Laravel Proxy Setup

Laravel makes it straightforward to proxy analytics-tube tracking using routes and the HTTP client. This guide shows how to set up proxy endpoints in your Laravel application.

Overview

Laravel's HTTP client (built on Guzzle) provides an elegant way to proxy requests to analytics-tube servers while maintaining full control over headers, caching, and error handling.

What you'll achieve:

Proxy all analytics-tube endpoints through your Laravel app
Forward necessary headers for accurate tracking
Optional caching with Laravel Cache
Support all analytics-tube features

Prerequisites

Laravel 8 or later
Your analytics-tube instance URL:
- Cloud hosted: https://app.analytics.tube
- Self-hosted: Your instance URL
Your analytics-tube site ID

Implementation

Configure Environment Variables

Add your analytics-tube host to .env:

# .env
analytics-tube_HOST=https://app.analytics.tube
# For self-hosted: analytics-tube_HOST=https://analytics.yourcompany.com

Create Analytics Controller

Generate a controller for handling analytics proxying:

php artisan make:controller AnalyticsProxyController

Then implement the proxy logic:

<?php
// app/Http/Controllers/AnalyticsProxyController.php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache;

class AnalyticsProxyController extends Controller
{
    private string $analytics-tubeHost;

    public function __construct()
    {
        $this->analytics-tubeHost = config('services.analytics-tube.host', 'https://app.analytics.tube');
    }

    /**
     * Proxy script requests (GET)
     */
    public function proxyScript(Request $request, string $script)
    {
        // Cache scripts for 1 hour
        $cacheKey = "analytics-tube_script_{$script}";

        return Cache::remember($cacheKey, 3600, function () use ($script, $request) {
            return $this->forwardRequest("api/{$script}", 'GET', $request);
        });
    }

    /**
     * Proxy tracking requests (POST)
     */
    public function proxyTrack(Request $request)
    {
        return $this->forwardRequest('api/track', 'POST', $request);
    }

    /**
     * Proxy identify requests (POST)
     */
    public function proxyIdentify(Request $request)
    {
        return $this->forwardRequest('api/identify', 'POST', $request);
    }

    /**
     * Proxy session replay recording (POST)
     */
    public function proxySessionReplay(Request $request, string $siteId)
    {
        return $this->forwardRequest("api/session-replay/record/{$siteId}", 'POST', $request);
    }

    /**
     * Proxy site configuration (GET)
     */
    public function proxySiteConfig(Request $request, string $siteId)
    {
        // Cache config for 5 minutes
        $cacheKey = "analytics-tube_config_{$siteId}";

        return Cache::remember($cacheKey, 300, function () use ($siteId, $request) {
            return $this->forwardRequest("api/site/tracking-config/{$siteId}", 'GET', $request);
        });
    }

    /**
     * Forward request to analytics-tube backend
     */
    private function forwardRequest(string $path, string $method, Request $request)
    {
        $url = "{$this->analytics-tubeHost}/{$path}";

        // Get client IP
        $clientIp = $request->header('X-Forwarded-For', $request->ip());

        // Build HTTP request
        $httpRequest = Http::timeout(30)
            ->withHeaders([
                'X-Real-IP' => $clientIp,
                'X-Forwarded-For' => $clientIp,
                'User-Agent' => $request->header('User-Agent'),
                'Referer' => $request->header('Referer', ''),
            ]);

        try {
            if ($method === 'POST') {
                $response = $httpRequest->post($url, $request->all());
            } else {
                $response = $httpRequest->get($url);
            }

            return response($response->body(), $response->status())
                ->header('Content-Type', $response->header('Content-Type'));
        } catch (\Exception $e) {
            \Log::error('analytics-tube proxy error', [
                'url' => $url,
                'error' => $e->getMessage(),
            ]);

            return response()->json(['error' => 'Analytics proxy error'], 500);
        }
    }
}

Add Routes

Add routes for the analytics proxy in routes/web.php:

<?php
// routes/web.php

use App\Http\Controllers\AnalyticsProxyController;

// Analytics proxy routes
Route::prefix('analytics')->group(function () {
    // Scripts (GET)
    Route::get('/{script}', [AnalyticsProxyController::class, 'proxyScript'])
        ->where('script', '(script|replay|metrics)\.js');

    // Tracking endpoints (POST)
    Route::post('/track', [AnalyticsProxyController::class, 'proxyTrack']);
    Route::post('/identify', [AnalyticsProxyController::class, 'proxyIdentify']);
    Route::post('/session-replay/record/{siteId}', [AnalyticsProxyController::class, 'proxySessionReplay']);

    // Configuration (GET)
    Route::get('/site/tracking-config/{siteId}', [AnalyticsProxyController::class, 'proxySiteConfig']);
});

Add Service Configuration (Optional)

Add analytics-tube configuration to config/services.php:

<?php
// config/services.php

return [
    // ... other services

    'analytics-tube' => [
        'host' => env('analytics-tube_HOST', 'https://app.analytics.tube'),
    ],
];

Update Your Blade Templates

Add the tracking script to your layout:

{{-- resources/views/layouts/app.blade.php --}}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>{{ config('app.name') }}</title>

    {{-- analytics-tube Analytics --}}
    <script src="{{ url('/analytics/script.js') }}" async data-site-id="YOUR_SITE_ID"></script>
</head>
<body>
    @yield('content')
</body>
</html>

Verify the Setup

Clear route cache (if caching enabled):
```
php artisan route:clear
```
Visit your application with Developer Tools open
Check Network tab: Requests should go to /analytics/*
Verify in analytics-tube dashboard: Data should appear

How It Works

Laravel routes intercept requests to /analytics/* and forward them to analytics-tube:

Request to /analytics/script.js hits Laravel route
Controller forwards to https://app.analytics.tube/api/script.js
Response is cached (for cacheable endpoints)
Client IP and headers are preserved for accurate tracking

Advanced Configuration

Middleware for Rate Limiting

Create rate limiting middleware:

php artisan make:middleware RateLimitAnalytics

<?php
// app/Http/Middleware/RateLimitAnalytics.php

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Closure;
use Illuminate\Cache\RateLimiter;

class RateLimitAnalytics
{
    protected $limiter;

    public function __construct(RateLimiter $limiter)
    {
        $this->limiter = $limiter;
    }

    public function handle($request, Closure $next)
    {
        $key = 'analytics:' . $request->ip();

        if ($this->limiter->tooManyAttempts($key, 100)) {
            return response('Too Many Requests', 429);
        }

        $this->limiter->hit($key, 60); // 100 requests per minute

        return $next($request);
    }
}

protected $routeMiddleware = [
    // ... other middleware
    'rate.limit.analytics' => \App\Http\Middleware\RateLimitAnalytics::class,
];

Apply to routes:

Route::prefix('analytics')->middleware('rate.limit.analytics')->group(function () {
    // ... routes
});

Custom Cache Configuration

Use different cache drivers for analytics:

private function forwardRequest(string $path, string $method, Request $request)
{
    // Use Redis for analytics caching
    $cache = Cache::store('redis');

    // Or use file cache
    // $cache = Cache::store('file');

    // ... rest of the method
}

Queue Large Requests

For large session replay uploads, use queues:

php artisan make:job ForwardAnalyticsData

<?php
// app/Jobs/ForwardAnalyticsData.php

namespace App\Jobs;

use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;

class ForwardAnalyticsData implements ShouldQueue
{
    use Queueable;

    protected $url;
    protected $data;
    protected $headers;

    public function __construct(string $url, array $data, array $headers)
    {
        $this->url = $url;
        $this->data = $data;
        $this->headers = $headers;
    }

    public function handle()
    {
        Http::withHeaders($this->headers)
            ->post($this->url, $this->data);
    }
}

Use in controller for session replay:

public function proxySessionReplay(Request $request, string $siteId)
{
    // Dispatch job for async processing
    ForwardAnalyticsData::dispatch(
        "{$this->analytics-tubeHost}/api/session-replay/record/{$siteId}",
        $request->all(),
        [
            'X-Real-IP' => $request->ip(),
            'User-Agent' => $request->header('User-Agent'),
        ]
    );

    return response()->json(['status' => 'queued']);
}

CORS Configuration

If serving from a different domain:

<?php
// config/cors.php

return [
    'paths' => ['analytics/*'],
    'allowed_methods' => ['GET', 'POST'],
    'allowed_origins' => ['https://yourdomain.com'],
    'allowed_headers' => ['Content-Type', 'X-Requested-With'],
];

Troubleshooting

404 Not Found

Problem: Routes return 404.

Solution:

Clear route cache: php artisan route:clear
List routes to verify: php artisan route:list --path=analytics
Check route order (more specific routes first)

Session errors with POST requests

Problem: CSRF token errors on tracking endpoints.

Solution: Exclude analytics routes from CSRF protection in app/Http/Middleware/VerifyCsrfToken.php:

protected $except = [
    'analytics/*',
];

Incorrect geolocation

Problem: All visitors show server's location.

Solution: Ensure IP forwarding in controller:

$clientIp = $request->header('X-Forwarded-For', $request->ip());

And add to HTTP request:

'X-Real-IP' => $clientIp,
'X-Forwarded-For' => $clientIp,

Cache not clearing

Problem: Old script cached after analytics-tube update.

Solution: Clear specific cache key:

php artisan cache:forget analytics-tube_script_script.js

Or clear all cache:

php artisan cache:clear

Performance Optimization

Cache Optimization

// Configure cache tags for easy clearing
Cache::tags(['analytics-tube', 'scripts'])->remember($cacheKey, 3600, function () {
    // ... fetch script
});

// Clear all analytics-tube cache
Cache::tags(['analytics-tube'])->flush();

HTTP Client Optimization

// Use connection pooling
Http::pool(fn (Pool $pool) => [
    $pool->get("{$this->analytics-tubeHost}/api/script.js"),
    $pool->get("{$this->analytics-tubeHost}/api/replay.js"),
]);

Laravel Integration Guide - General Laravel integration
Tracking Script Documentation - Script configuration
Laravel HTTP Client - Official Laravel docs

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