README

PHP SDK for the BotBye Unified Protection Platform — unifying fraud prevention and real-time event monitoring in one platform.

BotBye goes beyond fixed bot/ATO checks. Risk dimensions and metrics are fully dynamic — you define what to measure and what rules to apply per project. This means the same platform covers bot detection, account takeover, multi-accounting, payment fraud, promotion abuse, or any custom fraud scenario specific to your business.

Requirements

• PHP 8.1 or higher
• Composer
• Any PSR-18 compatible HTTP client (Guzzle, Symfony HttpClient, Buzz, etc.)

Installation

composer require botbye/botbye-php-sdk

You also need a PSR-18 HTTP client and PSR-17 factories. Install one of the ready-made implementations:

Guzzle (most common):

composer require guzzlehttp/guzzle

Symfony HttpClient:

composer require symfony/http-client nyholm/psr7

Buzz:

composer require kriswallsmith/buzz nyholm/psr7

Or write a custom adapter for your HTTP transport (e.g. WordPress wp_remote_request) — in that case you only need a PSR-17 factory:

composer require nyholm/psr7

Overview

The SDK provides three request types for different integration levels:

All requests go to a single endpoint (POST /api/v1/protect/evaluate) and return a unified response with a decision (ALLOW, CHALLENGE, BLOCK), risk scores per dimension, and triggered signals. Dimensions are dynamic — the platform ships with built-in ones (bot, ato, abuse) but you can define custom dimensions (e.g., payment_fraud, promotion_abuse) per project without code changes.

Every evaluation call is also recorded as a protection event — logged to the analytics pipeline and used to compute real-time metrics that feed the rules engine. Metrics are fully configurable per project: the platform ships with built-in ones (failed logins, distinct IPs per account, device reuse, etc.) and you can define custom metrics for your specific use case (e.g., "failed transactions over $1000 per account in 1 hour"). This means BotbyeRiskScoringEvent serves a dual purpose: it both evaluates risk and logs the event for future analysis and metric aggregation.

Quick Start

1. Initialize the Client

The SDK uses PSR-18 / PSR-17 interfaces — bring your own HTTP client and message factories.

With Guzzle:

use Botbye\Client\BotbyeClient;
use Botbye\Client\BotbyeConfig;
use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Psr7\HttpFactory;

$config = new BotbyeConfig(
    serverKey: 'your-server-key' // from https://botbye.com/docs/dashboard/project
);

$httpClient = new Client(['timeout' => 2.0]);
$psr17Factory = new HttpFactory();

$client = new BotbyeClient(
    config: $config,
    httpClient: $httpClient,
    requestFactory: $psr17Factory,
    streamFactory: $psr17Factory,
);

With Symfony HttpClient:

use Symfony\Component\HttpClient\Psr18Client;
use Nyholm\Psr7\Factory\Psr17Factory;

$httpClient = new Psr18Client();
$psr17Factory = new Psr17Factory();

$client = new BotbyeClient(
    config: $config,
    httpClient: $httpClient,
    requestFactory: $psr17Factory,
    streamFactory: $psr17Factory,
);

Custom adapter (e.g. WordPress wp_remote_request):

use Botbye\Client\BotbyeClient;
use Botbye\Client\BotbyeConfig;
use Nyholm\Psr7\Factory\Psr17Factory;
use Psr\Http\Client\ClientInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\RequestInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;

// Wrap any HTTP transport as a PSR-18 client
class WpHttpClient implements ClientInterface
{
    public function sendRequest(RequestInterface $request): ResponseInterface
    {
        $response = wp_remote_request((string) $request->getUri(), [
            'method'  => $request->getMethod(),
            'headers' => array_map(
                fn(array $v) => implode(', ', $v),
                $request->getHeaders(),
            ),
            'body'    => (string) $request->getBody(),
            'timeout' => 2,
        ]);

        if (is_wp_error($response)) {
            throw new \RuntimeException($response->get_error_message());
        }

        $psr17 = new Psr17Factory();
        $psrResponse = $psr17->createResponse(
            wp_remote_retrieve_response_code($response),
        );

        return $psrResponse->withBody(
            $psr17->createStream(wp_remote_retrieve_body($response)),
        );
    }
}

$psr17Factory = new Psr17Factory();

$client = new BotbyeClient(
    config: $config,
    httpClient: new WpHttpClient(),
    requestFactory: $psr17Factory,
    streamFactory: $psr17Factory,
);

2. Bot Validation (Level 1)

Validate device tokens where user identity is not yet available — at the proxy layer or in a middleware before authentication.

use Botbye\Model\BotbyeValidationEvent;
use Botbye\Model\Headers;

$headers = Headers::fromArray(getallheaders());

$response = $client->evaluate(new BotbyeValidationEvent(
    ip: $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'],
    token: $_GET['botbye_token'] ?? '',
    headers: $headers->jsonSerialize(),
    requestMethod: $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'],
    requestUri: $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'],
));

if ($response->isBlocked()) {
    http_response_code(403);
    exit('Access denied');
}

// Propagate bot score to Level 2 via header
header(BotbyeClient::RESULT_HEADER . ': ' . $client->encodeResult($response));

3. Risk Scoring & Event Logging (Level 2)

Evaluate risk and log events when user identity is known. Each call both scores the request and feeds the real-time metrics engine, so you should call evaluate() for every significant user action — not just when you need a decision.

use Botbye\Model\BotbyeRiskScoringEvent;
use Botbye\Model\BotbyeUserInfo;
use Botbye\Model\EventStatus;
use Botbye\Model\Decision;

$response = $client->evaluate(new BotbyeRiskScoringEvent(
    ip: $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'],
    headers: $headers->jsonSerialize(),
    user: new BotbyeUserInfo(
        accountId: $userId,
        email: $userEmail,       // optional
        phone: $userPhone,       // optional
    ),
    eventType: 'LOGIN',
    eventStatus: EventStatus::SUCCESSFUL,
    botbyeResult: $_SERVER['HTTP_X_BOTBYE_RESULT'] ?? null, // from Level 1
));

match ($response->decision) {
    Decision::BLOCK     => abort(403),
    Decision::CHALLENGE => showChallenge($response->challenge),
    Decision::ALLOW     => continueRequest(),
};

When botbyeResult is null (no Level 1 upstream), bot validation is automatically bypassed.

Event Types

eventType is an arbitrary string — the server accepts any value. Pass any string that matches your business domain:

'LOGIN'
'REGISTRATION'
'TRANSACTION'
'BONUS_CLAIM'
'PASSWORD_RESET'
'WITHDRAWAL'

Using Level 2 for Event Logging

Even when you don't need to act on the decision, sending events builds the metrics profile for the account. This enables rules like "more than 5 failed logins in 10 minutes" or "distinct devices per account in 1 hour":

// Log a failed login attempt — feeds metrics even if you don't act on the decision
$client->evaluate(new BotbyeRiskScoringEvent(
    ip: $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'],
    headers: $headers->jsonSerialize(),
    user: new BotbyeUserInfo(accountId: $userId),
    eventType: 'LOGIN',
    eventStatus: EventStatus::FAILED,
));

// Log a custom business event
$client->evaluate(new BotbyeRiskScoringEvent(
    ip: $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'],
    headers: $headers->jsonSerialize(),
    user: new BotbyeUserInfo(accountId: $userId),
    eventType: 'BONUS_CLAIM',
    eventStatus: EventStatus::SUCCESSFUL,
    customFields: ['bonus_id' => 'welcome_100'],
));

4. Full Evaluation (Level 1+2 Combined)

Use when there is no separate proxy layer — validates the device token and evaluates risk in a single call.

use Botbye\Model\BotbyeFullEvent;

$response = $client->evaluate(new BotbyeFullEvent(
    ip: $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'],
    token: $_GET['botbye_token'] ?? '',
    headers: $headers->jsonSerialize(),
    user: new BotbyeUserInfo(accountId: $userId),
    eventType: 'LOGIN',
    eventStatus: EventStatus::FAILED,
));

Response

BotbyeEvaluateResponse contains:

$response->decision;              // Decision::ALLOW
$response->isBlocked();           // false
$response->riskScore;             // 0.72
$response->scores;                // ['bot' => 0.15, 'ato' => 0.72, 'abuse' => 0.05]
$response->signals;               // ['BruteForce', 'ImpossibleTravel']
$response->challenge?->type;      // 'captcha'
$response->extraData?->country;   // 'US'

Level 1 to Level 2 Propagation

When using both levels, propagate the Level 1 result to Level 2 via the X-Botbye-Result header. This allows the platform to link both evaluations by requestId and combine bot score from Level 1 with risk scores from Level 2 into a single unified result:

// Level 1 (proxy) — validate and forward result
$response = $client->evaluate(new BotbyeValidationEvent(...));
header(BotbyeClient::RESULT_HEADER . ': ' . $client->encodeResult($response));

// Or bypass validation entirely
header(BotbyeClient::RESULT_HEADER . ': ' . $client->bypassResult());

// Level 2 (middleware) — pass the header value as botbyeResult
$response = $client->evaluate(new BotbyeRiskScoringEvent(
    // ...
    botbyeResult: $_SERVER['HTTP_X_BOTBYE_RESULT'] ?? null,
));

Configuration

$config = new BotbyeConfig(
    serverKey: 'your-server-key', // from https://app.botbye.com
    botbyeEndpoint: 'https://verify.botbye.com', // default
);

Timeouts are configured on the HTTP client you provide:

// Guzzle
$httpClient = new \GuzzleHttp\Client(['timeout' => 2.0, 'connect_timeout' => 1.0]);

// Symfony
$httpClient = new Psr18Client(HttpClient::create(['timeout' => 2.0, 'max_duration' => 3.0]));

PSR-3 Logger

use Monolog\Logger;
use Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler;

$logger = new Logger('botbye');
$logger->pushHandler(new StreamHandler('/var/log/botbye.log', Logger::WARNING));

$client = new BotbyeClient(
    config: $config,
    httpClient: $httpClient,
    requestFactory: $psr17Factory,
    streamFactory: $psr17Factory,
    logger: $logger,
);

Error Handling

The SDK follows a fail-open strategy. On network or server errors, evaluate() returns a bypass response (Decision::ALLOW with bypassBotValidation: true) instead of throwing:

$response = $client->evaluate($event);

if ($response->error !== null) {
    // Evaluation failed, request was allowed by default
    log($response->error->message);
}

BotbyeException is only thrown for unrecoverable errors during sendPayload() — the client catches these internally and returns the bypass response.

Framework Integration

Laravel Middleware

namespace App\Http\Middleware;

use Botbye\Client\BotbyeClient;
use Botbye\Model\BotbyeValidationEvent;
use Botbye\Model\Headers;
use Closure;
use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class BotbyeMiddleware
{
    public function __construct(private BotbyeClient $botbye) {}

    public function handle(Request $request, Closure $next)
    {
        $headers = Headers::fromArray($request->headers->all());

        $response = $this->botbye->evaluate(new BotbyeValidationEvent(
            ip: $request->ip(),
            token: $request->query('botbye_token', ''),
            headers: $headers->jsonSerialize(),
            requestMethod: $request->method(),
            requestUri: $request->getRequestUri(),
        ));

        if ($response->isBlocked()) {
            abort(403, 'Access denied');
        }

        return $next($request);
    }
}

Register the BotbyeClient in a service provider:

// AppServiceProvider.php
$this->app->singleton(BotbyeClient::class, function ($app) {
    $httpClient = new \GuzzleHttp\Client(['timeout' => 2.0]);
    $factory = new \GuzzleHttp\Psr7\HttpFactory();

    return new BotbyeClient(
        config: new BotbyeConfig(serverKey: config('services.botbye.key')),
        httpClient: $httpClient,
        requestFactory: $factory,
        streamFactory: $factory,
    );
});

Symfony Event Subscriber

namespace App\EventSubscriber;

use Botbye\Client\BotbyeClient;
use Botbye\Model\BotbyeValidationEvent;
use Botbye\Model\Headers;
use Symfony\Component\EventDispatcher\EventSubscriberInterface;
use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Event\RequestEvent;
use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\Exception\AccessDeniedHttpException;
use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\KernelEvents;

class BotbyeSubscriber implements EventSubscriberInterface
{
    public function __construct(private BotbyeClient $botbye) {}

    public static function getSubscribedEvents(): array
    {
        return [KernelEvents::REQUEST => 'onKernelRequest'];
    }

    public function onKernelRequest(RequestEvent $event): void
    {
        $request = $event->getRequest();
        $headers = Headers::fromArray($request->headers->all());

        $response = $this->botbye->evaluate(new BotbyeValidationEvent(
            ip: $request->getClientIp(),
            token: $request->query->get('botbye_token', ''),
            headers: $headers->jsonSerialize(),
            requestMethod: $request->getMethod(),
            requestUri: $request->getRequestUri(),
        ));

        if ($response->isBlocked()) {
            throw new AccessDeniedHttpException('Access denied');
        }
    }
}

Testing

composer install
vendor/bin/phpunit

License

MIT

Support

For support, visit botbye.com or contact accounts@botbye.com.