About Plausible Analytics
Plausible is a small analytics product. A short script records page views. The default setup does not use cookies. The dashboard is one screen of traffic, sources and goals. Self-hosting uses ClickHouse for events and PostgreSQL for the app.
Why it exists
Full analytics suites were heavy to load and heavy to explain. Plausible keeps a short script and a short report.
Who uses it
Site owners who want traffic numbers and a script that stays small.
What it is used for
Website traffic, referral sources and simple goals. It is not a product-analytics warehouse.
Open source behind the product
The hosted product at Plausible.io runs this AGPL-3.0 code. Self-hosting means you also operate ClickHouse. Elixir and PostgreSQL complete the app.
How to run it on a server
- Use the official Docker Compose guide. It starts the app, PostgreSQL and ClickHouse.
- Give ClickHouse its own disk. That volume is the one that grows.
- Put HTTPS in front and set the base URL and secret from the current guide.
- Back up both databases. Do not copy an old compose file from a blog.
Follow the project's own guide for the version you install. Commands and file names change between releases.
How to contribute
Docs, a reproduced bug and a focused pull request help. Start from the plausible/analytics contributing notes.
- Read the project's guidelines. Open the repository and look for CONTRIBUTING, the code of conduct and the README.
- Find something to work on. Browse good first issues or all open issues. Documentation and bug reports count.
- Make a small change. Fork the repository, work on a branch, and keep the change focused.
- Open a pull request. Say what changed and why, and link the issue. See open pull requests.
Contributions are accepted under the project's own licence (AGPL-3.0). Some projects also ask you to sign a contributor agreement. A doc fix or a reproduced bug is a real contribution.
Licence: AGPL-3.0
Strong copyleft. You can use and modify it, including commercially. If you run a modified version as a network service, you must offer its source code to users under the same licence.
This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice. Read the licence in the repository before you ship it or sell a service on top of it.