Ray Skill
Overview
Ray is Spatie's desktop debugging application for developers. Send data directly to Ray by making HTTP requests to its local server.
This can be useful for debugging applications, or to preview design, logos, or other visual content.
This is what the ray() PHP function does under the hood.
Connection Details
Setting Default Environment Variable
Host localhost
RAY_HOST
Port 23517
RAY_PORT
Request Format
Method: POST Content-Type: application/json
User-Agent: Ray 1.0
Basic Request Structure
{ "uuid": "unique-identifier-for-this-ray-instance", "payloads": [ { "type": "log", "content": { }, "origin": { "file": "/path/to/file.php", "line_number": 42, "hostname": "my-machine" } } ], "meta": { "ray_package_version": "1.0.0" } }
Fields
Field Type Description
uuid
string Unique identifier for this Ray instance. Reuse the same UUID to update an existing entry.
payloads
array Array of payload objects to send
meta
object Optional metadata (ray_package_version, project_name, php_version)
Origin Object
Every payload includes origin information:
{ "file": "/Users/dev/project/app/Controller.php", "line_number": 42, "hostname": "dev-machine" }
Payload Types
Log (Send Values)
{ "type": "log", "content": { "values": ["Hello World", 42, {"key": "value"}] }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Custom (HTML/Text Content)
{ "type": "custom", "content": { "content": "<h1>HTML Content</h1><p>With formatting</p>", "label": "My Label" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Table
{ "type": "table", "content": { "values": {"name": "John", "email": "john@example.com", "age": 30}, "label": "User Data" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Color
Set the color of the preceding log entry:
{ "type": "color", "content": { "color": "green" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Available colors: green , orange , red , purple , blue , gray
Screen Color
Set the background color of the screen:
{ "type": "screen_color", "content": { "color": "green" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Label
Add a label to the entry:
{ "type": "label", "content": { "label": "Important" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Size
Set the size of the entry:
{ "type": "size", "content": { "size": "lg" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Available sizes: sm , lg
Notify (Desktop Notification)
{ "type": "notify", "content": { "value": "Task completed!" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
New Screen
{ "type": "new_screen", "content": { "name": "Debug Session" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Measure (Timing)
{ "type": "measure", "content": { "name": "my-timer", "is_new_timer": true, "total_time": 0, "time_since_last_call": 0, "max_memory_usage_during_total_time": 0, "max_memory_usage_since_last_call": 0 }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
For subsequent measurements, set is_new_timer: false and provide actual timing values.
Simple Payloads (No Content)
These payloads only need a type and empty content :
{ "type": "separator", "content": {}, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }
Type Purpose
separator
Add visual divider
clear_all
Clear all entries
hide
Hide this entry
remove
Remove this entry
confetti
Show confetti animation
show_app
Bring Ray to foreground
hide_app
Hide Ray window
Combining Multiple Payloads
Send multiple payloads in one request. Use the same uuid to apply modifiers (color, label, size) to a log entry:
{ "uuid": "abc-123", "payloads": [ { "type": "log", "content": { "values": ["Important message"] }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }, { "type": "color", "content": { "color": "red" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }, { "type": "label", "content": { "label": "ERROR" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } }, { "type": "size", "content": { "size": "lg" }, "origin": { "file": "test.php", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost" } } ], "meta": {} }
Example: Complete Request
Send a green, labeled log message:
curl -X POST http://localhost:23517/
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-H "User-Agent: Ray 1.0"
-d '{
"uuid": "my-unique-id-123",
"payloads": [
{
"type": "log",
"content": {
"values": ["User logged in", {"user_id": 42, "name": "John"}]
},
"origin": {
"file": "/app/AuthController.php",
"line_number": 55,
"hostname": "dev-server"
}
},
{
"type": "color",
"content": { "color": "green" },
"origin": { "file": "/app/AuthController.php", "line_number": 55, "hostname": "dev-server" }
},
{
"type": "label",
"content": { "label": "Auth" },
"origin": { "file": "/app/AuthController.php", "line_number": 55, "hostname": "dev-server" }
}
],
"meta": {
"project_name": "my-app"
}
}'
Availability Check
Before sending data, you can check if Ray is running:
GET http://localhost:23517/_availability_check
Ray responds with HTTP 404 when available (the endpoint doesn't exist, but the server is running).
Getting Ray Information
Get Windows
Retrieve information about all open Ray windows:
GET http://localhost:23517/windows
Returns an array of window objects with their IDs and names:
[ {"id": 1, "name": "Window 1"}, {"id": 2, "name": "Debug Session"} ]
Get Theme Colors
Retrieve the current theme colors being used by Ray:
GET http://localhost:23517/theme
Returns the theme information including color palette:
{ "name": "Dark", "colors": { "primary": "#000000", "secondary": "#1a1a1a", "accent": "#3b82f6" } }
Use Case: When sending custom HTML content to Ray, use these theme colors to ensure your content matches Ray's current theme and looks visually integrated.
Example: Send HTML with matching colors:
First, get the theme
THEME=$(curl -s http://localhost:23517/theme) PRIMARY_COLOR=$(echo $THEME | jq -r '.colors.primary')
Then send HTML using those colors
curl -X POST http://localhost:23517/
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-d '{
"uuid": "theme-matched-html",
"payloads": [{
"type": "custom",
"content": {
"content": "<div style="background: '"$PRIMARY_COLOR"'; padding: 20px;"><h1>Themed Content</h1></div>",
"label": "Themed HTML"
},
"origin": {"file": "script.sh", "line_number": 1, "hostname": "localhost"}
}]
}'
Payload Type Reference
Type Content Fields Purpose
log
values (array) Send values to Ray
custom
content , label
HTML or text content
table
values , label
Display as table
color
color
Set entry color
screen_color
color
Set screen background
label
label
Add label to entry
size
size
Set entry size (sm/lg)
notify
value
Desktop notification
new_screen
name
Create new screen
measure
name , is_new_timer , timing fields Performance timing
separator
(empty) Visual divider
clear_all
(empty) Clear all entries
hide
(empty) Hide entry
remove
(empty) Remove entry
confetti
(empty) Confetti animation
show_app
(empty) Show Ray window
hide_app
(empty) Hide Ray window