I’m creating fastify-matomo, a plugin for the fastify back-end framework on NodeJS.
I looked at the tracking API and tried to fill every field I could :
action_name = route method + path (e.g. GET /item/:id)
url = the full request URL
_id = the user’s IP address & user-agent header concatenated and hashed using [CRC]-64 (one of the rare hashing algorithms I found that outputs 16-chars hexadecimal strings)
urlref = the user’s referer header
ua = the user’s user-agent header
lang = the user’s accept-language header
cdt = the request’s UNIX timestamp
pf_srv = the server’s response time (unless the plugin is set to run at request time)
Some fastify-specific details :
By default, the plugin is set to run at response time, i.e. when the onResponse hook is fired, which provides a getResponseTime method.
I’m using it to fill pf_srv (rounded, because it returns a decimal value in milliseconds).
I’m also using it to fill cdt, by subtracting it from the current timestamp.
The plugin can be set to run at request time, i.e. when the preHandler hook is fired.
In this case, I’m simply filling cdt with the current timestamp, and don’t fill pf_srv.
This option is needed when the route returns a non-HTTP response like WS or SSE.
The default method blindly on the framework’s time measurement, but I could have done it some other way :
always listen to both preHandler and onResponse
generate the current timestamp in both hooks
fill cdt with the first value
fill pf_srv with the subtraction of both
Have I done it right ?
Could I add more data ?
Are there useful resources regarding server-side analytics on Matomo ?
Thanks !
You may visit the link below to read this post with hyperlinks.
(I hope you provided a solution to set the matomo URL and site ID…)
rand(recommended) — Meant to hold a random value that is generated before each request. Using it helps avoid the tracking request being cached by the browser or a proxy.
apiv(recommended) — The parameter &apiv=1 defines the api version to use (currently always set to 1)
res — The resolution of the device the visitor is using, eg 1280x1024 .
h — The current hour (local time).
m — The current minute (local time).
s — The current second (local time).
plugins used by the visitor can be specified by setting the following parameters to 1: fla (Flash), java (Java), dir (Director), qt (Quicktime), realp (Real Player), pdf (PDF), wma (Windows Media), gears (Gears), ag (Silverlight).
cookie — when set to 1, the visitor’s client is known to support cookies.
(I hope also you provide solutions to track events, custom dimensions, content, media, ecommerce… )
I hope you provided a solution to set the matomo URL and site ID
I did : if you look at the main script, you’ll find those parameters declared at lines 16 and 18, then used at lines 28 and 33.
rand […]
apiv […]
Those are also provided at lines 35 (I used nanoid) and 36.
res […]
h […]
m […]
s […]
plugins used by the visitor […]
cookie […]
If I’m not mistaken, this data can only be detected client-side, however, my tracking is exclusively server-side.
I hope also you provide solutions to track events
I just started 2 days ago, so I’m not there yet, but I plan to.
custom dimensions, content, media, ecommerce…
Those, however, are way beyond what I need (and understand), so I don’t think I’d implement these features in the near future, although anyone is free to make a PR.
Yes, you are right, I read too quick (and missed « back-end framework on NodeJS »
Then I think it will be difficult for you to track content interactions or media… (but you’ll be able to track content impressions)
I’m mostly wondering if there are some people here, who would be experienced with both Matomo and back-end development, so they could tell me if I’m doing things right and if could add more data.
)
