Cloudflare Zaraz

Expert guidance for Cloudflare Zaraz - server-side tag manager for loading third-party tools at the edge.

What is Zaraz?

Zaraz offloads third-party scripts (analytics, ads, chat, marketing) to Cloudflare's edge, improving site speed, privacy, and security. Zero client-side performance impact.

Core Concepts:

Server-side execution - Scripts run on Cloudflare, not user's browser
Single HTTP request - All tools loaded via one endpoint
Privacy-first - Control data sent to third parties
No client-side JS overhead - Minimal browser impact

Quick Start

Navigate to domain > Zaraz in Cloudflare dashboard
Click "Start setup"
Add tools (Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc.)
Configure triggers (when tools fire)
Add tracking code to your site:

// Track page view
zaraz.track('page_view');

// Track custom event
zaraz.track('button_click', { button_id: 'cta' });

// Set user properties
zaraz.set('userId', 'user_123');

When to Use Zaraz

Use Zaraz when:

Adding multiple third-party tools (analytics, ads, marketing)
Site performance is critical (no client-side JS overhead)
Privacy compliance required (GDPR, CCPA)
Non-technical teams need to manage tools

Use Workers directly when:

Building custom server-side tracking logic
Need full control over data processing
Integrating with complex backend systems
Zaraz's tool library doesn't meet needs

In This Reference

File	Purpose	When to Read
api.md	Web API, zaraz object, consent methods	Implementing tracking calls
configuration.md	Dashboard setup, triggers, tools	Initial setup, adding tools
patterns.md	SPA, e-commerce, Worker integration	Best practices, common scenarios
gotchas.md	Troubleshooting, limits, pitfalls	Debugging issues

Reading Order by Task

Task	Files to Read
Add analytics to site	README → configuration.md
Track custom events	README → api.md
Debug tracking issues	gotchas.md
SPA tracking	api.md → patterns.md (SPA section)
E-commerce tracking	api.md#ecommerce → patterns.md#ecommerce
Worker integration	patterns.md#worker-integration
GDPR compliance	api.md#consent → configuration.md#consent

Decision Tree

What do you need?

├─ Track events in browser → api.md
│   ├─ Page views, clicks → zaraz.track()
│   ├─ User properties → zaraz.set()
│   └─ E-commerce → zaraz.ecommerce()
│
├─ Configure Zaraz → configuration.md
│   ├─ Add GA4/Facebook → tools setup
│   ├─ When tools fire → triggers
│   └─ GDPR consent → consent purposes
│
├─ Integrate with Workers → patterns.md#worker-integration
│   ├─ Enrich context → Context Enrichers
│   └─ Inject tracking → HTML rewriting
│
└─ Debug issues → gotchas.md
    ├─ Events not firing → troubleshooting
    ├─ Consent issues → consent debugging
    └─ Performance → debugging tools

Key Features

100+ Pre-built Tools - GA4, Facebook, Google Ads, TikTok, etc.
Zero Client Impact - Runs at Cloudflare's edge, not browser
Privacy Controls - Consent management, data filtering
Custom Tools - Build Managed Components for proprietary systems
Worker Integration - Enrich context, compute dynamic values
Debug Mode - Real-time event inspection

Reference

This skill focuses exclusively on Zaraz. For Workers development, see cloudflare-workers skill.