Filtering Rules

Enterprise

This feature is part of Countly Enterprise. To get access, contact sales or compare versions. Existing customers can reach the support portal with questions.

Feature Metadata

Field	Value
Feature	Filtering Rules
Type	Ingestion-time request filtering
Public endpoint count	5
Last updated	2026-02-15

Overview

Filtering Rules lets you block or filter incoming SDK data at app level.
Rules can target:

• All requests (all)
• Session data (session)
• Event data (event)

Rules are stored on the app document and can be created, updated, enabled/disabled, listed, and deleted through API endpoints.

Quick Links

Endpoint	Path
Filtering Rules - Create	/i/blocks/create
Filtering Rules - Update	/i/blocks/update
Filtering Rules - Toggle Status	/i/blocks/toggle_status
Filtering Rules - Delete	/i/blocks/delete
Filtering Rules - List	/o/blocks

Returned Data Fields

The list endpoint returns an array of rule objects. Common fields:

Field	Type	Description
_id	String	Rule ID
type	String	Rule type: all, session, or event
key	String	Target key (event key or *)
name	String	Rule display/description text
rule	String	Stringified rule definition
status	Boolean	Whether rule is active
is_arbitrary_input	Boolean	Whether event key is matched by input string behavior
_onReq	Boolean	Rule can be evaluated early at request stage
last_triggered	Number	Last trigger Unix timestamp (seconds)

Configuration & Usage

Rule Lifecycle

1. Create a rule (create).
2. Validate behavior in incoming data.
3. Enable/disable rule quickly (toggle_status).
4. Update conditions (update) as needed.
5. Remove obsolete rules (delete).

Rule Scope

• all: applies to request-level filtering.
• session: removes session-related payloads when matched.
• event: removes matching events (or specific event types) when matched.

Use Cases

1. Block unwanted traffic patterns

Block requests from known test devices, hosts, or IP patterns.

2. Exclude noisy session traffic

Filter out session payloads from unwanted cohorts while keeping other data.

3. Exclude specific event streams

Block noisy or non-production events by key or rule conditions.

4. Temporary rollout controls

Disable problematic rules quickly without deleting configuration.

Limitations & Troubleshooting

Limitations

• Rules are app-scoped and require app_id.
• Rule definitions are passed as JSON string payload in blocks.
• Duplicate rules (same type/key/name/rule) are rejected.

Common Issues

Provide app_id

• Include app_id in request.

Provide block object or Provide blocks update object

• Ensure blocks parameter exists and contains valid JSON.

The rule already exists

• Update existing rule instead of creating a duplicate.

No visible effect after change

• Confirm rule status is enabled (status: true).
• Verify rule scope (all / session / event) matches incoming payload type.

Related Features

• Drill - API Documentation

Implementation details

Database Collections

Collection	Purpose
countly.apps	Stores filtering rules in app blocks array
countly.blocked_users{appId}	Stores temporary blocked-user data used in filtering flows