Laravel capture whoops app-level exception and post to log with unique ID#

Question

I am looking to make error reporting from an app more friendly to users. I am going to replace the 'Whoops' screen (in production) with a form allowing the user to submit the problem. I am wondering if there is a simple way to add a specific ID# (unique integer) to the stack trace in the error log so that we can easily view specific errors which were generated on production.

Answer 1

The simple way to do this is in app/start/global.php. Under the Application Error Handler you want to log your error, and generate a GUID (or something similar).

App::error(function(Exception $exception, $code)
{
    // Generate a unique ID for this error...
    $unique_id = uniqid();

    // log the error
    Log::error(str_repeat('-', 40));
    Log::error("Exception for $unique_id");
    Log::error($exception);

    // return error form
    return View::make('whoops_error_form')->with('unique_id', $unique_id);

});

Your whoops_error_form template would have a hidden form somewhere where you will be able to submit the application error. All reports would be logged in app/storage/logs.

By returning the view on App::error, you will disable the other exception handlers (such as Whoops!)