Debugging Output And Previewing Html Using Ray

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

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": "[email protected]", "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" }
}

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