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

# Track users and sessions

> Track multi-turn journeys and individual behavior in your Openlayer traces

By default, Openlayer treats each request as a standalone trace.
With **users** and **sessions**, you can connect those traces into journeys —
making it easier to see **how people interact with your system across time**.

<img width="700" style={{ borderRadius: "0.5rem" }} src="https://mintcdn.com/openlayer-44/GsdFi44ahVZcKiSJ/images/monitoring/sessions_and_users.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=GsdFi44ahVZcKiSJ&q=85&s=77af7d02a5bc21cf7870667f95b5ae8d" alt="Sessions and users" data-path="images/monitoring/sessions_and_users.png" />

A **session** represents a series of related interactions (e.g., a multi-turn chatbot conversation).
While a **user** is the individual behind one or more sessions, identified by an ID.

In the Openlayer UI, you can filter and group traces by `session_id` or `user_id` to:

* Inspect full conversation threads.
* Track user journeys end-to-end.
* Identify problematic patterns tied to specific users or flows.

## How add session and user

There are two ways to attach user/session information:

### 1. Set default context

Set the context once (e.g., in middleware) and all traces
created in that request will inherit it.

<CodeGroup>
  ```python Python - Middleware setup theme={null}
  from openlayer.lib import set_user_session_context, clear_user_session_context

  # In your middleware or request handler
  def handle_request(request): # Extract user and session from your authentication system
      user_id = get_user_id_from_request(request)
      session_id = get_session_id_from_request(request)

      # Set default context for all traces in this request
      set_user_session_context(user_id=user_id, session_id=session_id)

      try:
          # Your application logic with traced functions
          result = process_user_request(request.data)
          return result
      finally:
          # Clean up context when request is complete
          clear_user_session_context()
  ```

  ```python Python - Flask example theme={null}
  from flask import Flask, request
  from openlayer.lib import set_user_session_context, clear_user_session_context, trace

  app = Flask(__name__)

  @app.before_request
  def before_request():
      # Extract from headers, cookies, or JWT tokens
      user_id = request.headers.get('X-User-ID')
      session_id = request.headers.get('X-Session-ID')

      if user_id or session_id:
          set_user_session_context(user_id=user_id, session_id=session_id)

  @app.after_request
  def after_request(response):
      clear_user_session_context()
      return response

  @app.route('/chat')
  @trace()
  def chat_endpoint():
      # This trace will automatically include user_id and session_id
      user_message = request.json.get('message')
      response = generate_chat_response(user_message)
      return {'response': response}

  ```
</CodeGroup>

### 2. Override context for specific traces

If you only want to set context for certain traces, use `update_trace_user_session()`.

<CodeGroup>
  ```python Python - Override Context for Specific Traces theme={null}
  from openlayer.lib import update_trace_user_session

  @trace()
  def process_request():
      update_trace_user_session(
          user_id="different_user_123",
          session_id="different_session_123"
      )
      return "result"
  ```
</CodeGroup>