GoatCounter Deployment Guide on RamNode VPS | Privacy-Friendly Web Analytics

Why GoatCounter?

Privacy-first: No cookies, no personal data tracking, no GDPR consent banners required
Lightweight: Single Go binary with ~3.5 KB tracking script — minimal impact on page load times
Simple dashboard: Clean, accessible interface focused on meaningful metrics over overwhelming data
Flexible integration: JavaScript snippet, no-JS tracking pixel, backend middleware, or log file import
Open source: EUPL-licensed, fully auditable, no vendor lock-in

A RamNode 2 GB KVM VPS at $10/month provides more than enough headroom for even high-traffic sites. RamNode's 99.99% uptime SLA and premium network ensure your analytics remain consistently available.

Prerequisites

Requirement	Details
RamNode VPS	2 GB KVM or higher (1 GB works for low-traffic sites)
Operating System	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (clean install recommended)
Domain/Subdomain	e.g., stats.yourdomain.com, pointed to your VPS IP via DNS A record
SSH Access	Root or sudo-capable user with SSH key authentication
DNS Propagation	Ensure DNS A record is active before starting

GoatCounter requires a dedicated subdomain (e.g., stats.yourdomain.com). Configure your DNS A record to point to your RamNode VPS IP address before proceeding. DNS propagation can take up to 24–48 hours.

Initial Server Setup

Connect and update system

ssh root@YOUR_VPS_IP
apt update && apt upgrade -y

Create a Dedicated Service User

Running GoatCounter as a dedicated non-root user follows security best practices and limits the blast radius of any potential vulnerability.

Create service user

useradd goatcounter --system --user-group \
  --shell /sbin/nologin \
  --comment "GoatCounter web analytics" \
  --create-home \
  --home-dir /var/lib/goatcounter

Configure Firewall

Set up UFW

apt install ufw -y
ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable

Install GoatCounter

GoatCounter distributes statically compiled binaries that include everything needed — no additional runtime dependencies required.

Download and install the binary

cd /var/lib/goatcounter
wget https://github.com/arp242/goatcounter/releases/download/v2.7.0/goatcounter-v2.7.0-linux-amd64.gz
gzip -d goatcounter-v2.7.0-linux-amd64.gz
mv goatcounter-v2.7.0-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/goatcounter
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/goatcounter

Verify installation

goatcounter version

Initialize the Database

GoatCounter supports both SQLite and PostgreSQL. SQLite is the simplest option and performs well for most sites. For high-traffic deployments handling millions of daily page views, consider PostgreSQL.

Option A: SQLite (Recommended)

Create site with SQLite

cd /var/lib/goatcounter
sudo -u goatcounter /usr/local/bin/goatcounter db create site \
  -createdb \
  -user.email admin@yourdomain.com \
  -vhost stats.yourdomain.com

You will be prompted to set a password for the dashboard login. This creates the SQLite database at /var/lib/goatcounter/goatcounter-data/db.sqlite3.

Option B: PostgreSQL (High-Traffic Sites)

Install and configure PostgreSQL

apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y
systemctl enable postgresql

sudo -u postgres createuser --interactive --pwprompt goatcounter
sudo -u postgres createdb --owner goatcounter goatcounter

sudo -u goatcounter /usr/local/bin/goatcounter db create site \
  -db "postgresql+host=/run/postgresql dbname=goatcounter" \
  -user.email admin@yourdomain.com \
  -vhost stats.yourdomain.com

Configure the Systemd Service

Create a systemd unit file so GoatCounter starts automatically on boot and restarts on failure.

/etc/systemd/system/goatcounter.service

[Unit]
Description=GoatCounter web analytics
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/goatcounter
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/goatcounter serve \
  -listen :8091 \
  -tls none
User=goatcounter
Group=goatcounter
CapabilityBoundingSet=
PrivateTmp=true
NoNewPrivileges=true
PrivateDevices=true
DevicePolicy=closed

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

The -tls none flag tells GoatCounter not to handle TLS directly. We'll use Nginx as a reverse proxy with Let's Encrypt certificates instead.

For PostgreSQL users, modify the ExecStart line to include your database connection:

PostgreSQL ExecStart variant

ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/goatcounter serve \
  -listen :8091 \
  -tls none \
  -db "postgresql+host=/run/postgresql dbname=goatcounter"

Enable and start the service

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable goatcounter
systemctl start goatcounter
systemctl status goatcounter

Confirm the service shows "active (running)". If there are issues, check the logs:

View logs

journalctl -fu goatcounter

Nginx Reverse Proxy with SSL

Install Nginx and Certbot

apt install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

/etc/nginx/sites-available/goatcounter

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name stats.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8091;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Enable site and obtain SSL

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/goatcounter /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
nginx -t
systemctl reload nginx

# Obtain SSL certificate
certbot --nginx -d stats.yourdomain.com

Verify SSL auto-renewal

certbot renew --dry-run

Add Tracking to Your Website

Method 1: JavaScript Snippet (Recommended)

Add the following script tag just before the closing </body> tag. The script is approximately 3.5 KB and loads asynchronously with negligible performance impact.

JavaScript tracking snippet

<script data-goatcounter="https://stats.yourdomain.com/count"
        async src="//stats.yourdomain.com/count.js"></script>

Method 2: No-JavaScript Tracking Pixel

For sites that need to work without JavaScript:

Tracking pixel

<noscript>
  <img src="https://stats.yourdomain.com/count?p=/page-path">
</noscript>

Method 3: Server-Side Log Import

GoatCounter can parse access logs from Nginx, Apache, Caddy, CloudFront, and other servers:

Import access logs

goatcounter import -follow -format combined /var/log/nginx/access.log

Verify the Dashboard

Open your browser and navigate to https://stats.yourdomain.com
Log in with the email and password from the database initialization step
Visit your website in a separate tab to generate test traffic
Return to the GoatCounter dashboard — page views should appear within seconds

The dashboard displays page views, referrers, browser and OS statistics, screen sizes, locations, and campaign tracking — all without collecting personally identifiable information.

Production Hardening

Alternative: Docker Deployment

GoatCounter is also available on Docker Hub for containerized deployments.

Quick Docker setup

docker run -d \
  --name goatcounter \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 8091:8080 \
  -v goatcounter-data:/home/goatcounter/goatcounter-data \
  arp242/goatcounter

docker-compose.yml

version: "3.8"
services:
  goatcounter:
    image: arp242/goatcounter
    container_name: goatcounter
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8091:8080"
    volumes:
      - goatcounter-data:/home/goatcounter/goatcounter-data

volumes:
  goatcounter-data:

After starting the container, use the same Nginx reverse proxy configuration from Step 7. The named volume ensures your database persists across container restarts.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Dashboard login refreshes without logging in	Ensure your reverse proxy passes the `X-Forwarded-Proto: https` header so GoatCounter sets secure cookies correctly
"zdb requires SQLite 3.35.0 or newer"	Usually a file permission issue. Verify ownership: `chown -R goatcounter:goatcounter /var/lib/goatcounter`
Service fails to start on port 80/443	Use `setcap` or run behind a reverse proxy on a high port (8091) as shown in this guide
No page views appearing	Verify the tracking script URL matches your vhost domain exactly. Check browser dev tools for `count.js` loading errors
High memory usage with SQLite	Run VACUUM periodically: `sqlite3 /path/to/db.sqlite3 "VACUUM"`
Certificate renewal fails	Ensure port 80 is open for ACME challenges. Check: `journalctl -u certbot`

Quick Reference

Command	Description
systemctl status goatcounter	Check service status
systemctl restart goatcounter	Restart the service
journalctl -fu goatcounter	View live logs
goatcounter db migrate all	Run pending migrations
goatcounter db create site	Create a new site entry
goatcounter import -format combined	Import access logs
goatcounter help serve	View all serve options
goatcounter version	Check installed version

GoatCounter Deployed Successfully!

Your self-hosted, privacy-friendly analytics platform is now running. Add the tracking snippet to your websites and enjoy clean, cookie-free analytics.

Deploying GoatCounter