Events

Events are used to communicate between different aspects of the Nextcloud eco system. They are used in the Nextcloud server internally, for server-to-apps communcation as well as inter-app communication.

Overview

The term “events” is a bit broad in Nextcloud and there are multiple ways of emitting them.

OCP event dispatcher

This mechanism is a versatile and typed approach to events in Nextcloud’s php code. It uses objects rather than just passing primitives or untyped arrays. This should help provide a better developer experience while lowering the risk of unexpected changes in the API that are hard to find after the initial implementation.

Naming scheme

The name should reflect the subject and the actions. Suffixing event classes with Event makes it easier to recognize their purpose.

For example, if a user is created, a UserCreatedEvent will be emitted.

Events are usually evmitted after the event has happened. If it’s emitted before, it should be prefixed with Before.

Thus BeforeUserCreatedEvent is emitted before the user data is written to the database.

Note

Although you may choose to name your event classes differently, sticking to the convention will allow Nextcloud developers understand each other’s apps more easily.

Note

For backwards compatibility with the Symfony class GenericEvent, Nextcloud also provides a \OCP\EventDispatcher\Event class. With the release of Nextcloud 22 this class has been deprecated. Named and typed event classes should be used instead.

Writing events

As a rule events are dedicated classes extending \OCP\EventDispatcher\Event.

<?php

use OCP\EventDispatcher\Event;

namespace OCA\MyApp\Event;

class AddEvent extends Event {}

The event above allows signalling that something happened. But in many cases you want to actually transport data like the affected resource with the event. Then the events act as simple data transfer objects. Therefore they need a constructor that takes the arguments, private members to store them and getters to access the values in listeners.

<?php

use OCP\EventDispatcher\Event;
use OCP\IUser;

class UserCreatedEvent extends Event {
    private IUser $user;

    public function __construct(IUser $user) {
        parent::__construct();
        $this->user = $user;
    }

    public function getUser(): IUser {
        return $this->user;
    }

}

Writing a listener

A listener can be a simple callback function (or anything else that is callable, or a dedicated class.

Listener callbacks

You can use simple callback to react on events. They will receive the event object as first and only parameter. You can type-hint the base Event class or the subclass you expect and register for.

<?php

use OCA\MyApp\Event\AddEvent;
use OCP\AppFramework\App;
use OCP\EventDispatcher\IEventDispatcher;

namespace OCA\MyApp\AppInfo;

class Application extends App {
    public function __construct() {
        parent::__construct('myapp');
            /* @var IEventDispatcher $eventDispatcher */
            $dispatcher = $this->getContainer()->query(IEventDispatcher::class);
            $dispatcher->addListener(AddEvent::class, function(AddEvent $event) {
                // ...
            });
    }
}

Note

Type-hinting the actual event class will give you better IDE and static analyzers support. It’s generally safe to assume the dispatcher will not give you any other objects.

Listener classes

A class that can handle an event will implement the \OCP\EventDispatcher\IEventListener interface. Class names should end with Listener.

<?php

use OCA\MyApp\Event\AddEvent;
use OCP\EventDispatcher\Event;
use OCP\EventDispatcher\IEventListener;

namespace OCA\MyApp\Event;

class AddTwoListener implements IEventListener {

    public function handle(Event $event): void {
        if (!($event instanceOf AddEvent)) {
            return;
        }

        $event->addToCounter(2);
    }
}

Note

Php parameter type hints are not allowed to be more specific than the type hints on the interface, thus you can’t use AddEvent in the method signature but use an instanceOf instead.

In the Application.php the event and the listener class are connected. The class is instantiated only when the actual event is fired.

<?php

use OCA\MyApp\Event\AddEvent;
use OCA\MyApp\Listener\AddTwoListener;
use OCP\AppFramework\App;
use OCP\EventDispatcher\IEventDispatcher;

namespace OCA\MyApp\AppInfo;

class Application extends App {
    public function __construct() {
        parent::__construct('myapp');
        /* @var IEventDispatcher $eventDispatcher */
        $dispatcher = $this->getContainer()->get(IEventDispatcher::class);
        $dispatcher->addServiceListener(AddEvent::class, AddTwoListener::class);
    }
}

Note

The listener is resolved via the DI container, therefore you can add a constructor and type-hint services required for processing the event.

Available Events

Here you find an overview of the public events that can be consumed in apps. See their source files for more details.

\OCA\DAV\Events\AddressBookCreatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user creates a new address-book.

\OCA\DAV\Events\AddressBookDeletedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user deletes an address-book.

\OCA\DAV\Events\AddressBookShareUpdatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user shares or unshares an address-book.

\OCA\DAV\Events\AddressBookUpdatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user updates an address-book.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CachedCalendarObjectCreatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a cached calendar object is being created while fetching a calendar-subscription.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CachedCalendarObjectDeletedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a cached calendar object is being deleted while fetching a calendar-subscription.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CachedCalendarObjectUpdatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a cached calendar object is being updated while fetching a calendar-subscription.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarCreatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user creates a new calendar.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarDeletedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user deletes a calendar.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarObjectCreatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user creates a calendar-object.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarObjectDeletedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user deletes a calendar-object.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarObjectUpdatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user updates a calendar-object.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarPublishedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user publishes a calendar.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarShareUpdatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user shares or unshares a calendar.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarUnpublishedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user unpublishes calendar.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CalendarUpdatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user updates a calendar.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CardCreatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user creates a new card in an address-book.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CardDeletedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user deletes a card in an address-book.

\OCA\DAV\Events\CardUpdatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user updates a card in an address-book.

\OCA\DAV\Events\SabrePluginAuthInitEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered during the setup of the SabreDAV server to allow the registration of additional authentication backends.

OCP\BeforeSabrePubliclyLoadedEvent

New in version 26.

This event is triggered when accessing public webdav endpoints.

\OCA\DAV\Events\SubscriptionCreatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user creates a new calendar-subscription.

\OCA\DAV\Events\SubscriptionDeletedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user deletes a calendar-subscription.

\OCA\DAV\Events\SubscriptionUpdatedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a user deletes a calendar-subscription.

\OCA\FederatedFileSharing\Events\FederatedShareAddedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered when a federated share is successfully added.

\OCA\Files\Event\LoadAdditionalScriptsEvent

New in version 17.

This event is triggered when the files app is rendered. It can be used to add additional scripts to the files app.

\OCA\Files_Sharing\Event\BeforeTemplateRenderedEvent

New in version 20.

Emitted before the rendering step of the public share page happens. The event holds a flag that specifies if it is the authentication page of a public share.

\OCA\Settings\Events\BeforeTemplateRenderedEvent

New in version 20.

This event is triggered right before the user management template is rendered.

\OCA\User_LDAP\Events\GroupBackendRegistered

New in version 20.

This event is triggered right after the LDAP group backend is registered.

\OCA\User_LDAP\Events\UserBackendRegistered

New in version 20.

This event is triggered right after the LDAP user backend is registered.

\OCA\Viewer\Event\LoadViewer

New in version 17.

This event is triggered whenever the viewer is loaded and extensions should be loaded.

\OCP\App\Events\AppEnableEvent

New in version 27.

This event is triggered when an app is enabled.

\OCP\App\Events\AppUpdateEvent

New in version 27.

This event is triggered when an app is updated.

\OCP\App\Events\AppDisableEvent

New in version 27.

This event is triggered when an app is disabled.

\OCP\AppFramework\Http\Events\BeforeTemplateRenderedEvent

New in version 20.

Emitted before the rendering step of each TemplateResponse. The event holds a flag that specifies if an user is logged in.

\OCP\Authentication\Events\LoginFailedEvent

New in version 19.

Emitted when the authentication fails, but only if the login name can be associated with an existing user.

\OCP\Authentication\TwoFactorAuth\TwoFactorProviderDisabled

New in version 20.

\OCP\Collaboration\Reference\RenderReferenceEvent

New in version 25.

Event emitted when apps might render references like link previews or smart picker widgets.

This can be used to inject scripts for extending that. Further details can be found in the Reference providers deep dive.

\OCP\Contacts\Events\ContactInteractedWithEvent

New in version 19.

Event emitted by apps whenever there was an interaction with another user or contact.

It is an event that allows apps to notify other components about an interaction between two users. This can be used to build better recommendations and suggestions in user interfaces.

Emitters should add at least one identifier (uid, email, federated cloud ID) of the recipient of the interaction.

\OCP\DirectEditing\RegisterDirectEditorEvent

New in version 18.

Event to allow to register the direct editor.

\OCP\Files\Events\BeforeFileScannedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Files\Events\BeforeFolderScannedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Files\Events\FileCacheUpdated

New in version 18.

\OCP\Files\Events\FileScannedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Files\Events\FolderScannedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Files\Events\NodeAddedToCache

New in version 18.

\OCP\Files\Events\NodeRemovedFromCache

New in version 18.

\OCP\Group\Events\BeforeGroupCreatedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Group\Events\BeforeGroupDeletedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Group\Events\BeforeUserAddedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Group\Events\BeforeUserRemovedEvent

New in version 18.

Deprecated in 20.0.0 - it can’t be guaranteed that this event is triggered in all case (e.g. for LDAP users this isn’t possible)

\OCP\Group\Events\GroupCreatedEvent

New in version 26.

\OCP\Group\Events\GroupChangedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Group\Events\GroupDeletedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Group\Events\SubAdminAddedEvent

New in version 21.

\OCP\Group\Events\SubAdminRemovedEvent

New in version 21.

\OCP\Group\Events\UserAddedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Group\Events\UserRemovedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Mail\Events\BeforeMessageSent

New in version 19.

Emitted before a system mail is sent. It can be used to alter the message.

OCP\Preview\BeforePreviewFetchedEvent

New in version 26.

Emitted before a file preview is being fetched. It can be used to block preview rendering by throwing a OCP\Files\NotFoundException.

\OCP\Security\CSP\AddContentSecurityPolicyEvent

New in version 17.

Allows to inject something into the default content policy. This is for example useful when you’re injecting Javascript code into a view belonging to another controller and cannot modify its Content-Security-Policy itself. Note that the adjustment is only applied to applications that use AppFramework controllers.

WARNING: Using this API incorrectly may make the instance more insecure. Do think twice before adding whitelisting resources. Please do also note that it is not possible to use the disallowXYZ functions.

\OCP\Security\Events\GenerateSecurePasswordEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Security\Events\ValidatePasswordPolicyEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Security\FeaturePolicy\AddFeaturePolicyEvent

New in version 17.

Event that allows to register a feature policy header to a request.

\OCP\Share\Events\ShareCreatedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\Share\Events\VerifyMountPointEvent

New in version 19.

\OCP\User\Events\BeforeUserLoggedInWithCookieEvent

New in version 18.

Emitted before a user is logged in via remember-me cookies.

\OCP\User\Events\UserLoggedInWithCookieEvent

New in version 18.

Emitted when a user has been successfully logged in via remember-me cookies.

\OCP\User\Events\BeforePasswordUpdatedEvent

New in version 18.

Emitted before the user password is updated.

\OCP\User\Events\PasswordUpdatedEvent

New in version 18.

Emitted when the user password has been updated.

\OCP\User\Events\BeforeUserCreatedEvent

New in version 18.

Emitted before a new user is created on the back-end.

\OCP\User\Events\UserCreatedEvent

New in version 18.

Emitted when a new user has been created on the back-end.

\OCP\User\Events\BeforeUserDeletedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\User\Events\UserDeletedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\User\Events\BeforeUserLoggedInEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\User\Events\BeforeUserLoggedOutEvent

New in version 18.

Emitted before a user is logged out.

\OCP\User\Events\PostLoginEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\User\Events\UserChangedEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\User\Events\UserLiveStatusEvent

New in version 20.

\OCP\User\Events\UserLoggedInEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\User\Events\UserLoggedOutEvent

New in version 18.

Emitted when a user has been logged out successfully.

\OCP\WorkflowEngine\LoadSettingsScriptsEvent

New in version 20.

Emitted when the workflow engine settings page is loaded.

\OCP\WorkflowEngine\RegisterChecksEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\WorkflowEngine\RegisterEntitiesEvent

New in version 18.

\OCP\WorkflowEngine\RegisterOperationsEvent

New in version 18.

Symfony event dispatcher

Warning

Using the Symfony event dispatcher mechanism is discouraged. Use the OCP event dispatcher abstraction instead.

tbd

Hooks

Deprecated since version 18: Use the OCP event dispatcher instead.

Hooks are used to execute code before or after an event has occurred. This is for instance useful to run cleanup code after users, groups or files have been deleted. Hooks should be registered in the app.php:

<?php
namespace OCA\MyApp\AppInfo;

$app = new Application();
$app->getContainer()->query('UserHooks')->register();

The hook logic should be in a separate class that is being registered in the App constructor:

<?php

namespace OCA\MyApp\AppInfo;

use \OCP\AppFramework\App;

use \OCA\MyApp\Hooks\UserHooks;


class Application extends App {

    public function __construct(array $urlParams=array()){
        parent::__construct('myapp', $urlParams);

        $container = $this->getContainer();

        /**
         * Controllers
         */
        $container->registerService('UserHooks', function($c) {
            return new UserHooks(
                $c->get(\OCP\IUserManager::class)
            );
        });
    }
}
<?php

namespace OCA\MyApp\Hooks;

use OCP\IUserManager;

class UserHooks {

    private $userManager;

    public function __construct(IUserManager $userManager){
        $this->userManager = $userManager;
    }

    public function register() {
        $callback = function($user) {
            // your code that executes before $user is deleted
        };
        $this->userManager->listen('\OC\User', 'preDelete', $callback);
    }

}

Available hooks

The scope is the first parameter that is passed to the listen method, the second parameter is the method and the third one the callback that should be executed once the hook is being called, e.g.:

<?php

// listen on user predelete
$callback = function($user) {
    // your code that executes before $user is deleted
};
$userManager->listen('\OC\User', 'preDelete', $callback);

Hooks can also be removed by using the removeListener method on the object:

<?php

// delete previous callback
$userManager->removeListener(null, null, $callback);

The following hooks are available:

Session

Injectable from the ServerContainer with the \OCP\IUserSession service.

Hooks available in scope \OC\User:

  • preSetPassword (\OC\User\User $user, string $password, string $recoverPassword)

  • postSetPassword (\OC\User\User $user, string $password, string $recoverPassword)

  • changeUser (\OC\User\User $user, string $feature, string $value)

  • preDelete (\OC\User\User $user)

  • postDelete (\OC\User\User $user)

  • preCreateUser (string $uid, string $password)

  • postCreateUser (\OC\User\User $user)

  • preLogin (string $user, string $password)

  • postLogin (\OC\User\User $user, string $password)

  • logout ()

UserManager

Injectable from the ServerContainer with the \OCP\IUserManager service.

Hooks available in scope \OC\User:

  • preSetPassword (\OC\User\User $user, string $password, string $recoverPassword)

  • postSetPassword (\OC\User\User $user, string $password, string $recoverPassword)

  • preDelete (\OC\User\User $user)

  • postDelete (\OC\User\User $user)

  • preCreateUser (string $uid, string $password)

  • postCreateUser (\OC\User\User $user, string $password)

GroupManager

Hooks available in scope \OC\Group:

  • preAddUser (\OC\Group\Group $group, \OC\User\User $user)

  • postAddUser (\OC\Group\Group $group, \OC\User\User $user)

  • preRemoveUser (\OC\Group\Group $group, \OC\User\User $user)

  • postRemoveUser (\OC\Group\Group $group, \OC\User\User $user)

  • preDelete (\OC\Group\Group $group)

  • postDelete (\OC\Group\Group $group)

  • preCreate (string $groupId)

  • postCreate (\OC\Group\Group $group)

Filesystem root

Injectable from the ServerContainer by calling the method getRootFolder(), getUserFolder() or getAppFolder().

To enable these events for your app you should add the following to your info.xml file:

<types>
    <filesystem/>
</types>

Filesystem hooks available in scope \OC\Files:

  • preWrite (\OCP\Files\Node $node)

  • postWrite (\OCP\Files\Node $node)

  • preCreate (\OCP\Files\Node $node)

  • postCreate (\OCP\Files\Node $node)

  • preDelete (\OCP\Files\Node $node)

  • postDelete (\OCP\Files\Node $node)

  • preTouch (\OCP\Files\Node $node, int $mtime)

  • postTouch (\OCP\Files\Node $node)

  • preCopy (\OCP\Files\Node $source, \OCP\Files\Node $target)

  • postCopy (\OCP\Files\Node $source, \OCP\Files\Node $target)

  • preRename (\OCP\Files\Node $source, \OCP\Files\Node $target)

  • postRename (\OCP\Files\Node $source, \OCP\Files\Node $target)

Filesystem scanner

Filesystem scanner hooks available in scope \OC\Files\Utils\Scanner:

  • scanFile (string $absolutePath)

  • scanFolder (string $absolutePath)

  • postScanFile (string $absolutePath)

  • postScanFolder (string $absolutePath)

Public emitter

Deprecated since version 18: Use the OCP event dispatcher instead.

tbd