Events & Data Layer¶

The Waulter SDK pushes structured events to window.dataLayer at key moments in the consent lifecycle. These events enable you to build GTM triggers, track consent analytics, and integrate with your existing tag management setup.

Requires useGtm: true

Data layer events are only pushed when useGtm: true is set in your WaulterConfig. DOM CustomEvents fire regardless of this setting.

Complete event reference¶

Event	When it fires	Key data
`gtm.init_consent`	SDK starts, before default consent state	—
`Waulter:Loaded`	Configuration received from server, SDK ready	`customField1`–`customField10`
`Waulter:Open`	Consent banner shown to visitor	`customField1`–`customField10`
`Waulter:Decision`	Visitor makes a consent choice	`decision`, `purposes[]`, `customField1`–`customField10`
`Waulter:Closed`	Banner closes after decision	`customField1`–`customField10`
`Waulter:Login`	Visitor clicks the Waulter login button	`customField1`–`customField10`
`Waulter:CustomFieldsUpdated`	`setCustomFields()` called at runtime	`customField1`–`customField10`

Event schemas¶

Waulter:Decision¶

The most important event — fired when the visitor makes a consent choice:

{
  "event": "Waulter:Decision",
  "decision": "allow",
  "purposes": ["PU046", "PU050", "PU061"],
  "customField1": "premium",
  "customField2": "en",
  "customField3": "homepage"
}

Field	Type	Values	Description
`event`	string	`"Waulter:Decision"`	Event name
`decision`	string	`"allow"`, `"mixed"`, `"reject"`	The visitor's consent decision
`purposes`	string[]	Purpose codes	Array of accepted purpose codes (empty for `"reject"`)
`customField1`–`customField10`	string	Any	Custom field values from WaulterConfig

Decision values:

Decision	Meaning	`purposes` array
`allow`	Visitor accepted all purposes	All purpose codes
`mixed`	Visitor customised — some accepted, some rejected	Only the accepted codes
`reject`	Visitor rejected all non-essential purposes	Empty `[]`

Waulter:Loaded¶

Fired when the SDK has received configuration from the server and is ready:

{
  "event": "Waulter:Loaded",
  "customField1": "premium",
  "customField2": "en"
}

Waulter:Open / Waulter:Closed¶

Banner visibility events:

{ "event": "Waulter:Open", "customField1": "premium" }
{ "event": "Waulter:Closed", "customField1": "premium" }

Waulter:CustomFieldsUpdated¶

Fired when custom fields are updated at runtime via setCustomFields():

{
  "event": "Waulter:CustomFieldsUpdated",
  "customField1": "enterprise",
  "customField4": "logged-in"
}

Event lifecycle scenarios¶

Page Load
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({ event: "gtm.init_consent" })
  |
  +-- gtag('consent', 'default', { all signals: 'denied' })
  |
  +-- SDK loads configuration from server
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({ event: "Waulter:Loaded" })
  |
  +-- No existing consent --> banner opens
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({ event: "Waulter:Open" })
  |
  |   ... visitor interacts with banner ...
  |
  +-- Visitor clicks "Accept All"
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({
  |     event: "Waulter:Decision",
  |     decision: "allow",
  |     purposes: ["PU046", "PU047", "PU050", "PU061", ...]
  |   })
  |
  +-- gtag('consent', 'update', {
  |     analytics_storage: 'granted',
  |     ad_storage: 'granted', ...
  |   })
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({ event: "Waulter:Closed" })

Page Load
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({ event: "gtm.init_consent" })
  |
  +-- gtag('consent', 'default', { all signals: 'denied' })
  |
  +-- SDK loads configuration + existing consent from server
  |
  +-- gtag('consent', 'update', {
  |     analytics_storage: 'granted', ...  // from stored consent
  |   })
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({
  |     event: "Waulter:Decision",
  |     decision: "allow",
  |     purposes: [... stored purposes ...]
  |   })
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({ event: "Waulter:Loaded" })
  |
  +-- Banner does NOT open

Returning visitors still fire Waulter:Decision

Even when the banner is not shown, the SDK fires Waulter:Decision with the stored consent. This ensures GTM triggers fire and consent-dependent tags activate on every page load.

Reject all¶

  +-- Visitor clicks "Reject All"
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({
  |     event: "Waulter:Decision",
  |     decision: "reject",
  |     purposes: []
  |   })
  |
  +-- gtag('consent', 'update', { all signals: 'denied' })
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({ event: "Waulter:Closed" })

Mixed (custom selection)¶

  +-- Visitor selects PU046 and PU050, deselects others
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({
  |     event: "Waulter:Decision",
  |     decision: "mixed",
  |     purposes: ["PU046", "PU050"]
  |   })
  |
  +-- gtag('consent', 'update', {
  |     analytics_storage: 'granted',
  |     ad_storage: 'denied',
  |     ad_personalization: 'denied', ...
  |   })
  |
  +-- dataLayer.push({ event: "Waulter:Closed" })

On page load, the SDK sets all signals to denied:

gtag('consent', 'default', {
  ad_personalization: 'denied',
  ad_storage: 'denied',
  ad_user_data: 'denied',
  analytics_storage: 'denied',
  functionality_storage: 'denied',
  personalization_storage: 'denied',
  security_storage: 'denied'
});

Purpose-to-signal mapping¶

Each purpose maps to one or more Google Consent Mode signals. When a visitor accepts a purpose, the corresponding signals are set to granted:

Purpose Code	Name	GCM Signal
PU046	Web Analytics (Basic)	`analytics_storage`
PU047	Advertising / Marketing	`ad_storage`
PU050	A/B Testing	`analytics_storage`
PU061	Advanced Analytics	`analytics_storage`
PU072	Personalised Advertising	`ad_personalization`
PU073	Remarketing	`ad_personalization`
PU074	Ad Network Measurement	`ad_storage`

Signal aggregation

A signal is set to granted if any accepted purpose maps to it. For example, if the visitor accepts only PU046 (Web Analytics), analytics_storage becomes granted — even though PU050 and PU061 also map to the same signal.

After the visitor decides, the SDK builds a consent update by:

Starting with all signals set to denied
For each accepted purpose, reading its mapped GCM signal(s)
Setting those signals to granted

// Example: visitor accepted PU046 + PU047
gtag('consent', 'update', {
  ad_personalization: 'denied',
  ad_storage: 'granted',        // PU047
  ad_user_data: 'denied',
  analytics_storage: 'granted',  // PU046
  functionality_storage: 'denied',
  personalization_storage: 'denied',
  security_storage: 'denied'
});

Listening for events in JavaScript¶

Using addEventListener¶

// Listen for consent decisions
window.addEventListener('Waulter:Decision', function(event) {
  console.log('Decision:', event.detail.decision);
  console.log('Purposes:', event.detail.purposes);
});

// Listen for SDK ready
window.addEventListener('Waulter:Loaded', function(event) {
  console.log('Waulter CMP loaded');
});

// Legacy event name (still works)
window.addEventListener('cb:decision', function(event) {
  console.log('Decision:', event.detail.decision);
});

Legacy event names¶

Current	Legacy
`Waulter:Loaded`	`cb:loaded`
`Waulter:Open`	`cb:open`
`Waulter:Decision`	`cb:decision`
`Waulter:Closed`	`cb:closed`
`Waulter:Login`	`cb:login`

Building GTM triggers¶

Step 1 — Create data layer variables¶

In GTM, create the following Data Layer Variables (Version 2):

Variable Name	Data Layer Key
`Waulter_Decision`	`decision`
`Waulter_Purposes`	`purposes`

Step 2 — Create purpose-checking variables¶

Create Custom JavaScript Variables to check if specific purpose categories are accepted:

Web analytics allowed?

function() {
  var purposes = {{Waulter_Purposes}};
  if (Array.isArray(purposes)) {
    return purposes.includes("PU061") ||
           purposes.includes("PU046") ||
           purposes.includes("PU050");
  }
  return false;
}

Advertising allowed?

function() {
  var purposes = {{Waulter_Purposes}};
  if (Array.isArray(purposes)) {
    return purposes.includes("PU047") ||
           purposes.includes("PU072") ||
           purposes.includes("PU073") ||
           purposes.includes("PU074");
  }
  return false;
}

A/B testing allowed?

function() {
  var purposes = {{Waulter_Purposes}};
  if (Array.isArray(purposes)) {
    return purposes.includes("PU050");
  }
  return false;
}

Step 3 — Create triggers¶

Create Custom Event triggers in GTM:

Trigger name	Event name	Condition
Consent — Accept All	`Waulter:Decision`	`Waulter_Decision` contains `allow`
Consent — Analytics Allowed	`Waulter:Decision`	`Web analytics allowed?` equals `true`
Consent — Ads Allowed	`Waulter:Decision`	`Advertising allowed?` equals `true`
Consent — A/B Testing Allowed	`Waulter:Decision`	`A/B testing allowed?` equals `true`

Step 4 — Assign triggers to tags¶

Tag	Trigger
Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration	Consent — Analytics Allowed
Google Ads Conversion Tracking	Consent — Ads Allowed
Facebook Pixel	Consent — Ads Allowed
Optimizely / VWO	Consent — A/B Testing Allowed