Getting started

Start with filesystem storage and a single submission route. Complete Installation first.

Choose private storage

Add these settings after loading the example configuration in config/bootstrap.php:

Configure::write('Feedback.returnlink', false);
Configure::write('Feedback.enablecopybyemail', false);

The return link is disabled because this setup does not expose report browsing. Sending a copy by email uses legacy code and is not part of the beginner setup.

Add the submission route

At the top level of config/routes.php, outside its scope closures, add this before those scopes and fallback routes. Here $routes is the file's root RouteBuilder:

$routes->plugin('Feedback', ['path' => '/feedback'], function (\Cake\Routing\RouteBuilder $routes): void {
    $routes->connect('/save', ['controller' => 'Feedback', 'action' => 'save'])
        ->setMethods(['POST', 'PUT']);
});

The controller inherits your AppController. Allow this action through your application's authentication and authorization rules if anonymous visitors may submit feedback. Keep CSRF middleware enabled. The widget sends the request's CSRF token in the X-CSRF-Token header.

Render the tab

In templates/layout/default.php, place the element near the end of the body, outside other forms. Load jQuery before the fetched script block:

<?= $this->element('Feedback.sidebar') ?>
<?= $this->fetch('script') ?>

Use your layout's existing fetch('script') once. The element adds the bundled screenshot library and widget script to that block, and renders its stylesheet directly unless Feedback.skipCss is enabled.

Submit a first report

Open a page with the element, enter a subject and message, accept the screenshot notice, and submit. The request should return a success message. Check tmp/feedback/ for a .feedback file containing the report and screenshot data.

A screenshot renders the page's DOM, rather than capturing the whole browser window. Cross-origin images and unsupported CSS may be missing. Test representative pages before relying on screenshots for support.

If submission fails, inspect the POST to /feedback/save in your browser's network panel. Check access rules, the CSRF header, writable storage, and whether jQuery loaded before Feedback.functions.js. A success response describes the first store's result, so verify each destination separately when using multiple stores.