User Identification

Track which users are affected by errors to prioritize fixes and provide better support.

Overview

User identification allows you to:

• See which users are affected by specific errors
• Search for all errors affecting a particular user
• Prioritize fixes based on user impact
• Provide better customer support

Automatic User Identification

Enable automatic user identification in config/nadi.php:

'user' => [
    'auto_identify' => true,
    'fields' => ['id', 'email', 'name'],
    'capture_ip' => true,
],

When enabled, the SDK automatically captures authenticated user information.

Manual User Identification

Set user information explicitly:

use Nadi\Laravel\Facades\Nadi;

Nadi::setUser([
    'id' => $user->id,
    'email' => $user->email,
    'name' => $user->name,
]);

Additional User Fields

Include any relevant user information:

Nadi::setUser([
    'id' => $user->id,
    'email' => $user->email,
    'name' => $user->name,
    'username' => $user->username,
    'subscription' => $user->subscription_plan,
    'company' => $user->company?->name,
]);

IP Address Tracking

By default, the SDK captures the user's IP address for geographic context:

// config/nadi.php
'user' => [
    'capture_ip' => true,
],

To disable IP capturing:

'user' => [
    'capture_ip' => false,
],

Identifying Anonymous Users

For users who aren't logged in, you can still track them:

use Nadi\Laravel\Facades\Nadi;

// Using session ID
Nadi::setUser([
    'id' => 'anon:' . session()->getId(),
]);

// Using a tracking cookie
Nadi::setUser([
    'id' => 'anon:' . request()->cookie('tracking_id'),
]);

User Context in Middleware

Set user context early using middleware:

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Nadi\Laravel\Facades\Nadi;

class IdentifyUserForNadi
{
    public function handle($request, $next)
    {
        if ($user = $request->user()) {
            Nadi::setUser([
                'id' => $user->id,
                'email' => $user->email,
                'name' => $user->name,
                'subscription' => $user->subscription_plan,
            ]);
        } else {
            // Track anonymous users with session ID
            Nadi::setUser([
                'id' => 'anon:' . session()->getId(),
            ]);
        }

        return $next($request);
    }
}

Register after authentication middleware:

// app/Http/Kernel.php
protected $middlewareGroups = [
    'web' => [
        // ...
        \Illuminate\Session\Middleware\StartSession::class,
        \App\Http\Middleware\Authenticate::class,
        \App\Http\Middleware\IdentifyUserForNadi::class,
    ],
];

Multi-Tenant Applications

For multi-tenant apps, include tenant information:

Nadi::setUser([
    'id' => $user->id,
    'email' => $user->email,
    'name' => $user->name,
]);

Nadi::setTag('tenant_id', $tenant->id);
Nadi::setExtra('tenant_name', $tenant->name);

API Authentication

For API requests with token authentication:

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Nadi\Laravel\Facades\Nadi;

class IdentifyApiUser
{
    public function handle($request, $next)
    {
        if ($user = $request->user('api')) {
            Nadi::setUser([
                'id' => $user->id,
                'email' => $user->email,
                'type' => 'api_user',
            ]);

            // Track which API token was used
            if ($token = $user->currentAccessToken()) {
                Nadi::setExtra('token_name', $token->name);
            }
        }

        return $next($request);
    }
}

Clearing User Data

Clear user information when they log out:

use Nadi\Laravel\Facades\Nadi;

class LogoutController
{
    public function __invoke()
    {
        Nadi::setUser(null);
        auth()->logout();

        return redirect('/');
    }
}

Or using Laravel's event system:

// EventServiceProvider.php
use Illuminate\Auth\Events\Logout;

protected $listen = [
    Logout::class => [
        ClearNadiUser::class,
    ],
];

// app/Listeners/ClearNadiUser.php
use Nadi\Laravel\Facades\Nadi;

class ClearNadiUser
{
    public function handle(Logout $event)
    {
        Nadi::setUser(null);
    }
}

Privacy Considerations

GDPR Compliance

For GDPR compliance, consider:

1. Minimize data collection - Only capture necessary fields
2. Anonymize when possible - Use hashed identifiers
3. Respect consent - Honor user privacy preferences

// Only track users who have consented
if ($user->hasConsentedToErrorTracking()) {
    Nadi::setUser([
        'id' => $user->id,
        'email' => $user->email,
    ]);
} else {
    Nadi::setUser([
        'id' => 'gdpr-opted-out:' . hash('sha256', $user->id),
    ]);
}

Hashing Sensitive Data

Hash identifiable information:

Nadi::setUser([
    'id' => hash('sha256', $user->id . config('app.key')),
    // Don't include email
]);

Best Practices

Do

• Include user ID (required for user tracking)
• Include email for easier user identification
• Use consistent field names
• Set user context early in the request lifecycle

Don't

• Include passwords or authentication tokens
• Include sensitive personal information (SSN, etc.)
• Include payment information
• Over-collect user data

Viewing User Data

In the Nadi dashboard:

1. Error Details - See affected users for each error
2. User Search - Find all errors for a specific user
3. Impact Analysis - See unique user count per error

Next Steps

• Performance Monitoring - Track application performance
• Sampling - Control event volume
• Troubleshooting - Debug integration issues