You run the Ackee server which then waits for requests through its API.
The API of Ackee accepts information about your visitors sent to it using ackee-tracker. It's a small script you add to your sites, similar to the JavaScript tracking snippet provided by Google Analytics.
The interface of Ackee lets you view and analyze your tracked information.
Ackee uses a JS snippet to aggregate data. Nginx logs won't work, but it might be possible to use the API of Ackee to build a custom import script.
Ackee only works with one user and it's not planned to add support for multiple user-accounts. Ackee is however lightweight enough to create one Ackee instance per user. All instances can be connected to the same MongoDB.
You can change the username and password environment variables whenever you want. Just make sure you restart Ackee after changing those.
There's no "account" in Ackee. Just delete your database or switch to a different one.
Matomo is more like Google Analytics in the way it works and what you can do with it. Ackee will never be a replacement if you are looking for a full-featured marketing analytics platform with tons of options and insights. Ackee tries to be less. Lightweight, easy to install and with a good balance between analytics and privacy.
Ackee is the right tool for you if Matomo offers more than you need and when you put a focus on the privacy of your users.
Ackee and Fathom are very similar. Both in the way they display data and how they process it. The biggest advantages at the moment of writing:
- Ackee is free and open-source
- Ackee offers a documented GraphQL API that lets you build upon it. The API can be used for custom import scripts or apps that display your current visitor stats in the menu bar. The possibilities are endless.
- Ackee allows you to track more than just page/site views (browser, system, etc.). This is optional and off by default, but great for people/companies that need more insights.
Each user increases the unique site view counter when visiting a domain for the first time a day.
Examples:
- User visits three pages of a domain => The count increases by one
- The same user visits your page at the end of the day => The count won't increase because the user is a returning user
- The same user visits two pages a on the next day => The count increases by one because new day = new user
Each visit or reload of a page will increase the total page views counter.
Examples:
- User views three pages of a domain => The count increases by three
- User reloads the same page two times => The count increases by three (initial visit + first reload + second reload)
No, the views aren't unique, because Ackee can't track returning users for individual pages. This is because Ackee isn't storing a browsing history of your users.
Examples:
- User visits three pages of a domain => The count of each page increases by one
- User reloads the same page two times => The count of the page increases by three (initial visit + first reload + second reload)