# GoatCounter — Privacy-Friendly Open Source Web Analytics

> GoatCounter is a lightweight, privacy-respecting web analytics tool written in Go. It tracks page views without cookies, fingerprinting, or personal data collection, and can be self-hosted as a single binary.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# GoatCounter — Privacy-Friendly Open Source Web Analytics

## Quick Use
```bash
# Download the latest release binary
wget https://github.com/arp242/goatcounter/releases/latest/download/goatcounter-linux-amd64.gz
gunzip goatcounter-linux-amd64.gz && chmod +x goatcounter-linux-amd64
# Start the server
./goatcounter-linux-amd64 serve -listen :8080 -tls none
```

## Introduction
GoatCounter provides web analytics that respect visitor privacy. It does not use cookies, does not collect personal data, and does not require a consent banner. The result is a simple, fast dashboard showing the traffic metrics that matter.

## What GoatCounter Does
- Counts page views, unique visits, referrers, and browser/OS statistics
- Works without cookies, localStorage, or fingerprinting
- Provides a dashboard with daily, weekly, and monthly traffic breakdowns
- Tracks campaigns and UTM parameters for marketing attribution
- Exports data as CSV for offline analysis

## Architecture Overview
GoatCounter is a single Go binary with an embedded SQLite database. It serves both the tracking endpoint and the analytics dashboard. The tracking script is a 1.5 KB JavaScript snippet that sends a lightweight beacon to the server on each page load. No personal data is stored — visit counts are aggregated by day and path. For higher-traffic sites, PostgreSQL can replace SQLite as the storage backend.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Run the single binary on any Linux, macOS, or Windows system
- Add the tracking script to your site with one HTML tag
- Configure automatic HTTPS with Let's Encrypt or run behind a reverse proxy
- Switch from SQLite to PostgreSQL by setting a database connection string
- Set up multiple sites under one installation with separate dashboards

## Key Features
- No cookies and no personal data storage — fully GDPR-compliant by design
- Lightweight tracking script under 1.5 KB with no external dependencies
- API access for reading analytics data programmatically
- Configurable public or private dashboards
- Built-in bot and crawler filtering to keep stats accurate

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Plausible Analytics** — similar privacy focus with a polished SaaS UI; GoatCounter is simpler and can run as a single binary with SQLite
- **Umami** — privacy-friendly analytics with a modern dashboard; GoatCounter is lighter and requires fewer dependencies
- **Matomo** — full-featured analytics suite with PHP and MySQL; GoatCounter is much simpler and avoids cookie-based tracking
- **Fathom** — privacy-first analytics as a commercial SaaS; GoatCounter is fully open source and free to self-host
- **Google Analytics** — comprehensive but relies on cookies and personal data; GoatCounter provides essential metrics without privacy concerns

## FAQ
**Q: Do I need a cookie consent banner with GoatCounter?**
A: No. GoatCounter does not use cookies or collect personal data, so consent banners are not needed under GDPR or similar regulations.

**Q: How accurate are the analytics without cookies?**
A: GoatCounter counts page loads and uses a hash of the IP address plus date to estimate unique visitors. This provides useful aggregate data without tracking individuals.

**Q: Can I use GoatCounter with a static site?**
A: Yes. The tracking script works with any HTML page regardless of the hosting platform — static sites, SPAs, and server-rendered pages all work.

**Q: Is there a hosted version?**
A: Yes. The author runs a free hosted service at goatcounter.com for small sites, or you can self-host for full control.

## Sources
- https://github.com/arp242/goatcounter
- https://www.goatcounter.com/

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/134a0dec-4126-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: AI Open Source