Custom Panels

You can create custom DebugKit panels to expose application-specific debugging data.

Creating a Panel Class

Place panel classes in src/Panel. The filename must match the class name. For example, MyCustomPanel should live in src/Panel/MyCustomPanel.php:

namespace App\Panel;

use DebugKit\DebugPanel;

class MyCustomPanel extends DebugPanel
{
    // ...
}

Custom panels must extend DebugPanel.

Callbacks

Panel objects hook into the current request through the Controller.initialize and Controller.shutdown events by default. If your panel needs additional events, implement implementedEvents() and return the full event map your panel requires.

The built-in panels are the best reference when you need examples.

Panel Elements

Each panel should have a matching view element that renders the panel content. The element name is the underscored form of the class name:

• SessionPanel maps to session_panel.php
• SqllogPanel maps to sqllog_panel.php

Store panel elements in templates/element.

Custom Titles and Elements

Panels usually infer their toolbar title and element name by convention. Override these methods when you need custom behavior:

• title() sets the label shown in the toolbar.
• elementName() sets the element name used for rendering.

Panel Hook Methods

You can implement these methods to customize collection and rendering:

• shutdown(EventInterface $event) collects and prepares panel data, usually into $this->_data.
• summary() returns short summary text for the collapsed toolbar state.
• data() returns the serialized data exposed to the panel element.

Panels in Other Plugins

Panels shipped by plugins work the same way as application panels, with one extra requirement: set public string $plugin to the plugin directory name so that the panel element can be resolved when rendering.

namespace MyPlugin\Panel;

use DebugKit\DebugPanel;

class MyCustomPanel extends DebugPanel
{
    public string $plugin = 'MyPlugin';
}

To register application or plugin panels, update your DebugKit configuration:

// In src/Application.php bootstrap()
Configure::write('DebugKit.panels', ['App', 'MyPlugin.MyCustom']);
$this->addPlugin('DebugKit', ['bootstrap' => true]);

This keeps the default panels enabled and adds AppPanel plus MyCustomPanel from MyPlugin.