Nightwatch Configuration Reference

Configuration Summary by Event Type

Event Type	Sampling	Filtering	Redaction
Requests	`NIGHTWATCH_REQUEST_SAMPLE_RATE`, Route middleware	Not applicable	Headers, payload, URL, IP
Commands	`NIGHTWATCH_COMMAND_SAMPLE_RATE`, Event listener	Not applicable	Command arguments
Queries	Parent context	`rejectQueries()`, `NIGHTWATCH_IGNORE_QUERIES`	SQL statement
Cache	Parent context	`rejectCacheKeys()`, `rejectCacheEvents()`, `NIGHTWATCH_IGNORE_CACHE_EVENTS`	Cache key
Jobs	Parent context, Queue::before	`rejectQueuedJobs()`	Not applicable
Mail	Parent context	`rejectMail()`, `NIGHTWATCH_IGNORE_MAIL`	Subject
Notifications	Parent context	`rejectNotifications()`, `NIGHTWATCH_IGNORE_NOTIFICATIONS`	Not applicable
Outgoing Requests	Parent context	`rejectOutgoingRequests()`, `NIGHTWATCH_IGNORE_OUTGOING_REQUESTS`	URL
Exceptions	`NIGHTWATCH_EXCEPTION_SAMPLE_RATE`	Not applicable	Exception message

Production Recommendations

High-Traffic Applications

bash


# Conservative sampling

NIGHTWATCH_REQUEST_SAMPLE_RATE=0.01          # 1% of requests

NIGHTWATCH_COMMAND_SAMPLE_RATE=0.1           # 10% of commands

NIGHTWATCH_EXCEPTION_SAMPLE_RATE=1.0         # Always capture exceptions

# Filter noisy events

NIGHTWATCH_IGNORE_CACHE_EVENTS=true
NIGHTWATCH_IGNORE_QUERIES=true               # Or filter specific queries programmatically

Privacy-Conscious Applications

bash


# Disable sensitive data collection

NIGHTWATCH_CAPTURE_REQUEST_PAYLOAD=false
NIGHTWATCH_REDACT_HEADERS=Authorization,Cookie,Proxy-Authorization,X-XSRF-TOKEN

# Or use redaction in AppServiceProvider

Balanced Configuration (Recommended Start)

bash


# Sample rates

NIGHTWATCH_REQUEST_SAMPLE_RATE=0.1
NIGHTWATCH_COMMAND_SAMPLE_RATE=1.0
NIGHTWATCH_EXCEPTION_SAMPLE_RATE=1.0

# Filter obvious noise programmatically

# Redact PII as needed

Verification Checklist

After configuration:

Sampling rates appropriate for traffic volume
Noisy events filtered (cache, certain queries)
Sensitive data redacted (PII, tokens, credentials)
Exceptions always captured for debugging
Test in development with NIGHTWATCH_REQUEST_SAMPLE_RATE=1.0
Monitor event quota usage in Nightwatch dashboard

Common Patterns

Filter Health Checks + Reduce Sampling

php

Route::get('/health', fn() => ['status' => 'ok'])
    ->middleware(Sample::never());

Exclude Internal/Vendor Queries

php

Nightwatch::rejectQueries(fn($q) =>
    str_contains($q->sql, 'telescope') ||
    str_contains($q->sql, 'pulse')
);

Protect User Data in Cache Keys

php

Nightwatch::redactCacheEvents(fn($e) =>
    $e->key = preg_replace('/user:\d+/', 'user:***', $e->key)
);