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tracing.toolstracing.tools

Opt-out & debugging

The tracker reads exactly two localStorage keys. It never writes either one — that is entirely up to you or the visitor.

Key Value Effect
tracing_disabled "1" Nothing is ever sent from this browser, for any site
tracing_debug "1" Hits are sent even from localhost, 127.0.0.1, [::1] and file:

Both reads are wrapped in try/catch, so a browser with storage blocked behaves as if neither flag were set.

Opting a visitor out

Section titled “Opting a visitor out”
localStorage.setItem("tracing_disabled", "1");
localStorage.removeItem("tracing_disabled");

The flag is per browser and per origin, and it is checked before every hit — including pageviews, custom events, outbound clicks, revenue events, identify calls and the duration flush. The identity probe to /c/:key still runs, because it is fired before the first send(); it carries no data about the visitor and sets nothing.

A button on your site

Section titled “A button on your site”
<button id="tt-optout">Do not count my visits</button>
<script>
  const key = "tracing_disabled";
  const button = document.getElementById("tt-optout");


  function render() {
    button.textContent =
      localStorage.getItem(key) === "1"
        ? "Analytics off — turn back on"
        : "Do not count my visits";
  }


  button.addEventListener("click", () => {
    if (localStorage.getItem(key) === "1") localStorage.removeItem(key);
    else localStorage.setItem(key, "1");
    render();
  });


  render();
</script>

Other ways to exclude traffic

Section titled “Other ways to exclude traffic”
Method Scope Where
tracing_disabled one browser the visitor, or your own console
Excluded IPs every browser on that address Settings → General
Excluded paths whole sections of the site Settings → General
data-exclude whole sections, client-side the script tag

Server-side exclusions are stronger: they apply to traffic that is already live and cannot be bypassed by a visitor. See Bots & exclusions.

Debugging from localhost

Section titled “Debugging from localhost”
localStorage.setItem("tracing_debug", "1");

Reload. Every hit is now sent as though the page were deployed.

Remember to turn it off:

localStorage.removeItem("tracing_debug");

Nothing is arriving

Section titled “Nothing is arriving”

  1. Is /t.js loading?

    Section titled “Is /t.js loading?”

    DevTools → Network → filter t.js. Expect 200 and roughly 5 KB.

    • 404 — the src is wrong.
    • Blocked by CSP — add the collector host to script-src. See CSP.
    • Blocked by an ad blocker — some lists block any third-party analytics host. Proxy the collector behind your own domain.

  2. Is /c/:key answering?

    Section titled “Is /c/:key answering?”

    Expect 200 with {"m":"hash"}.

    • 404 {"error":"unknown site"} — data-site is not a key on any live site. Check for a typo, or for a key that belonged to a deleted site.
    • CORS error — you are pointing data-api at something that is not the collector.

  3. Is POST /e being sent?

    Section titled “Is POST /e being sent?”

    Expect 202 with {"m":"hash"}.

    Status Meaning
    202 with body Accepted and written
    202 empty Accepted and dropped: excluded IP, bot user agent, or excluded path
    400 bad payload Malformed JSON, or missing s/u
    400 bad url The page URL would not parse, or has no hostname
    404 Unknown site key
    413 Body over 32 KiB — almost always a huge property object

    No request at all means the tracker suppressed it. Check, in this order: localStorage.tracing_disabled, whether you are on localhost without tracing_debug, and whether the path matches a data-exclude glob.

  4. Is the dashboard showing it?

    Section titled “Is the dashboard showing it?”
    • Realtime polls every five seconds and shows the last 30 minutes. Start there, not on Overview.
    • Overview is cut in the site’s timezone. If the site is in Australia/Sydney and you are in Europe, “Today” may not be your today. See Time ranges & timezones.
    • A filter chip left over from an earlier click hides everything that does not match. Clear it.
    • Your own IP may be in Excluded IPs.

  5. Is the browser being classed as a bot?

    Section titled “Is the browser being classed as a bot?”

    The collector parses the user agent and drops anything it classes as a bot with an empty 202. Headless Chrome, Playwright and curl are normally classed that way. Test with a real browser.

Reading the payload yourself

Section titled “Reading the payload yourself”

Everything is plain JSON. In DevTools → Network → the /e request → Payload you will see the hit shape exactly as sent.

To watch what your own code produces without deploying:

// paste in the console before your app calls tracing()
const real = window.tracing;
window.tracing = Object.assign(
  (name, props) => { console.log("event", name, props); real(name, props); },
  real,
);
Section titled “Related”