Fathom Lite Analytics

beginner

Simple, privacy-first website analytics (open-source lite version).

Overview

Fathom Lite Analytics is a privacy-first, open-source web analytics platform developed as a lightweight alternative to Google Analytics. Originally created by Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, Fathom focuses on providing essential website metrics without compromising visitor privacy or requiring cookie consent banners. The platform collects anonymous traffic data while being fully GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant by design. This Docker stack deploys Fathom using SQLite as the database backend, creating a self-contained analytics solution that stores all data locally on your infrastructure. The configuration uses persistent volumes for data retention and exposes the web interface on port 8080, making it accessible for both small personal websites and larger organizational deployments. This setup is ideal for developers, small businesses, and privacy-conscious organizations who want complete control over their analytics data without relying on third-party services that track users across the web.

Key Features

Privacy-first analytics with no personal data collection or IP address storage
SQLite database backend requiring no external database dependencies
Lightweight tracking script under 2KB that loads quickly on websites
Real-time visitor tracking and pageview statistics
GDPR compliant analytics without requiring cookie consent banners
Clean, minimalist dashboard showing essential metrics only
Self-hosted solution keeping all analytics data under your control
Anonymous visitor counting with basic geographic insights

Common Use Cases

1Small business websites needing basic traffic insights without privacy concerns
2Personal blogs and portfolio sites requiring lightweight analytics
3EU-based organizations needing GDPR-compliant analytics solutions
4Development agencies managing multiple client websites with privacy requirements
5Educational institutions tracking course material and resource usage
6Non-profit organizations monitoring campaign effectiveness while respecting donor privacy
7Tech startups replacing Google Analytics for improved user trust

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose installed on the host system
Minimum 512MB RAM available for the Fathom container
Port 8080 available and not conflicting with other services
Basic understanding of web analytics and tracking code implementation
Access to website source code for adding Fathom tracking script
Generated secret key for FATHOM_SECRET environment variable

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  fathom: 
3    image: usefathom/fathom:latest
4    container_name: fathom
5    environment: 
6      - FATHOM_SERVER_ADDR=:8080
7      - FATHOM_DATABASE_DRIVER=sqlite3
8      - FATHOM_DATABASE_NAME=/data/fathom.db
9      - FATHOM_SECRET=${FATHOM_SECRET}
10    volumes: 
11      - fathom-data:/data
12    ports: 
13      - "8080:8080"
14    networks: 
15      - fathom-network
16    restart: unless-stopped
17
18volumes: 
19  fathom-data: 
20
21networks: 
22  fathom-network: 
23    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1# Fathom Lite
2# Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
3FATHOM_SECRET=your_secret_key
4
5# Create user: fathom user add --email=you@example.com --password=yourpassword

Usage Notes

1Dashboard at http://localhost:8080
2Create user via CLI first
3Simple tracking script
4Privacy-focused by design
5Note: Lite version is limited

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  fathom:
5    image: usefathom/fathom:latest
6    container_name: fathom
7    environment:
8      - FATHOM_SERVER_ADDR=:8080
9      - FATHOM_DATABASE_DRIVER=sqlite3
10      - FATHOM_DATABASE_NAME=/data/fathom.db
11      - FATHOM_SECRET=${FATHOM_SECRET}
12    volumes:
13      - fathom-data:/data
14    ports:
15      - "8080:8080"
16    networks:
17      - fathom-network
18    restart: unless-stopped
19
20volumes:
21  fathom-data:
22
23networks:
24  fathom-network:
25    driver: bridge
26EOF
27
28# 2. Create the .env file
29cat > .env << 'EOF'
30# Fathom Lite
31# Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
32FATHOM_SECRET=your_secret_key
33
34# Create user: fathom user add --email=you@example.com --password=yourpassword
35EOF
36
37# 3. Start the services
38docker compose up -d
39
40# 4. View logs
41docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/fathom-analytics/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Dashboard shows 'Database locked' error: Stop the container, check file permissions on the volume mount, and ensure only one Fathom instance accesses the SQLite database
Cannot create admin user account: Use docker exec to run 'fathom user add' command inside the running container with appropriate email and password parameters
Tracking script not recording pageviews: Verify the site ID matches between dashboard and tracking code, and check browser console for JavaScript errors
Container fails to start with permission errors: Ensure the Docker daemon has write access to the volume mount point and the fathom user can access /data directory
Dashboard accessible but shows no data: Confirm tracking script is properly installed on website pages and test with browser developer tools network tab
High memory usage with large datasets: Consider migrating from SQLite to PostgreSQL for better performance with high-traffic websites

Community Notes

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