> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hightouch.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Event sources overview

> Monitor, validate, and govern events as they enter Hightouch.

## Overview

An **event source** represents a system that sends events into Hightouch, such as a web app, mobile app, backend service, or data pipeline.

Event sources are the starting point for all event-based workflows in Hightouch, including event storage, event streaming, and downstream activation.

#### Supported SDKs

Hightouch provides several SDKs (software development kits) that you can deploy to your app or site in order to start collecting events. There are separate SDKs for:

* [Browser (Javascript)](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/browser.md)
* [Node.js](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/nodejs.md)
* [Ruby](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/ruby.md)
* [Go](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/go.md)
* [PHP](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/php.md)
* [Java](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/java.md)
* [Python](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/python.md)
* [iOS](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/ios.md)
* [Android](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/android.md)
* [React Native](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/react-native.md)
* [Flutter](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/flutter.md)
* [C# (.NET)](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/csharp.md)

For server-side ingestion without an SDK, use the [HTTP API](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sdks/http.md). You can also collect events directly from [Kafka](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sources/kafka.md), [PubSub](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sources/google-pubsub.md), [Amazon SQS](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sources/amazon-sqs.md), [Amazon Kinesis](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sources/amazon-kinesis.md), and [Webhooks](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/sources/webhook.md), and inspect events in a web-based debugger to confirm you're capturing them correctly from each source.

Please note that there is a 96 kilobytes size limit for each event that's collected.

## Add or configure an event source

To add or manage an event source:

1. Go to [https://app.hightouch.com/?from=docs](https://app.hightouch.com/?from=docs)
2. Navigate to **`Event Collection → Event sources`**
3. Click **Add source** to create a new event source, or
4. Select an existing source from the list to begin monitoring, debugging, or configuration

## Monitoring and overview

The **Overview** tab provides a high-level view of event activity for a single source.

From this view, you can:

* Monitor **total event volume** over time
* Identify gaps, drops, or spikes in traffic
* See whether any **alerts** are currently active

Use the time range controls (`24h`, `3d`, `7d`) to analyze recent changes or longer-term trends.

This view is typically used to answer questions like:

* *Is this source actively sending events?*
* *Did volume change after a release or deployment?*
* *Are any alerts firing that require investigation?*

![Event source overview](https://mintcdn.com/hightouch-3c037897/L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo/images/events/sources/source-overview.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo\&q=85\&s=6af03d0fe3fa8fb2bfe390f2baae3a2d)

## Event catalog

The **Event catalog** lists all event types received from the source, along with their recent volume and configuration status.

For each event, you can:

* View the **event name and type** (for example, `Track`, `Identify`, or `Group`)
* Monitor **event volume** over time
* Configure **data contracts** to validate schema and required fields
* Set up **alerts** for volume-based changes

New event types appear in the catalog after they are received for the first time. This may take a few minutes after initial instrumentation.

Use the event catalog to:

* Understand which events are actively being sent
* Identify high- or low-volume events
* Decide where schema validation or alerting is needed

![Event catalog](https://mintcdn.com/hightouch-3c037897/L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo/images/events/sources/event-catalog.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo\&q=85\&s=8f99b088165a50f2ec5141bebb3d5249)

## Alerting

Alerting helps you detect unexpected changes in event behavior.

Alerts are configured at the **event level** from the **Event catalog**.

**Navigate to alerting:**

1. Go to **`Event Collection → Event sources`**
2. Select an event source
3. Open the **`Event catalog`** tab
4. Find the event you want to monitor
5. Click **Configure** in the **Alerts** column

![Configure alerts from the event catalog](https://mintcdn.com/hightouch-3c037897/L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo/images/events/sources/configure-alert-button.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo\&q=85\&s=4d2ed22e7dbf81fc45851519e8a82e7e)

This opens the event’s **Alerting** panel, where you can review alert history, define triggers, and configure recipients.

![Event alerting configuration](https://mintcdn.com/hightouch-3c037897/L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo/images/events/sources/alert-modal.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo\&q=85\&s=18401c8b60b87549539917182e789cb5)

From this panel, you can configure alerts to notify your team when:

* Event volume exceeds a high threshold
* Event volume drops below a minimum threshold

Alerts can be sent to external notification channels, such as email or messaging tools, so teams can respond quickly to issues.

Alerting is commonly used to:

* Detect broken or stalled event pipelines
* Catch unintended increases in event volume
* Monitor critical events that power downstream workflows

## Debugger

The **Debugger** lets you inspect individual events as they arrive from the source.

From the debugger, you can:

* View recently received events and timestamps
* Search events by name, type, or payload content
* Inspect the **full JSON payload** for a selected event
* Pause or clear the event stream during debugging

The debugger is especially useful during:

* Initial SDK or API setup
* Instrumentation changes
* Troubleshooting missing or malformed events

If no events appear, confirm that the SDK or integration is installed correctly and that the source is actively sending data.

![Event debugger](https://mintcdn.com/hightouch-3c037897/L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo/images/events/sources/debugger.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo\&q=85\&s=4b0bb6d1625d519b97f4f913b1899465)

## Setup

Use the **Setup** tab to install and configure the SDK or integration for this event source. This view provides source-specific installation instructions, including required keys, endpoints, and example code.

![Event source setup](https://mintcdn.com/hightouch-3c037897/L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo/images/events/sources/setup.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=L_vQfA0JQEpeGUUo\&q=85\&s=1b7cc6a8bd2360847d2a79a541797aa6)

## Next steps

* [**Send events to your warehouse**](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/warehouses/warehouse.md) once events are arriving
* [**Build your implementation**](https://docs.hightouch.com/events/implementation-plan.md#build-your-implementation) — the full set of steps from collection through monitoring