flask-metrics-visitors 0.6.0

A Flask extension for tracking and visualizing visitor metrics

Flask Metrics Visitors

A Flask extension for tracking and visualizing visitor metrics.

Features

• Track visitor sessions and page views
• Display real-time session analytics
• Filterable session data with DataTables
• Session duration and click tracking
• Page URL tracking
• Timezone-aware timestamps
• Persistent SQLite database storage

Demo

Dashboard Overview

Session Analytics

Detailed Session View

Requirements

• Python 3.7 or higher
• Flask 2.0.0 or higher
• Flask-SQLAlchemy 3.0.0 or higher
• Flask-Login 0.6.0 or higher

Installation

pip install flask-metrics-visitors

Development Setup

To build the package locally:

1. Install build dependencies:

pip install twine

2. Build the package with version increment:

# For a patch release (bug fixes)
./build.sh patch

# For a minor release (new features)
./build.sh minor

# For a major release (breaking changes)
./build.sh major

3. Upload to PyPI (if you have access):

./push.sh

The version number follows semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH):

• MAJOR version for incompatible API changes
• MINOR version for backwards-compatible functionality
• PATCH version for backwards-compatible bug fixes

Setup

You can initialize the extension in two ways:

1. Direct Initialization

from flask import Flask
from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy
from flask_metrics_visitors import MetricsVisitors

app = Flask(__name__)
db = SQLAlchemy(app)

# Initialize the metrics extension
metrics = MetricsVisitors(app, db)

# Get and register the blueprint after initialization
app.register_blueprint(metrics.get_blueprint())

2. Factory Pattern (Recommended)

from flask import Flask
from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy
from flask_metrics_visitors import MetricsVisitors

db = SQLAlchemy()
metrics = MetricsVisitors()

def create_app():
    app = Flask(__name__)
    
    # Configure your app
    app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///metrics.db'
    app.config['METRICS_VISITORS_SESSION_LIFETIME'] = 30
    app.config['METRICS_VISITORS_UPDATE_INTERVAL'] = 30
    
    # Initialize extensions
    db.init_app(app)
    metrics.init_app(app, db)
    
    # Register the blueprint after initialization
    app.register_blueprint(metrics.get_blueprint())
    
    return app

app = create_app()

3. Include the session tracking JavaScript in your base template:

<script src="{{ url_for('metrics_visitors.static', filename='js/session-tracker.js') }}"></script>

4. Create the database tables:

with app.app_context():
    db.create_all()

Database Configuration

The extension uses SQLite for persistent storage of session data. By default, the database is stored in the application's instance folder. You can configure the database path using:

app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///path/to/your/database.db'

Database Backup

It's recommended to implement regular backups of your SQLite database. Here's a simple backup strategy:

1. Create a backup directory:

mkdir -p backups

2. Set up a cron job to backup the database daily:

0 0 * * * cp /path/to/your/database.db /path/to/backups/database_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).db

Database Maintenance

The extension automatically:

• Cleans up old session data based on the configured retention period
• Handles database migrations when the schema changes
• Optimizes the database for performance

Usage

1. Access the metrics dashboard at /metrics
2. View session analytics at /metrics/session-analytics
3. Session data is automatically tracked and updated every 30 seconds
4. Use the DataTables interface to filter and sort session data

Session Tracking

The session tracker automatically:

• Tracks session duration
• Counts clicks
• Records page URLs
• Updates stats periodically
• Sends final stats on page unload
• Handles page visibility changes

Configuration

The following configuration options are available:

app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///metrics.db'  # SQLite database path
app.config['METRICS_VISITORS_SESSION_LIFETIME'] = 30  # Session lifetime in days
app.config['METRICS_VISITORS_UPDATE_INTERVAL'] = 30  # Update interval in seconds

Package Information

• Author: Patrick Hastings
• License: MIT
• Python Support: 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10
• Development Status: Beta
• Framework: Flask
• Environment: Web Environment

License

MIT