# Plausible Analytics — Privacy-First Google Analytics Alternative

> Plausible is an open-source, cookie-free web analytics tool that provides essential traffic insights while respecting visitor privacy. GDPR/CCPA compliant by design.

## Install

Save the content below to `.claude/skills/` or append to your `CLAUDE.md`:

## Quick Use

Add one script tag to your website:

```html
<script defer data-domain="yourdomain.com" src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"></script>
```

Or self-host with Docker:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/plausible/hosting.git
cd hosting
docker compose up -d
```

Open `http://localhost:8000` — register and add your first site.

## Intro

**Plausible Analytics** is an open-source, privacy-first web analytics platform designed as a lightweight alternative to Google Analytics. It provides all essential website traffic insights in a clean, simple dashboard — without cookies, without personal data collection, and fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR out of the box.

With 24.6K+ GitHub stars and AGPL-3.0 license, Plausible has become the go-to choice for privacy-conscious website owners who want actionable analytics without the complexity and privacy concerns of Google Analytics.

## What Plausible Does

Plausible focuses on essential web analytics without bloat:

- **Traffic Overview**: Unique visitors, page views, bounce rate, visit duration — all in one dashboard
- **Source Attribution**: See where your traffic comes from (search engines, social media, referral sites, campaigns)
- **Page Analytics**: Most visited pages, entry pages, exit pages with real-time data
- **Location Data**: Country and city-level breakdown without IP tracking (uses timezone-based approximation)
- **Device Analytics**: Browser, OS, and screen size breakdown
- **Goal & Event Tracking**: Custom events, revenue tracking, and conversion funnels
- **UTM Campaign Tracking**: Full UTM parameter support for marketing campaigns

## Why Privacy-First Matters

```
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Google Analytics               │
│  ✗ 45KB script                 │
│  ✗ Sets cookies                │
│  ✗ Tracks across sites         │
│  ✗ Requires cookie banner      │
│  ✗ Data sent to Google         │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Plausible Analytics            │
│  ✓ <1KB script                 │
│  ✓ No cookies                  │
│  ✓ No cross-site tracking      │
│  ✓ No consent banner needed    │
│  ✓ Data stays with you         │
└─────────────────────────────────┘
```

Plausible achieves accurate analytics without cookies by using a hash of the visitor's IP address + User-Agent for daily unique identification. This hash is rotated daily and never stored, making it impossible to track individual users.

## Self-Hosting Guide

### Prerequisites

- Docker and Docker Compose
- A server with 2GB+ RAM
- A domain with DNS configured

### Setup

```bash
git clone https://github.com/plausible/hosting.git
cd hosting

# Configure
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env:
# BASE_URL=https://analytics.yourdomain.com
# SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(openssl rand -base64 48)

# Start
docker compose up -d
```

### ClickHouse Backend

Plausible uses ClickHouse for analytics data storage, providing:
- Sub-second query performance on millions of events
- Efficient columnar compression (10-20x less storage than row-based DBs)
- Time-series optimized aggregations

### Reverse Proxy (Nginx)

```nginx
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name analytics.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}
```

## Advanced Features

### Custom Event Tracking

```html
<script>
  // Track button clicks
  document.getElementById('signup-btn').addEventListener('click', function() {
    plausible('Signup', { props: { plan: 'pro' } });
  });

  // Track revenue
  plausible('Purchase', { revenue: { currency: 'USD', amount: 29.99 } });
</script>
```

### API Access

```bash
# Get site stats
curl "https://plausible.io/api/v1/stats/realtime/visitors?site_id=yourdomain.com" 
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

# Get breakdown by page
curl "https://plausible.io/api/v1/stats/breakdown?site_id=yourdomain.com&period=30d&property=event:page" 
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## Plausible vs Alternatives

| Feature | Plausible | Google Analytics | Umami | Fathom |
|---------|-----------|-----------------|-------|--------|
| Open Source | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | No | Yes (MIT) | No |
| Cookie-free | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Script size | <1KB | 45KB | 2KB | 5KB |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Real-time | Yes | Delayed | Yes | Yes |
| ClickHouse | Yes | Proprietary | No | No |
| Revenue tracking | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |

## FAQ

**Q: How does it count unique visitors without cookies?**
A: Plausible identifies unique visitors using a daily-rotating hash of the visitor's IP + User-Agent. The hash is not stored, resets automatically each day, and cannot be used for cross-day tracking.

**Q: What are the server requirements for self-hosting?**
A: 2GB RAM minimum, 4GB+ recommended. For sites with under 100K daily visits, 1 core and 2GB runs smoothly. ClickHouse will use significant memory for query caching.

**Q: Can I migrate from Google Analytics?**
A: Yes. Plausible provides a GA import tool that supports historical data from Google Analytics (both UA and GA4).

## Source & Thanks

- GitHub: [plausible/analytics](https://github.com/plausible/analytics) — 24.6K+ ⭐ | AGPL-3.0
- Website: [plausible.io](https://plausible.io)

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/plausible-analytics-privacy-first-google-analytics-55cad36c
Author: Script Depot