arp242/goatcounter
Goatcounter
Goatcounter is a self-hosted web analytics platform that collects visitor statistics without cookies, personal data, or persistent identifiers. It uses privacy-preserving techniques like anonymous session hashing to count page views and visits, and can be deployed on your own infrastructure using a binary or Docker container with SQLite or PostgreSQL storage.
The platform offers multiple data collection methods, including a lightweight JavaScript snippet, an image-based tracking pixel for environments where scripts are blocked, and server log file parsing from nginx, Apache, Caddy, or CloudFront. It provides aggregated dashboard statistics, per-path views, referral data, and browser and system breakdowns, while distinguishing unique visitor sessions from individual pageviews through privacy-preserving deduplication.
Goatcounter supports integration with static site generators and CMS platforms like Gatsby, WordPress, and Write.as, and includes a REST API for programmatic data ingestion with batching and higher rate limits. The system handles automatic TLS certificate provisioning via ACME, applies database migrations on startup, and allows full data export in CSV format for backup or migration.
Features
- Privacy-Focused Analytics - Collects website visitor statistics without cookies, personal data, or persistent identifiers using anonymous session hashing.
- Self-Hosted Analytics Platforms - Provides a complete self-hosted analytics platform deployable on private infrastructure for data ownership.
- Analytics Integrations - Provides a lightweight JavaScript snippet for collecting pageview data without personal information.
- Page View Tracking - Records visits by loading a small image pixel, sending the page's URL and referrer for aggregation.
- SQLite or PostgreSQL Storage - Persists analytics data in either a local SQLite file or a remote PostgreSQL database.
- Self-Hosted Deployments - Runs the full analytics application on user-owned infrastructure using a binary or Docker container.
- Script Tag Integrations - Provides a script tag integration for collecting visitor statistics with minimal overhead.
- Salted Hash Session Identification - Identifies unique visits by computing a salted hash of IP and user agent without storing personal data.
- Dashboard Retrieval - Fetches pageview totals, per-path views, referral stats, and browser breakdowns via API endpoints.
- Privacy-Preserving Visit Identifiers - Creates a temporary session identifier from site ID, User-Agent, and IP without storing personal data.
- Pageview Tracking - Adds a JavaScript snippet to any webpage to count visits without collecting personal data.
- Cookie-Less Tracking - Collects anonymous visit statistics without cookies, unique identifiers, or personal data.
- WordPress Integration - Offers a dedicated WordPress plugin or custom JavaScript snippet for analytics integration.
- JavaScript-Free Tracking Integrations - Records page views using image-based tracking pixels or server-side log parsing when JavaScript is blocked.
- Web Traffic Metrics - Records browser information, location, screen size, referring sites, and campaign data for each page visit.
- Data Ingestion APIs - Accepts page view data programmatically through an HTTP API for backend middleware integration.
- Static Site Integrations - Provides ready-made setup instructions for embedding analytics into static site generators.
- Traffic Analysis - Records referring sites and campaign parameters to show where visitors originate.
- Visitor Attribute Profilers - Captures browser details, geographic location, and screen size to build audience profiles.
- Visitor Detail Collectors - Records browser information, location, screen size, referring sites, and campaign data for each page view.
- REST API Integrations - Provides a REST API for programmatic pageview data ingestion with batching and higher rate limits.
- Server Log Analytics Importers - Parses server access logs to generate website statistics without any client-side code.
- Web Visitor Statistics Reports - Gathers browser, location, screen size, referring sites, and campaign data from page views.
- Server-Side Pageview Senders - Sends pageview data from a server-side application with batching support and higher rate limits.
- Unique Visit Sessions - Aggregates multiple page loads from the same visitor into a single visit to prevent inflated statistics.
- Image Pixel Tracking - Ships both a JavaScript snippet and a no-JavaScript tracking pixel for pageview collection.
- Analytics - Easy web statistics without tracking personal user data.
- Analytics Platforms - Easy-to-use web analytics without personal data tracking.
- Analytics Tools - Listed in the “Analytics Tools” section of the Awesome Selfhosted awesome list.
- Privacy Focused Analytics - Open-source analytics available as a hosted or self-hosted service.
- Web Analytics - Analytics platform designed without user tracking.
Star history
How this analysis was created: This summary and feature list are AI-generated from collected project material and can contain mistakes. Stars, license and language are imported from GitHub. Inclusion does not mean that we have tested or audited this project. Check the source documentation for any feature you depend on. Learn more on our About page.
