> Part of the walkerOS documentation. Project overview and full index: <https://www.walkeros.io/llms.txt>

# Event model

The walkerOS event model was created to support analytics, marketing, privacy and data science needs.

## Entity-action approach[​](#entity-action-approach "Direct link to Entity-action approach")

The Entity-Action approach is core of the walkerOS event model. It's a framework designed to capture user interactions in a **structured** yet **flexible** way. Two primary components define each event:

* the **'entity'** (what is involved within an interaction) and
* the **'action'** (what is done with the entity)

This method provides a comprehensive and clear structure of user behavior.

One of the great things about walkerOS is the full flexibility of event definitions. You can build your tracking based on your **business logic** instead of trying to press your business logic into analytics specs.

Tracking shouldn't sound like some abstract technical concept. It should feel **natural** and everyone involved should immediately understand it. Only when everyone understands what is being measured, there will be **fewer misunderstandings, higher data quality**, and more **actionable data** in the organization.

## Event structure[​](#event-structure "Direct link to Event structure")

A walkerOS event consists of three components:

* a **trigger** (e.g. load)
* an **entity** (e.g. page)
* an **action** (e.g. view)

Here's an example of the structure and components of a walkerOS event. Keys are static, their content can be defined dynamically with different value types.

```

{
  name: 'promotion view', // Name as a combination of entity and action
  data: {
    // Arbitrary properties related to the entity
    name: 'Setting up tracking easily',
    interactive: false,
  },
  context: {
    // Provides additional information about the state during the event
    stage: ['learning', 1], // A logical funnel stage
    test: ['engagement', 0], // Key, [value, order]
  },
  globals: {
    // General properties that apply to every event
    language: 'en',
  },
  custom: {}, // Additional space for individual setups
  user: {
    // Contains user identifiers for different identification levels
    // Require consent and set manually for sessions building and cross-device
    id: 'us3r1d',
    device: 'c00k131d',
    session: 's3ss10n1d',
    // More user-related properties, see below
  },
  nested: [
    // All nested entities within the main entity
    { entity: 'github', data: { repo: 'walkerOS' } },
  ],
  consent: {
    // Status of the granted consent state(s)
    functional: true,
    marketing: true
  },
  id: '0123456789abcdef', // W3C Trace Context span_id (16 lowercase hex chars)
  trigger: 'visible', // Name of the trigger that fired
  entity: 'promotion', // The entity name involved in the event
  action: 'view', // The specific action performed on the entity
  timestamp: 1647261462000, // Time when the event fired
  timing: 3.14, // Duration how long it took to trigger this event
  source: {
    // Details about the origin of the event
    type: 'browser', // Source kind (e.g. browser, dataLayer, express)
    platform: 'web', // Runtime platform (web or server)
    schema: '4', // walkerOS event schema version
    trace: '0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef', // run-scoped W3C trace_id (groups all events of a run)
    count: 1, // emission sequence within the run
    release: { web: '3' }, // per-flow config release map, accumulates web to server
    url: 'https://github.com/elbwalker/walkerOS', // Page or request URL
    referrer: 'https://www.walkeros.io/', // Referrer URL
  },
}
```

Updating from v3

The event id is now a [W3C Trace Context](https://www.w3.org/TR/trace-context/) `span_id` (16 lowercase hex characters) generated by the collector per event. The top-level `group`, `count`, and `version` fields have been removed. The grouping that `group` provided now lives in `source.trace`, a run-scoped W3C `trace_id` (32 lowercase hex characters) minted on each run, shared by every event of that run and preserved unchanged across the web to server hop. The per-run sequence that the top-level `count` provided now lives in `source.count`. Inside `source`, `type` is the source kind (`browser`, `dataLayer`, `express`, ...) while the new `platform` field distinguishes the runtime (`web` vs `server`). The previous `source.id` is now `source.url` and `source.previous_id` is now `source.referrer`.

**Event names** are a combination of the entities involved (*promotion*) and the action performed (*view*).

<!-- -->

The structure remains consistent across all interactions, whether the event e.g. is a `page view`, `session start`, `product visible`, or `order complete`.

### Data properties[​](#data-properties "Direct link to Data properties")

Data properties describe the entity in **more detail**. Depending on the entity (e.g. *product*, *order*, *content*) they can vary and provide specific insights relevant to the interaction.

### Context[​](#context "Direct link to Context")

Context refers to the **state** or **environment** in which the event was triggered. It could be as simple as a page position or as complex as the logical stage in a user journey, like a shopping journey from inspiration to checkout stage.

### Globals[​](#globals "Direct link to Globals")

Globals describe the **overall state** influencing events or user behavior. These might include the theme used, page type for web, or cart value.

### Custom[​](#custom "Direct link to Custom")

A reserved space for individual setups to comply with the defined structure, but also to support custom requirements.

### User[​](#user "Direct link to User")

There are recommended identifiers used for stitching user journeys together: `id`, `device`, and `session`.

This enables cross-device tracking or linking sessions for a cohesive user journey. On a server-side setup, a temporarily `hash` value is added. Any other user-related information can also be added. A few values are recommended:

```
interface User extends Properties {
// IDs
id?: string; // User ID
device?: string; // Typically a cookie or local storage ID
session?: string; // Session ID
hash?: string; // Temporary hash for server-side setups
// User related
userAgent?: string; // Full user agent string
browser?: string; // Browser name
browserVersion?: string; // Browser version
deviceType?: string; // Type of device like, mobile, desktop, tablet
language?: string; // User's language settings
country?: string; // Country code
region?: string; // Region code
city?: string; // City name
timezone?: string; // Timezone
os?: string; // Operating system
osVersion?: string; // Operating system version
screenSize?: string; // Screen size
ip?: string; // IP address
internal?: boolean; // Internal user flag
}
```

### Consent[​](#consent "Direct link to Consent")

[Consent](https://www.walkeros.io/docs/guides/consent.md) captures the **permissions granted** by the user, which is crucial for subsequent data processing and helpful to comply with privacy regulations.

### Source[​](#source "Direct link to Source")

The source describes the **origin** of the event. `type` identifies the source kind (e.g. `browser`, `dataLayer`, `express`), `platform` distinguishes the runtime (`web` or `server`), `schema` records the walkerOS event schema version, and `url` plus `referrer` capture page-context for basic journey attribution.

## Strengths[​](#strengths "Direct link to Strengths")

### Structured flexibility[​](#structured-flexibility "Direct link to Structured flexibility")

walkerOS is the single source of truth of data collection. The event model ensures comparability, manageability, and minimizes implementation efforts, preventing data leaks or inaccuracies.

### Vendor-agnostic[​](#vendor-agnostic "Direct link to Vendor-agnostic")

The event model is designed to be resilient, allowing adaptability to future legal or internal requirements without vendor lock-in.

### Industry-agnostic[​](#industry-agnostic "Direct link to Industry-agnostic")

The model supports diverse use cases beyond e-commerce, including media, (B2B) SaaS, and more, ensuring versatility and comparability.

## How events get transformed[​](#how-events-get-transformed "Direct link to How events get transformed")

walkerOS events use a **vendor-agnostic format**. When sending to destinations like GA4, BigQuery, or your API, events are transformed using **mapping**.

For example, a `product add` event becomes `add_to_cart` for GA4, while the same event might be stored with different field names in BigQuery.

Mapping lets you:

* Rename events for each destination
* Restructure data properties
* Apply conditional transformations
* Process nested entities (like products in an order)

[**Learn more about mapping →**](https://www.walkeros.io/docs/mapping.md)