Configuration API for PubNub PHP SDK

PHP complete API reference for building real-time applications on PubNub, including basic usage and sample code.

Configuration

PNConfiguration instance is storage for user-provided information which describe further PubNub client behavior. Configuration instance contain additional set of properties which allow to perform precise PubNub client configuration.

Immutable configuration

Once a configuration object has been passed to the PubNub constructor, you can't change its properties.

Although we don't recommend it, you can enable changing the configuration object after using it to create a PubNub instance, by calling the disableImmutableCheck() method just before passing it to the PubNub constructor.

use PubNub\PNConfiguration;
use PubNub\PubNub;

$config = new PNConfiguration();
$config->setPublishKey('demo');
$config->setSubscribeKey('demo');
$config->setUserId('demo');
// not recommended, disables config immutability
$config->disableImmutableCheck(); 

$pn = new PubNub($config);

Method(s)

To create configuration instance you can use the following function in the PHP SDK:

new PNConfiguration();

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
subscribeKey	String	Yes		subscribeKey from Admin Portal
publishKey	String	Optional	null	publishKey from Admin Portal (only required if publishing)
secretKey	String	Optional	null	secretKey (only required for modifying/revealing access permissions)
UserId	String	Yes		UUID to use. You should set a unique UUID to identify the user or the device that connects to PubNub. It's a UTF-8 encoded string of up to 92 alphanumeric characters. If you don't set the UUID, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.
authKey	String	Optional	null	If Access Manager is utilized, client will use this authKey in all restricted requests.
ssl	Boolean	Optional	true	Use ssl
connectTimeout	Integer	Optional	10	How long to wait before giving up connection to client.The value is in seconds.
subscribeTimeout	Integer	Optional	310	How long to keep the subscribe loop running before disconnect.The value is in seconds.
nonSubscribeRequestTimeout	Integer	Optional	10	On non subscribe operations, how long to wait for server response.The value is in seconds.
filterExpression	String	Optional	null	Feature to subscribe with a custom filter expression.
origin	String	Optional	ps.pndsn.com	Custom origin if needed.
cipherKey	String	Optional	null	If cipherKey is passed, all communications to/from PubNub will be encrypted.
useRandomIV	Boolean	Optional	true	When true the initialization vector (IV) is random for all requests (not just for file upload). When false the IV is hard-coded for all requests except for file upload.
crypto	PubNubCryptoCore	Optional	n/a	The cryptography module used for encryption and decryption of messages and files. Takes the cipherKey and useRandomIV parameters as arguments. For more information, refer to the crypto module section.

Disabling random initialization vector

Disable random initialization vector (IV) only for backward compatibility (<4.3.0) with existing applications. Never disable random IV on new applications.

crypto Module

crypto provides encrypt/decrypt functionality for messages. From the 7.1.0 release on, you can configure how the actual encryption/decryption algorithms work.

Each PubNub SDK is bundled with two ways of encryption: the legacy 1encryption with 128-bit cipher key entropy and the recommended 256-bit AES-CBC encryption. For more general information on how encryption works, refer to Message Encryption.

If you do not explicitly set the crypto_module in your app and have the cipher_key and use_random_initialization_vector params set in PubNub config, the client defaults to using the legacy encryption.

Legacy encryption with 128-bit cipher key entropy

You don't have to change your encryption configuration if you want to keep using the legacy encryption. If you want to use the recommended 256-bit AES-CBC encryption, you must explicitly set that in PubNub config.

crypto configuration

To configure crypto, you can use the following methods in the Python SDK:

//  encrypts using 256-bit AES-CBC cipher (recommended)
// decrypts data encrypted with the legacy and the 256-bit AES-CBC ciphers
$pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration();
...
// all necessary config options
$pnConfiguration->setCrypto(CryptoModule::aesCbcCryptor("enigma", true));

$pubnub = new PubNub($pnconf);

// encrypts with 128-bit cipher key entropy(legacy)
// decrypts data encrypted with the legacy and the 256-bit AES-CBC ciphers
$pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration();
...
// all necessary config options
$pnConfiguration->setCrypto(CryptoModule::legacyCryptor("enigma", true));

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Your client can decrypt content encrypted using either of the modules. This way, you can interact with historical messages or messages sent from older clients while encoding new messages using the more secure 256-bit AES-CBC cipher.

Older SDK versions

Apps built using the SDK versions lower than 7.1.0 will not be able to decrypt data encrypted using the 256-bit AES-CBC cipher. Make sure to update your clients or encrypt data using the legacy algorithm.

Basic Usage

Required UUID

Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the UUID, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

use PubNub\PNConfiguration;

$pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration();

// subscribeKey from Admin Portal
$pnConfiguration->setSubscribeKey("my_sub_key"); // required

// publishKey from Admin Portal (only required if publishing)
$pnConfiguration->setPublishKey("my_pub_key");

// secretKey (only required for modifying/revealing access permissions)
$pnConfiguration->setSecretKey("my_secretKey");

// the cryptography module used for encryption and decryption
$pnConfiguration->setCrypto(CryptoModule::aesCbcCryptor("enigma", true));

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Rest Response from Server

Configured and ready to use client configuration instance.

Initialization

Add PubNub to your project using one of the procedures defined in the Getting Started guide.

Use PHP SDK in your code

use PubNub\PubNub;

PEM files can be downloaded for the domains pubsub.pubnub.com, pubsub.pubnub.net and ps.pndsn.com using the commands:

echo Q | openssl s_client -connect pubsub.pubnub.com:443 -servername pubsub.pubnub.com -showcerts
echo Q | openssl s_client -connect pubsub.pubnub.net:443 -servername pubsub.pubnub.net -showcerts
echo Q | openssl s_client -connect ps.pndsn.com:443 -servername ps.pndsn.com -showcerts

You need to set the verify_peer to true to use the PEM files.

Description

This function is used for initializing the PubNub Client API context. This function must be called before attempting to utilize any API functionality in order to establish account level credentials such as publishKey and subscribeKey.

Method(s)

To Initialize PubNub you can use the following method(s) in the PHP SDK:

new PubNub($pnconf);

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
pnConfiguration	PNConfiguration	Yes	Goto Configuration for more details.

Basic Usage

Initialize the PubNub client API

Required UserId

Always set the UserId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UserId should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the UserId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

use PubNub\PNConfiguration;
use PubNub\PubNub;

$pnconf = new PNConfiguration();

$pnconf->setSubscribeKey("my-key");
$pnconf->setPublishKey("my-key");
$pnconf->setSecure(false);
$pnconf->setUserId("myUniqueUserId");
$pubnub = new PubNub($pnconf);

Returns

It returns the PubNub instance for invoking PubNub APIs like publish(), subscribe(), history(), hereNow(), etc.

Other Examples

Initialize a non-secure client

Required UserId

Always set the UserId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UserId should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the UserId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

use PubNub\PNConfiguration;
use PubNub\PubNub;

$pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration();

$pnConfiguration->setSubscribeKey("my_sub_key");
$pnConfiguration->setPublishKey("my_pub_key");
$pnConfiguration->setSecure(false);
$pnConfiguration->setUserId("myUniqueUserId");
$pubnub = new PubNub($pnConfiguration);

Initialization for a Read-Only client

In the case where a client will only read messages and never publish to a channel, you can simply omit the publishKey when initializing the client:

Required UserId

Always set the UserId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UserId should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the UserId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

use PubNub\PNConfiguration;
use PubNub\PubNub;

$pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration();

$pnConfiguration->setSubscribeKey("my_sub_key");

$pubnub = new PubNub($pnConfiguration);

Use a custom UUID

Set a custom UserId to identify your users.

Required UserId

Always set the UserId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UserId should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the UserId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

use PubNub\PNConfiguration;
use PubNub\PubNub;

$pnconf = new PNConfiguration();

$pnconf->setSubscribeKey("mySubscribeKey");
$pnconf->setPublishKey("myPublishKey");
$pnconf->setUserId("myUniqueUserId");

$pubnub = new PubNub($pnconf);

Initializing with Access Manager

Requires Access Manager add-on

This method requires that the Access Manager add-on is enabled for your key in the Admin Portal. Read the support page on enabling add-on features on your keys.

Secure your secretKey

Anyone with the secretKey can grant and revoke permissions to your app. Never let your secret key be discovered, and to only exchange it / deliver it securely. Only use the secretKey on secure server-side platforms.

When you init with secretKey, you get root permissions for the Access Manager. With this feature you don't have to grant access to your servers to access channel data. The servers get all access on all channels.

For applications that will administer Access Manager permissions, the API is initialized with the secretKey as in the following example:

Required UserId

Always set the UserId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UserId should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the UserId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

use PubNub\PNConfiguration;
use PubNub\PubNub;

$pnConfiguration = new PNConfiguration();

$pnConfiguration->setSubscribeKey("my_sub_key");
$pnConfiguration->setPublishKey("my_pub_key");
$pnConfiguration->setSecretKey("my_secret_key");
$pnConfiguration->setUserId("myUniqueUserId");
$pubnub = new PubNub($pnConfiguration);

Now that the pubnub object is instantiated the client will be able to access the Access Manager functions. The pubnub object will use the secretKey to sign all Access Manager messages to the PubNub Network.

Event Listeners

You can be notified of connectivity status, message and presence notifications via the listeners.

Listeners should be added before calling the method.

Add Listeners

use PubNub\PubNub;
use PubNub\Enums\PNStatusCategory;
use PubNub\Callbacks\SubscribeCallback;
use PubNub\PNConfiguration;

class MySubscribeCallback extends SubscribeCallback {
    function status($pubnub, $status) {
        if ($status->getCategory() === PNStatusCategory::PNUnexpectedDisconnectCategory) {
        // This event happens when radio / connectivity is lost
        } else if ($status->getCategory() === PNStatusCategory::PNConnectedCategory){
        // Connect event. You can do stuff like publish, and know you'll get it // Or just use the connected event to confirm you are subscribed for // UI / internal notifications, etc
        } else if ($status->getCategory() === PNStatusCategory::PNDecryptionErrorCategory){
        // Handle message decryption error. Probably client configured to // encrypt messages and on live data feed it received plain text.
        }
    }

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Remove Listeners

$subscribeCallback = new MySubscribeCallback();

$pubnub->addListener($subscribeCallback);

// some time later
$pubnub->removeListener($subscribeCallback);

Listener status events

Category	Description
PNConnectedCategory	SDK subscribed with a new mix of channels (fired every time the channel / channel group mix changed).
PNAccessDeniedCategory	Request failed because of access error (active Access Manager). status.errorData.channels or status.errorData.channelGroups contain list of channels and/or groups to which user with specified auth key doesn't have access.
PNMalformedResponseCategory	Request received in response non-JSON data. It can be because of publish WiFi hotspot which require authorization or proxy server message.
PNBadRequestCategory	Request can't be completed because not all required values has been passed or passed values has unexpected data type.
PNDecryptionErrorCategory	Message Persistence API may return this status category in case if some messages can't be decrypted. Unencrypted message will be returned in status.associatedObject where associatedObject is PNMessageData which contain channel and message properties.
PNTimeoutCategory	Used API didn't received response from server in time.
PNUnknownCategory	No specific category was assigned to the request.
PNUnexpectedDisconnectCategory	The SDK is not able to reach PubNub servers because the machine or device are not connected to Internet or this has been lost, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) is having to troubles or perhaps or the SDK is behind of a proxy.
PNUnexpectedDisconnectCategory	The SDK is not able to reach PubNub servers because the machine or device are not connected to Internet or this has been lost, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) is having to troubles or perhaps or the SDK is behind of a proxy.
PNCancelledCategory	Request was cancelled by user.
PNUnknownCategory	Unknown error happened.

UserId

These functions are used to set/get a user ID on the fly.

Property(s)

To set/get UserId you can use the following property(s) in PHP SDK:

Set UserId

$pnconf->setUuid(string);

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
UserId	String	Yes		UserId to be used as a device identifier. If you don't set the UserId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

Get UserId

$pnconf->getUserId();

This method doesn't take any arguments.

Basic Usage

Set UserId

Required UserId

Always set the UserId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UserId should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the UserId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

$pnconf = new PNConfiguration();
$pnconf->setUserId("myUniqueUserId");

Get UserId

$pubnub->getConfiguration()
    ->getUserId();

Authentication Key

Setter and getter for users auth key.

Set Auth Key

$pnconf->setAuthKey(string);

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
AuthKey	String	Yes	If Access Manager is utilized, client will use this authkey in all restricted requests.

Get Auth Key

$pnconf->getAuthKey();

This method doesn't take any argument.

Basic Usage

Set Auth Key

$pubnub->getConfiguration()
    ->setAuthKey("my_newauthkey");

Get Auth Key

$pubnub->getConfiguration()
    ->getAuthKey();

Returns

None.

Filter Expression

Requires Stream Controller add-on

This method requires that the Stream Controller add-on is enabled for your key in the Admin Portal. Read the support page on enabling add-on features on your keys.

Stream filtering allows a subscriber to apply a filter to only receive messages that satisfy the conditions of the filter. The message filter is set by the subscribing client(s) but it is applied on the server side thus preventing unwanted messages (those that do not meet the conditions of the filter) from reaching the subscriber.

To set or get message filters, you can use the following methods. To learn more about filtering, refer to the Publish Messages documentation.

Method(s)

Set Filter Expression

setFilterExpression( string filterExpression )

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
filterExpression	string	Yes	Logical expression to be evaluated on PubNub servers

Get Filter Expression

getFilterExpression

This method doesn't take any arguments.

Basic Usage

Set Filter Expression

Required UserId

Always set the UserId to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UserId should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. If you don't set the UserId, you won't be able to connect to PubNub.

use PubNub\PNConfiguration;
use PubNub\PubNub;

$pnconf = new PNConfiguration();

$pnconf->setSubscribeKey("my_sub_key");
$pnconf->setFilterExpression("userid == 'my_userid'");

$pubnub = new PubNub($pnconf);

Get Filter Expression

$pubnub->getFilterConfiguration();