How to Install Fathom Privacy Focused Web Analytics on Debian 12

Introduction

Fathom is a simple and privacy-focused web analytics platform that provides insights into website traffic without compromising user privacy. This guide will walk you through the process of installing Fathom on Debian 12.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

1. A Debian 12 server or desktop system
2. Root or sudo privileges
3. Access to a domain or subdomain for hosting Fathom

Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose

If Docker and Docker Compose are not already installed, you can install them using the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

Step 2: Create Fathom Directory

Create a directory for Fathom and navigate to it:

mkdir ~/fathom
cd ~/fathom

Step 3: Create Docker Compose Configuration

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

nano docker-compose.yml

Add the following content to the docker-compose.yml file:

version: '3'
services:
  fathom:
    image: usefathom/fathom:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - FATHOM_SERVER_ADDR=:8080
      - FATHOM_DB_PROVIDER=sqlite
      - FATHOM_DB_DATABASE=/fathom/fathom.db
    volumes:
      - ./fathom.db:/fathom/fathom.db

Save and close the file.

Step 4: Start Fathom

Start Fathom using Docker Compose:

sudo docker-compose up -d

Step 5: Access Fathom Web Interface

In your web browser, navigate to http://your_domain_or_ip:8080 to access the Fathom web interface.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Fathom privacy-focused web analytics on Debian 12. You can now use Fathom to monitor website traffic while prioritizing user privacy.