[INFRASTRUCTURE] Self-Hosting Plausible Analytics via Docker to Beat AdBlockers

[JackaL]

[INFRASTRUCTURE] Self-Hosting Plausible Analytics via Docker to Beat AdBlockers

Google Analytics (GA4) is bloated, violates GDPR, and is blocked by 40% of internet users using Brave Browser or uBlock Origin. This means your traffic data is wildly inaccurate. The solution is self-hosting a lightweight tracker like Plausible on your own domain/VPS.

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Why Self-Host Plausible?
Because the tracking script originates from a first-party subdomain (e.g., `stats.yourdomain.com`), adblockers do not flag it. You capture 100% of your real traffic data.

Quick Docker Deployment:
Assuming you have Docker and Docker Compose installed on an Ubuntu VPS, grab the official repository:

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

# Generate a random secret key
openssl rand -base64 64 

# Edit the environment variables
nano plausible-conf.env
# Insert your secret_key_base and admin email/password here.

# Spin up the containers
docker-compose up -d

Put the container behind an Nginx reverse proxy using Certbot for SSL, and you have a completely private, unblockable analytics dashboard.