Lightweight Laravel Request Inspector with Tagged Cache | Mohamed Said [Skip to content](#main) [ ![](https://cdn.msaied.com/01KT78WE565VEMM3PSNQAAB0MH.png) Mohamed SaidLaravel Backend Engineer ](https://www.msaied.com/public) - [Home](https://www.msaied.com/public) - [Projects](https://www.msaied.com/public/projects) - [Articles](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles) - [Certificates](https://www.msaied.com/public/certificates) - [About](https://www.msaied.com/public#about) [ Contact](https://www.msaied.com/public#contact) Menu Menu ---- Close - [HomeStart here](https://www.msaied.com/public) - [ProjectsCase studies](https://www.msaied.com/public/projects) - [ArticlesEngineering notes](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles) - [CertificatesCredentials](https://www.msaied.com/public/certificates) - [AboutHow I work](https://www.msaied.com/public#about) - [ContactGet in touch](https://www.msaied.com/public#contact) [Start a conversation](https://www.msaied.com/public#contact) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/201094619204) [Email](mailto:hello@msaied.com) 1. [Home](https://www.msaied.com/public) 2. / 3. [Articles](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles) 4. / 5. Laravel Telescope Alternatives: Building a Lightweight Request Inspector with Tagged Cache Laravel Telescope Alternatives: Building a Lightweight Request Inspector with Tagged Cache =========================================================================================== Telescope is invaluable in development, but its overhead makes it unsuitable for production. Learn how to build a focused, low-overhead request inspector using Laravel's tagged cache, middleware, and a Filament panel. ![](https://cdn.msaied.com/01M22N44A70A5MC2S599JP0MPH.webp) [Mohamed Said](https://www.msaied.com/public#person) Published 25 Jun 2026 · Updated 25 Jun 2026 · 4 min read ShareCopy linkCopied ![Laravel Telescope Alternatives: Building a Lightweight Request Inspector with Tagged Cache](https://cdn.msaied.com/287/9b41ffff50d97af1f781c154d468bfca.png) On this page +1. [Why Not Just Use Telescope in Production?](#why-not-just-use-telescope-in-production) 2. [The Core Idea: Tagged Cache as a Ring Buffer](#the-core-idea-tagged-cache-as-a-ring-buffer) 3. [Storing Query Counts Without a Full Query Log](#storing-query-counts-without-a-full-query-log) 4. [Surfacing Data in a Filament Panel](#surfacing-data-in-a-filament-panel) 5. [Enabling Only When Needed](#enabling-only-when-needed) 6. [Takeaways](#takeaways) Why Not Just Use Telescope in Production? ----------------------------------------- Laravel Telescope is excellent during development, but its write-on-every-request model — storing queries, jobs, logs, and HTTP payloads to a dedicated database table — creates measurable overhead and a growing storage footprint. Most teams disable it in production entirely, leaving a blind spot for intermittent issues that only appear under real traffic. The goal here is a *targeted* inspector: capture only what you opt into, store it ephemerally in Redis via tagged cache, and surface it through a locked-down Filament panel. No extra database tables, no always-on overhead. The Core Idea: Tagged Cache as a Ring Buffer -------------------------------------------- Redis supports tagging via Laravel's `Cache::tags()`. We can write request snapshots under a shared tag and expire them automatically, giving us a rolling window of recent traffic without permanent storage. ```php // app/Http/Middleware/InspectRequest.php namespace App\Http\Middleware; use Closure; use Illuminate\Http\Request; use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Cache; use Illuminate\Support\Str; class InspectRequest { public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next): mixed { $response = $next($request); if (! config('inspector.enabled')) { return $response; } $key = 'req:' . Str::uuid(); Cache::tags(['inspector'])->put($key, [ 'method' => $request->method(), 'path' => $request->path(), 'status' => $response->getStatusCode(), 'duration_ms' => (int) ((microtime(true) - LARAVEL_START) * 1000), 'memory_kb' => (int) (memory_get_peak_usage(true) / 1024), 'ip' => $request->ip(), 'at' => now()->toIso8601String(), ], now()->addMinutes(30)); return $response; } } ``` Register it selectively — not globally — using a route group or a specific middleware alias so you control which routes are traced. Storing Query Counts Without a Full Query Log --------------------------------------------- Rather than logging every SQL statement (Telescope's approach), count them cheaply using the DB `listen` callback scoped to the request lifecycle: ```php // Inside InspectRequest::handle, before $next($request) $queryCount = 0; \DB::listen(static function () use (&$queryCount) { $queryCount++; }); $response = $next($request); // Then include $queryCount in the Cache::tags()->put() payload above. ``` This adds negligible overhead compared to capturing full bindings and execution times for every query. Surfacing Data in a Filament Panel ---------------------------------- Create a read-only Filament resource backed not by Eloquent but by a custom `getTableQuery` override that reads from the tagged cache. ```php // app/Filament/Resources/RequestSnapshotResource.php public static function table(Table $table): Table { return $table ->columns([ TextColumn::make('method')->badge(), TextColumn::make('path'), TextColumn::make('status')->badge() ->color(fn ($state) => $state >= 500 ? 'danger' : ($state >= 400 ? 'warning' : 'success')), TextColumn::make('duration_ms')->suffix(' ms')->sortable(), TextColumn::make('query_count')->label('Queries'), TextColumn::make('at')->since(), ]) ->paginated([25, 50]); } public static function getEloquentQuery(): Builder { // Filament expects a Builder; wrap cache reads in a collection-backed fake. // Use a custom ListRecords page that overrides getTableRecords() instead. throw new \LogicException('Use custom list page.'); } ``` The cleaner approach is to override `getTableRecords()` in a custom `ListRequestSnapshots` page: ```php protected function getTableRecords(): Collection { $keys = Redis::connection()->keys('*inspector*req:*'); return collect($keys) ->map(fn ($key) => Cache::tags(['inspector'])->get( Str::after($key, config('cache.prefix') . 'inspector|') )) ->filter() ->sortByDesc('at') ->values(); } ``` Lock the panel behind a gate or a dedicated guard so it is never publicly accessible. Enabling Only When Needed ------------------------- Add a runtime toggle via an artisan command that flips a cache flag: ```bash php artisan inspector:on # sets inspector.enabled in cache for 1 hour php artisan inspector:off ``` The middleware reads `Cache::get('inspector.enabled', false)` so there is zero overhead when the inspector is off. Takeaways --------- - **Tagged cache as ephemeral storage** gives you a self-expiring ring buffer with no schema migrations. - **Opt-in middleware** keeps production overhead at zero when the inspector is disabled. - **Query counting, not logging**, captures the signal you actually need (N+1 detection) without the storage cost. - **A Filament panel** gives you a polished UI without building a custom frontend. - **Runtime toggle via artisan** lets you enable tracing surgically during an incident and disable it immediately after. - [laravel](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles?search=laravel) - [filament](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles?search=filament) - [performance](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles?search=performance) - [debugging](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles?search=debugging) - [middleware](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles?search=middleware) Frequently asked questions --------------------------- Does tagged cache work with all Laravel cache drivers?No. Cache tags require a driver that supports them — Redis and Memcached. The file and database drivers do not support tagging, so this approach requires Redis in production. How do I prevent the inspector from capturing sensitive request payloads?Simply omit request body and headers from the cache payload. The middleware shown here stores only method, path, status, timing, and memory — no user data. Add fields deliberately and scrub anything sensitive before writing to cache. Can I extend this to capture slow queries specifically?Yes. Replace the simple counter with a DB::listen callback that appends queries exceeding a threshold (e.g. 100 ms) to a separate array, then include that array in the cache payload. This keeps storage bounded while surfacing the queries that actually matter. ![Mohamed Said](https://cdn.msaied.com/01M22N44A70A5MC2S599JP0MPH.webp)About the author ---------------- [Mohamed Said](https://www.msaied.com/public#person)Senior Backend Engineer specializing in Laravel, scalable SaaS platforms, APIs, and cloud infrastructure. I build secure, high-performance web applications that help businesses grow. [About](https://www.msaied.com/public#about) [GitHub ↗](https://github.com/EG-Mohamed) [LinkedIn ↗](https://www.linkedin.com/in/msaiedm/) [WhatsApp ↗](https://wa.me/201094619204) [Email Address ↗](mailto:hello@msaied.com) [My CV ↗](https://drive.google.com/file/u/0/d/1MF20IPRJyzfy32mhEutjL5EpSls0w2Q8/view) [Previous articleLaravel Telescope Alternatives: Building a Lightweight Request Inspector with Middleware](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles/laravel-telescope-alternatives-building-a-lightweight-request-inspector-with-middleware-1) [Next articleLaravel Queues: Job Middleware for Idempotency, Rate Limiting, and Graceful Failure](https://www.msaied.com/public/articles/laravel-queues-job-middleware-for-idempotency-rate-limiting-and-graceful-failure) On this page ------------- 1. [Why Not Just Use Telescope in Production?](#why-not-just-use-telescope-in-production) 2. [The Core Idea: Tagged Cache as a Ring Buffer](#the-core-idea-tagged-cache-as-a-ring-buffer) 3. [Storing Query Counts Without a Full Query Log](#storing-query-counts-without-a-full-query-log) 4. [Surfacing Data in a Filament Panel](#surfacing-data-in-a-filament-panel) 5. [Enabling Only When Needed](#enabling-only-when-needed) 6. [Takeaways](#takeaways) ### Have a technical challenge? Tell me what you’re building. I reply within two working days. 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