Forward from your own GTM server

A GTM server container sends events wherever its own tags point, which on its own means PixelFox never sees them. The PixelFox Forwarder tag closes that gap: for every event the container processes, it posts the same event to PixelFox, so it lands in your dashboard, joins the visitor's stitched identity, and reaches the destinations you connected. It works in any server container, whether it runs on Google Cloud Run, on your own infrastructure, or as a PixelFox dedicated container.

Set up

1. Generate a forwarding secret. Open Dashboard → your site → sGTM hosting, pick a container (a shared one is fine if you host the server container yourself) and press Generate forwarding secret under Forward events from a GTM server container. Copy it now; it is shown once. Generate a new secret replaces it and the old one stops working after you confirm.
2. Import the tag. Either import the whole pixelfox-server-sgtm.json server container (GA4 client, GA4 forwarding tag and the Forwarder), or add just the tag to a container you already have: Templates → Tag Templates → New → Import the pixelfox-forwarder.tpl file, then create a tag from it.
3. Paste the secret into the tag's Forwarding secret field (or the PixelFox Forward Secret variable if you imported the container) and set the tag to fire on All Events.
4. Preview, fire one event of each kind, and watch them arrive in Events → Live explorer. Then publish.

The tag states the visitor's own IP address and user agent along with each event, so PixelFox attributes geography and devices to the shopper rather than to the server container's address.

What happens to forwarded events

• They appear in the dashboard, count toward your plan's event allowance, and are deduplicated against browser pixels on the event_id your container sends.
• GA4 never receives a forwarded event from PixelFox. Your server container's own GA4 tag already sent it, and a second copy could not be deduplicated.
• Every other destination you connected receives them while Send forwarded events to destinations is on, which is the default for a container with a secret. Turn it off and forwarded events are stored and stitched but sent nowhere.
• A wrong or rotated secret is refused; a paused container refuses too.

Avoiding double sends

A forwarded event can reach an ad platform twice if your server container has its own tag for a destination that is also connected in PixelFox.

• Meta and TikTok collapse duplicates that share an event_id. Keep event_id mapped on your server tags and the pair counts once.
• Anything else, or if you would rather not rely on that: turn off Send forwarded events to destinations for the container, or remove the destination from one side.