CFGeolocationService

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

1. Primary: Cloudflare Headers (instant results)

   • CF-IPCountry: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
   • CF-Connecting-IP: Real client IP address

2. 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

Debug Mode for Local Development

When developing on localhost or behind corporate VPNs, Cloudflare headers might be unavailable. Enable debug mode to short-circuit lookups and return deterministic values without changing your stack:

$service->setDebugMode(true, '203.0.113.77', 'PL'); // Use fake IP + ISO code

$clientIp = $service->getIp($request);      // "203.0.113.77"
$countryCode = $service->getCountryCode($request); // "PL"

$service->setDebugMode(false); // Revert to normal detection

Use isDebugModeEnabled(), getDebugModeIp(), and getDebugModeCountryCode() to inspect the current state. Debug mode strictly validates both the IP address and ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code to avoid accidental misuse.

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 Behat functional specs (debug mode scenarios)
./vendor/bin/behat

# 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

1. Create account at MaxMind
2. Generate license key
3. Download GeoLite2 or purchase GeoIP2 databases
4. 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

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Make your changes with tests
4. Ensure 100% test coverage: XDEBUG_MODE=coverage ./vendor/bin/phpunit --coverage-text
5. Follow coding standards: PSR-12 compliance
6. 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

• Cloudflare Headers Documentation
• MaxMind GeoIP2 Documentation
• Symfony HTTP Foundation

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Made with ❤️ by the GryfOSS team