¶ Setup GoAccess
This guide walks through a self-hosted installation of GoAccess.
¶ Prerequisites
- A Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed (for containerized deployment)
- Sufficient CPU, RAM, and disk for analytics workloads
- A domain name and TLS termination if exposing the service publicly
- For direct installation: ncurses library and build tools
For Docker installation, see Docker.
¶ Installation Methods
¶ Method 1: Package Manager (Recommended for quick setup)
For Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y goaccess
For RHEL/Fedora:
sudo yum install goaccess
# or for newer versions
sudo dnf install goaccess
For macOS:
brew install goaccess
¶ Method 2: Direct Installation from Source (Latest version)
# Download the latest version (v1.10.1)
wget https://tar.goaccess.io/goaccess-1.10.1.tar.gz
tar -xzvf goaccess-1.10.1.tar.gz
cd goaccess-1.10.1/
# Configure with common options (enable UTF-8 and GeoIP support)
./configure --enable-utf8 --enable-geoip=mmdb --with-zlib
make
sudo make install
¶ Method 3: Docker Deployment (Containerized)
¶ Option A: Static Report Generation
# Generate a static HTML report
cat /path/to/access.log | docker run --rm -i -e LANG=$LANG allinurl/goaccess -a -o html --log-format COMBINED - > report.html
¶ Option B: Real-time HTML Report
# For real-time reports accessible via browser
tail -F /path/to/access.log | docker run -p 7890:7890 --rm -i -e LANG=$LANG allinurl/goaccess -a -o html --log-format COMBINED --real-time-html -
¶ Option C: Using Docker Compose (Production-ready)
Create a docker-compose.yml file:
version: '3.8'
services:
goaccess:
image: allinurl/goaccess:1.10.1 # Pin to specific version for stability
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "7890:7890" # Expose the WebSocket port for real-time updates
volumes:
- /var/log/nginx:/logs:ro # Mount your log directory
- ./config/goaccess.conf:/etc/goaccess/goaccess.conf:ro # Optional: custom config
command: >
goaccess
--log-format=COMBINED
--geoip-database=/usr/share/GeoIP/GeoLite2-City.mmdb
--real-time-html
--port=7890
--daemonize
Start the service:
docker-compose up -d
¶ Step 4: Basic Usage
Generate an HTML report from a log file:
goaccess /var/log/nginx/access.log -o report.html --log-format=COMBINED
Run in terminal for real-time analysis:
goaccess /var/log/nginx/access.log
Monitor live log updates:
tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log | goaccess - --log-format=COMBINED
¶ Configuration
- Review GoAccess Configuration to set domains, authentication, and application defaults.
¶ Security
- Apply GoAccess Security before enabling external access or user registration.
¶ Ansible Automation
Prefer automation? See GoAccess Ansible Setup for an example playbook.
¶ Docker Setup
Prefer containers? See GoAccess Docker Setup.
¶ Version Information
- Latest: v1.10.1 (released January 2024)
- Stable: v1.10.1 with enhanced terminal bar charts, city-level geolocation, customizable panels, and refreshed HTML dashboard
- For production environments, consider pinning to specific versions to ensure consistency
¶ History and References
Any questions?
Feel free to contact us. Find all contact information on our contact page.