Is there a hook that I can use when a fatal error occurs?

Question

Ideally I would like to log the user or page that triggers a fatal error so that I can follow up with that person or go directly to the page they were on for testing. My thought is that if there is an action hook or filter that I can tap into during the logging process, I might be able to achieve this. I don't know if it would work, but it would help speed up the debugging process. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Look into the WP_Fatal_Error_Handler class. I see a couple of filters in its display_default_error_template() method that might be helpful for you:

• wp_php_error_args
• wp_php_error_message

The entire class is a drop-in, so if you need to you can replace it entirely with your own version, but I think one of those filters—probably wp_php_error_args—might be what you're looking for.

Answer 2

I figured it out with set_error_handler() rather than a hook:

/**
 * Add user and url when an error occurs
 *
 * @param int $num
 * @param string $str
 * @param string $file
 * @param string $line
 * @param null $context
 * @return void
 */
function ddtt_log_error( $num, $str, $file, $line, $context = null ) {
    // Get user id
    $user_id = get_current_user_id();

    // Check for a user name
    if ( is_user_logged_in() ) {
        $user = get_userdata( $user_id );
        $display_name = sanitize_text_field( $user->display_name );
    } else {
        $display_name = 'Visitor';
    }

    // Log
    error_log( 'Error triggered by user '.$user_id.' ('.$display_name.') on '.$_SERVER[ 'REQUEST_URI' ] );
    
    // Restore the old handler
    restore_error_handler();
} // End ddtt_log_error()
set_error_handler( 'ddtt_log_error' );


/**
 * Checks for fatal errors and parse errors, work around for set_error_handler not working on them.
 *
 * @return void
 */
function ddtt_check_for_fatal() {
    $error = error_get_last();
    $additional_errors = [ E_ERROR, E_PARSE ];
    if ( isset( $error[ 'type' ] ) && in_array( $error[ 'type' ], $additional_errors ) ) {
        ddtt_log_error( $error[ 'type' ], $error[ 'message' ], $error[ 'file' ], $error[ 'line' ] );
    }
} // End ddtt_check_for_fatal()
register_shutdown_function( 'ddtt_check_for_fatal' );