Download the PHP package elstc/cakephp-activity-logger without Composer

ActivityLogger plugin for CakePHP 5.x

ActivityLogger plugin automatically logs database operations (create, update, delete) in CakePHP applications. It tracks who, when, and what was changed.

Requirements

• PHP 8.1 or higher
• CakePHP 5.0 or higher
• PDO extension
• JSON extension

Installation

You can install this plugin into your CakePHP application using composer.

The recommended way to install composer packages is:

Load plugin

Load the plugin by adding the following statement in your project's src/Application.php:

Create the activity_logs table

Run migration command:

Usage

Attach to Table

Attach the ActivityLogger plugin to your table to enable automatic logging:

Basic Activity Logging

Logging on create

Logging on update

Logging on delete

Activity Logging with Issuer

You can log information about the user who performed the operation:

AutoIssuerMiddleware (Recommended for CakePHP 4.x+)

AutoIssuerMiddleware is a PSR-15 compliant middleware that provides automatic issuer setting for applications using the Authorization plugin. This middleware operates at the application level and processes authentication information early in the request lifecycle.

Installation and Configuration

Important Notes

• Middleware Order: Always place AutoIssuerMiddleware AFTER authentication middleware

AutoIssuerComponent (Legacy Approach)

If you're using Authorization plugin or AuthComponent, the AutoIssuerComponent will automatically set the issuer to Tables:

Activity Logging with Scope

You can log operations related to multiple models:

Activity Logging with Custom Messages

You can use the setLogMessageBuilder method to generate custom messages for each log action:

Alternatively, you can use setLogMessage before save/delete operations to set a log message:

Save Custom Log

You can also record your own activity logs:

Find Activity Logs

You can search recorded activity logs:

Advanced Usage Examples

Conditional Logging

When you want to log only under certain conditions:

Batch Processing with Logging

During large data processing, you can temporarily disable logging:

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Q: Logs are not being recorded

A: Please check the following:

• Whether migrations have been executed
• Whether the Behavior is properly attached
• Whether there are any database connection issues

Q: Issuer information is not being recorded

A: Please check the following:

• If using AutoIssuerMiddleware: Ensure it's placed AFTER authentication middleware in the middleware queue
• If using AutoIssuerComponent: Verify it's loaded in your controller's initialize() method
• Check if setLogIssuer() is manually set when needed
• Verify the user model configuration matches your application's user table

Q: AutoIssuerMiddleware vs AutoIssuerComponent - Which should I use?

A:

• Use AutoIssuerMiddleware (Recommended for CakePHP 4.x+):

  • For new applications
  • When you need application-wide issuer tracking
  • For better performance and cleaner architecture
  • When using PSR-15 middleware stack
• Use AutoIssuerComponent:
  • For legacy applications or CakePHP 3.x
  • When you need controller-specific issuer handling
  • For backward compatibility

Q: Is there any performance impact?

A:

• AutoIssuerMiddleware has minimal performance impact as it processes once per request
• When handling large amounts of data, consider temporarily disabling logging as needed

Q: The issuer is not set for dynamically loaded Tables

A: The AutoIssuerMiddleware hooks into Model.initialize events. Ensure:

• The middleware is loaded before any Table access
• Tables are loaded through the TableLocator (not manually instantiated)
• The LoggerBehavior is attached to the Table

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.txt for details.

Contributing

Bug reports and feature requests are welcome at GitHub Issues.

Pull requests are also welcome. We recommend discussing large changes in an Issue first.