How to Install GoatCounter on OpenSUSE Latest

GoatCounter is an open-source web analytics tool. It provides simple and useful insights into website traffic, such as the number of unique visitors and pageviews.

This tutorial will guide you through the installation process of GoatCounter on OpenSUSE Latest.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, make sure that you have the following:

• A server running OpenSUSE Latest
• SSH access to the server with root privileges
• A domain or subdomain to use with GoatCounter

Step 1: Install Git

To install GoatCounter from the source code, you need to have Git installed on your server.

Run the following command to install Git:

sudo zypper install git

Step 2: Clone the GoatCounter repository

To clone the GoatCounter repository, navigate to the root directory and run the following command:

cd /
sudo git clone https://github.com/zgoat/goatcounter.git

Step 3: Install dependencies

GoatCounter requires some dependencies to be installed. Install them using the following command:

sudo zypper install go

Step 4: Build GoatCounter

Navigate to the goatcounter directory and run the following command to build GoatCounter:

cd goatcounter
sudo make

Step 5: Configure GoatCounter

GoatCounter needs to be configured before it can be used. Open the configuration file using the following command:

sudo vi goatcounter.conf

Edit the following lines in the configuration file:

# change to your website domain or subdomain
domain=mydomain.com

# change to your database name and user credentials
dburi=mysql://user:password@localhost/mydatabase

Save and exit the file.

Step 6: Configure the webserver

GoatCounter needs to be served by a web server. You can use Apache or Nginx. We will use Nginx for this tutorial.

Install Nginx using the following command:

sudo zypper install nginx

Create a new Nginx virtual host configuration file using the following command:

sudo touch /etc/nginx/conf.d/goatcounter.conf
sudo vi /etc/nginx/conf.d/goatcounter.conf

Paste the following lines into the goatcounter.conf file:

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name yourdomain.com;
  root /goatcounter;

  location / {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
    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;
  }

  location /count {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:8080/;
    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;
  }

  error_page 404 /404.html;
  location = /404.html {
    internal;
  }
}

Save and exit the file.

Step 7: Start GoatCounter

Start GoatCounter using the following command:

sudo ./goatcounter serve --listen localhost:8080

Step 8: Start the web server

Start Nginx by running the following command:

sudo systemctl start nginx

Step 9: Access GoatCounter

GoatCounter is now installed and running. You can access it by navigating to your domain or subdomain in your web browser.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you learned how to install GoatCounter on OpenSUSE Latest. You can use GoatCounter to track your website traffic and gain insights into your audience.