Session Driver Configuration Analyzer

Analyzer ID	Category	Severity	Time To Fix
session-driver	⚡ Performance	Critical	30 minutes

What This Checks

Validates that Laravel's session driver is appropriate for production scalability - Redis or database for multi-server setups, avoiding file-based sessions in load-balanced environments.

Why It Matters

• Scalability: File sessions only work on single servers
• Performance: Redis sessions are 10-100x faster than file/database
• User Experience: Lost sessions cause unexpected logouts

File-based sessions store data locally. In load-balanced environments, users may be routed to different servers where their session doesn't exist, causing unexpected logouts.

How to Fix

Quick Fix (5 minutes)

# Set Redis as session driver
# .env
SESSION_DRIVER=redis
REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1

Proper Fix (30 minutes)

Install Redis:

sudo apt-get install redis-server php-redis
php artisan session:table  # If using database

Configure:

SESSION_DRIVER=redis
SESSION_LIFETIME=120
SESSION_ENCRYPT=false
SESSION_CONNECTION=default

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. File driver in load-balanced production:

   # ❌ Sessions lost between servers
   SESSION_DRIVER=file
   
   # ✅ Shared sessions
   SESSION_DRIVER=redis

2. Cookie driver with large session data:

   # ❌ Cookie size limit (4KB)
   SESSION_DRIVER=cookie
   
   # ✅ No size limit
   SESSION_DRIVER=redis

References

• Laravel Session Documentation
• Redis Session Configuration

Related Analyzers

• Cache Driver Configuration Analyzer - Ensures a proper cache driver configuration for optimal performance
• Queue Driver Configuration Analyzer - Ensures a proper queue driver configuration for optimal performance and reliability