How to Track User Activity in Laravel 12 Using Spatie

Hello Laravel developers! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to implement detailed activity tracking in Laravel 12 using the powerful spatie/laravel-activitylog package. Whether you need to monitor user actions for security compliance, debug issues, or understand user behavior, this package provides an elegant solution to log every important activity directly to your database.

Why Activity Logging Matters

Imagine this scenario: a user reports that their critical data has mysteriously disappeared, or your manager asks who changed important system settings overnight. Without proper activity logs, you’re left guessing. Effective logging provides:

• Accountability: Track exactly who did what and when
• Debugging: Identify the steps that led to errors or unexpected behavior
• Security: Detect suspicious activities and potential breaches
• Compliance: Meet regulatory requirements for data access and modification
• User insights: Understand which features people actually use

The Spatie Activity Log package transforms Laravel’s basic logging into a structured tracking system that stores activities with their complete context — who caused them, what they affected, and what changed.

Key Features of Spatie Laravel Activitylog

• Automatic model event tracking — log created, updated, and deleted events
• Flexible contextual logging — associate activities with users and models
• Custom property storage — add any additional data you need
• Simple retrieval — query logs using Eloquent
• Frontend-ready — easily display logs in your admin panels

Installation and Setup in Laravel 12

Step 1: Create a New Laravel 12 Project

composer create-project laravel/laravel laravel12-activitylogs
cd laravel12-activitylogs

Step 2: Install the Activity Log Package

composer require spatie/laravel-activitylog

Step 3: Publish and Run Migrations

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\Activitylog\ActivitylogServiceProvider" --tag="activitylog-migrations"
php artisan migrate

This creates the activity_log table that will store all your activity records.

Step 4: (Optional) Publish the Configuration File

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Spatie\Activitylog\ActivitylogServiceProvider" --tag="activitylog-config"

The config file (config/activitylog.php) allows you to customize various aspects of the package:

'enabled' => env('ACTIVITY_LOGGER_ENABLED', true),
'delete_records_older_than_days' => 365,
'default_log_name' => 'default',

Basic Logging Techniques

Simple Activity Logging

The most basic way to log an activity:

activity()->log('User viewed the dashboard');

This creates a log entry with the description “User viewed the dashboard” and automatically associates it with the currently authenticated user.

Context-Rich Logging

Here’s a more practical example with full context:

activity()
   ->performedOn($user)
   ->causedBy(auth()->user())
   ->withProperties([
      'ip' => request()->ip(),
      'user_agent' => request()->userAgent(),
      'previous_url' => url()->previous()
   ])
   ->log('updated_profile');

Let’s break down the methods:

• performedOn($model): Specifies which model was affected
• causedBy($user): Indicates who performed the action
• withProperties($array): Stores any custom data you need
• log($description): Records the activity with your description

Automatic Model Event Tracking

One of the most powerful features is automatically logging model events. To enable this, add the LogsActivity trait to your model:

<?php

namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Spatie\Activitylog\Traits\LogsActivity;
use Spatie\Activitylog\LogOptions;

class Post extends Model
{
    use LogsActivity;

    protected $fillable = ['title', 'content', 'status'];
    
    public function getActivitylogOptions(): LogOptions
    {
        return LogOptions::defaults()
            ->logOnly(['title', 'status'])
            ->logOnlyDirty()
            ->setDescriptionForEvent(fn(string $eventName) => "Post was {$eventName}");
    }
}

Now when you create, update, or delete a Post, it’s automatically logged:

$post = Post::create(['title' => 'My First Post', 'content' => 'Lorem ipsum']);
// Logs: "Post was created" with the new attributes

$post->update(['title' => 'Updated Title']);
// Logs: "Post was updated" showing only the changed fields

Retrieving and Managing Activity Logs

Accessing Logs

Since activities are stored using Eloquent, you can query them like any other model:

use Spatie\Activitylog\Models\Activity;

// Get all activities
$activities = Activity::all();

// Get latest activity
$lastLoggedActivity = Activity::all()->last();

$lastLoggedActivity->subject;
$lastLoggedActivity->causer;
$lastLoggedActivity->getExtraProperty('customProperty');
$lastLoggedActivity->description;

Displaying Logs in Views

Create a simple view to display activities:

// In your controller
public function index()
{
    $activities = Activity::with(['causer'])
                          ->latest()
                          ->paginate(20);
    
    return view('activities.index', compact('activities'));
                        }

<!-- resources/views/activities/index.blade.php -->
                        <table class="min-w-full divide-y divide-gray-200">
                            <thead>
                                <tr>
                                    <th>Description</th>
                                    <th>User</th>
                                    <th>Subject</th>
                                    <th>Date</th>
                                </tr>
                            </thead>
                            <tbody>
                                @foreach($activities as $activity)
                                <tr>
                                    <td>{{ $activity->description }}</td>
                                    <td>{{ $activity->causer->name ?? 'System' }}</td>
                                    <td>{{ class_basename($activity->subject_type) }}</td>
                                    <td>{{ $activity->created_at->format('M j, Y g:i A') }}</td>
                                </tr>
                                @endforeach
                            </tbody>
</table>

Cleaning Up Old Logs

To prevent your database from growing indefinitely, automatically clean up old logs:

// routes/console.php
$schedule->command('activitylog:clean')->daily();
    
// Or clean logs older than 7 days
// $schedule->command('activitylog:clean --days=7')->daily();

You can also run this manually:

php artisan activitylog:clean --days=30

Conclusion

The Spatie Laravel Activitylog package transforms how you track user activities in your Laravel 12 applications. From simple action logging to comprehensive model change tracking, it provides everything you need to maintain complete visibility over what’s happening in your application.

The key benefits we’ve covered:

• ✅ Easy setup — just install, migrate, and start logging
• ✅ Automatic model tracking — monitor created, updated, and deleted events
• ✅ Rich context — know who did what, when, and what changed
• ✅ Flexible querying — easily retrieve and filter activities
• ✅ Customizable — adapt to your specific needs

By implementing activity logs, you’re not just building features — you’re building auditability, security, and maintainability into your application’s foundation.

If you found this helpful, feel free to share or drop a comment. Happy coding with Laravel