smartSessions

The component extends the standard session handler modSessionHandler by adding the following columns to the session table (table name: modx_smart_sessions):

• ip — user IP address;
• user_agent — browser User-Agent;
• user_id — user id if logged in.

This provides richer data about visitors and lets you set different session lifetimes for different visitor types.

Installation

1. Install the package from the repository.
2. In system setting session_handler_class set the value to smartSessionHandler.
3. Verify that data is being written to modx_smart_sessions. The modx_sessions table is no longer used and can be cleared.

Uninstall

Restore the default value modSessionHandler in system setting session_handler_class, then you can remove the package.

Settings

To configure the component go to "System settings", namespace "smartsessions".

• smartsessions_bot_signatures — list of search bot signatures separated by a vertical bar, for matching (via LIKE) against user_agent. Add bots that frequently visit your site.

• smartsessions_bots_gc_maxlifetime — session lifetime for bots listed in smartsessions_bot_signatures. Lowering it shortens bot session storage and reduces table size.

• smartsessions_empty_user_agent_gc_maxlifetime — session lifetime for empty User-Agent. Usually can be set the same as for bots.

• smartsessions_authorized_users_gc_maxlifetime — session lifetime for logged-in users. You can increase it above session_gc_maxlifetime.

Default session lifetime is still controlled by session_gc_maxlifetime.

Example configuration

• session_gc_maxlifetime — default 604800 (7 days);
• smartsessions_bots_gc_maxlifetime — 10800, bot sessions kept 3 hours, minimal storage;
• smartsessions_empty_user_agent_gc_maxlifetime — 10800, empty User-Agent sessions kept 3 hours;
• smartsessions_authorized_users_gc_maxlifetime — 2592000, logged-in user sessions kept 30 days for longer login and cart persistence.

Known issues

The menu item "Manage" / "End all sessions" will stop working, because that action only works with the standard handler modSessionHandler and is hardcoded.

Useful

SQL query to see session counts grouped by user_agent and find the most frequent User-Agents in your database:

SELECT `user_agent`, COUNT(*)
FROM `modx_smart_sessions`
GROUP BY `user_agent`
ORDER BY `COUNT(*)` DESC