source implementations:
namespace App\Referer;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Spatie\Referer\Source;
class RefParameter implements Source
{
public function getReferer(Request $request): string
{
return $request->get('ref', '');
}
}
Then register your source in the sources
array. We'll also disable the utm_source
while we're at it.
return [
// ...
'sources' => [
App\Referer\RefParameter::class,
Spatie\Referer\Sources\RequestHeader::class,
],
];
That's it! Source implementations can be this simple, or more advanced if necessary.
Please see CHANGELOG for more information what has changed recently.
composer test
Please see CONTRIBUTING for details.
If you've found a bug regarding security please mail [email protected] instead of using the issue tracker.
The MIT License (MIT). Please see License File for more information.