README

A high-performance PHP service for detecting user geolocation using Cloudflare headers with MaxMind GeoIP database fallback.

🎯 Purpose

CFGeolocationService is designed to provide fast and accurate geolocation detection by leveraging Cloudflare's edge network capabilities while maintaining reliability through GeoIP database fallbacks. This dual-strategy approach ensures optimal performance and accuracy for web applications behind Cloudflare's proxy network.

Key Benefits

🚀 Performance: Prioritizes Cloudflare headers for instant geolocation (no database lookup required)
🛡️ Reliability: Falls back to MaxMind GeoIP2 database when Cloudflare headers are unavailable
🌐 Accuracy: Uses Cloudflare's global edge network data combined with MaxMind's proven database
⚡ Speed: Minimal overhead with intelligent caching strategy
🔒 Security: Validates all inputs and handles edge cases gracefully

🏗️ How It Works

1. Check CF-IPCountry header → Valid ISO country code? → Return country
                                      ↓
2. Check CF-Connecting-IP header → Valid IP address? → Use for GeoIP lookup
                                      ↓
3. Fall back to Symfony getClientIp() → Perform GeoIP database lookup → Return country

Dual Detection Strategy

Primary: Cloudflare Headers (instant results)
- CF-IPCountry: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
- CF-Connecting-IP: Real client IP address
Fallback: GeoIP Database Lookup
- MaxMind GeoLite2/GeoIP2 Country database
- Handles cases where CF headers are missing or invalid

🚀 Installation

Via Composer

composer require gryfoss/http-cf-geolocation-service

Requirements

PHP: 8.1 or higher
Extensions: mbstring, filter
Dependencies:
- symfony/http-foundation ^7.3
- geoip2/geoip2 ^3.2

📖 Usage

Basic Usage

<?php

use GryfOSS\Geolocation\CFGeolocationService;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;

// Initialize with GeoIP database path
$service = new CFGeolocationService('/path/to/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb');

// Get current request
$request = Request::createFromGlobals();

// Detect client IP address
$clientIp = $service->getIp($request);
echo "Client IP: " . $clientIp; // e.g., "203.0.113.1"

// Detect country code
$countryCode = $service->getCountryCode($request);
echo "Country: " . $countryCode; // e.g., "US"

With Cloudflare Headers

When your application is behind Cloudflare, the service automatically uses CF headers:

// Cloudflare provides these headers:
// CF-Connecting-IP: 203.0.113.1
// CF-IPCountry: US

$countryCode = $service->getCountryCode($request);
// Returns "US" instantly (no database lookup needed)

$clientIp = $service->getIp($request);
// Returns "203.0.113.1" (real client IP, not Cloudflare's)

Without Cloudflare Headers

The service gracefully falls back to GeoIP database lookup:

// No CF headers available
$countryCode = $service->getCountryCode($request);
// Performs GeoIP database lookup on client IP
// Returns country code based on IP geolocation

Error Handling

use GryfOSS\Geolocation\CFGeolocationService;

try {
    $service = new CFGeolocationService('/invalid/path/database.mmdb');
} catch (\InvalidArgumentException $e) {
    echo "Database not found: " . $e->getMessage();
}

try {
    $countryCode = $service->getCountryCode($request);
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    echo "Geolocation failed: " . $e->getMessage();
}

Complete Examples

See examples.php for comprehensive usage examples including:

Basic geolocation detection
Cloudflare header simulation
GeoIP database fallback scenarios
Error handling demonstrations
Testing with various IP addresses

# Run examples (requires database download first)
./pull-free-db.sh
php examples.php

🧪 Testing

Download GeoIP Database

⚠️ Important: Due to MaxMind's licensing restrictions, the GeoIP database cannot be bundled with this package. You must download it separately.

# Download free GeoLite2 database
./pull-free-db.sh

# Or manually download from:
# https://dev.maxmind.com/geoip/geoip2/geolite2/

Run Tests

# Install development dependencies
composer install

# Download test database
./pull-free-db.sh

# Run complete test suite
./vendor/bin/phpunit

# Run tests with coverage
XDEBUG_MODE=coverage ./vendor/bin/phpunit --coverage-text

# Run tests with readable output
./vendor/bin/phpunit --testdox

# Run usage examples
php examples.php

Test Coverage

The project maintains 100% code coverage:

✅ Lines: 100%
✅ Methods: 100%
✅ Classes: 100%

# Verify coverage locally
XDEBUG_MODE=coverage ./vendor/bin/phpunit --coverage-html coverage-report
# Open coverage-report/index.html in your browser

Testing Strategy

Unit Tests: 32 unit tests covering all methods and edge cases
Integration Tests: 6 integration tests with real GeoIP database
Total: 38 tests with 47 assertions
Data Providers: Multiple test scenarios for various input combinations
Exception Testing: Error handling and edge case validation
Real Database: Tests use actual GeoLite2-Country.mmdb for authenticity

🗃️ GeoIP Database Setup

Database Licensing Notice

⚠️ Important Licensing Information

This package does not include the MaxMind GeoIP database due to licensing restrictions:

GeoLite2 databases are available for free but require separate download
Commercial GeoIP2 databases require a MaxMind license
Distribution restrictions prevent bundling databases with open-source packages

Download Options

Option 1: Free GeoLite2 Database

# Use the included script
./pull-free-db.sh

# Manual download
wget https://github.com/P3TERX/GeoLite.mmdb/raw/download/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb

Option 2: Official MaxMind Account

Create account at MaxMind
Generate license key
Download GeoLite2 or purchase GeoIP2 databases
Follow MaxMind's terms of service

Option 3: Automated Updates

# Set up cron job for monthly updates
0 0 1 * * /path/to/your/project/pull-free-db.sh

Database Paths

// Common database locations
$service = new CFGeolocationService('/usr/local/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb');
$service = new CFGeolocationService('/var/lib/GeoIP/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb');
$service = new CFGeolocationService('./data/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb');

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

# Set database path via environment
export GEOIP_DATABASE_PATH="/path/to/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb"

// Use in your application
$databasePath = $_ENV['GEOIP_DATABASE_PATH'] ?? '/default/path/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb';
$service = new CFGeolocationService($databasePath);

Framework Integration

Symfony

# config/services.yaml
services:
    GryfOSS\Geolocation\CFGeolocationService:
        arguments:
            $databasePath: '%env(GEOIP_DATABASE_PATH)%'

Laravel

// config/app.php or service provider
$this->app->singleton(CFGeolocationService::class, function ($app) {
    return new CFGeolocationService(env('GEOIP_DATABASE_PATH'));
});

🏆 Quality Assurance

GitHub Actions CI/CD

Multi-PHP Testing: 8.2, 8.3, 8.4
Automated Database Download: Fresh GeoLite2 database for each test run
100% Coverage Enforcement: Builds fail if coverage drops below 100%
Cross-Platform: Ubuntu latest with comprehensive test matrix

Code Quality Standards

PSR-4 Autoloading: Namespace compliance
PHPDoc Documentation: Comprehensive method and class documentation
Type Declarations: Strict typing for all parameters and returns
Error Handling: Graceful exception handling for all failure modes
Input Validation: Thorough validation of all external inputs

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from the community! Here's how you can help:

Reporting Issues

Bug Reports: Use the GitHub Issues to report bugs
Feature Requests: Propose new features or improvements
Security Issues: Report security vulnerabilities privately

Pull Requests

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
Make your changes with tests
Ensure 100% test coverage: XDEBUG_MODE=coverage ./vendor/bin/phpunit --coverage-text
Follow coding standards: PSR-12 compliance
Submit a pull request with detailed description

Development Guidelines

Write tests first: TDD approach preferred
Maintain 100% coverage: All new code must be fully tested
Follow existing patterns: Consistent with current codebase
Document thoroughly: PHPDoc for all public methods
Validate inputs: Handle edge cases gracefully

Code of Conduct

Please follow our code of conduct in all interactions:

Be respectful and inclusive
Focus on constructive feedback
Help others learn and grow
Maintain professionalism

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👥 Authors

IDCT Bartosz Pachołek - GitHub - Initial work

🙏 Acknowledgments

MaxMind for providing GeoIP2 and GeoLite2 databases
Cloudflare for their excellent geolocation headers
Symfony for the robust HTTP foundation component
P3TERX for maintaining the GeoLite2 mirror repository
PHP Community for continuous improvements and feedback

📚 Additional Resources

Made with ❤️ by the GryfOSS team

gryfoss / http-cf-geolocation-service

Maintainers

Details