> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/plausible/analytics/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Real-time Analytics

> Monitor current visitors on your website with live traffic data updating every second.

Plausible's real-time analytics give you instant visibility into current activity on your website. See who's on your site right now, what they're viewing, and where they're coming from—all updating live.

## Real-time Dashboard

The real-time view shows you what's happening on your site at this very moment:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Current Visitors" icon="users">
    Number of people on your site right now (last 5 minutes)
  </Card>

  <Card title="Active Pages" icon="file">
    Pages being viewed in real-time
  </Card>

  <Card title="Live Sources" icon="arrow-right-to-bracket">
    Where current visitors are coming from
  </Card>

  <Card title="Current Locations" icon="location-dot">
    Geographic distribution of active visitors
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Current Visitors Metric

The "Current Visitors" counter shows unique visitors active in the **last 5 minutes**:

### How It Works

<Steps>
  <Step title="Time Window">
    Looks back 5 minutes from the current moment:

    ```
    Current Time: 14:30:00
    Window: 14:25:00 to 14:30:00
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Unique Identification">
    Counts unique visitors using the same privacy-friendly hashing method as regular analytics:

    * IP address + User Agent + Domain
    * Hashed for anonymity
    * No cookies or persistent identifiers
  </Step>

  <Step title="Live Updates">
    The counter refreshes automatically:

    * Updates every few seconds
    * Smooth number transitions
    * Real-time accuracy
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  The 5-minute window ensures you see genuinely active visitors while filtering out those who may have left your site.
</Info>

## Real-time Data Points

### Pages Being Viewed

See exactly which pages are active right now:

* Page URL
* Number of current viewers
* Ranked by current activity
* Live updates as visitors navigate

### Traffic Sources

Understand where your real-time traffic comes from:

* **Direct** - Visitors typing your URL or using bookmarks
* **Search** - Incoming from search engines
* **Referrals** - Traffic from other websites
* **Social** - Visitors from social media platforms
* **Campaigns** - UTM-tagged marketing campaigns

### Geographic Distribution

See where in the world your current visitors are located:

* Country breakdown
* City information
* Updated as new visitors arrive

### Device Information

Real-time device and browser data:

* Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablet
* Browser types
* Operating systems

## Use Cases

### Content Publishing

**Monitor new post performance:**

```
Publish blog post at 2:00 PM
↓
Check real-time dashboard
↓  
See immediate traffic spike
↓
Observe which sections readers visit
```

### Marketing Campaigns

**Track campaign launches:**

* Send email newsletter
* Watch real-time traffic increase
* See which links get clicked
* Monitor conversion goals in real-time

### Live Events

**During webinars or product launches:**

* Monitor attendance via website traffic
* Track registration page activity
* See geographic distribution of interest
* Observe navigation patterns

### Website Changes

**After deploying updates:**

* Verify traffic continues normally
* Check that new pages load
* Monitor for unusual patterns
* Spot issues immediately

## Accessing Real-time Data

Multiple ways to view real-time analytics:

### Dashboard View

1. **Top Bar Indicator**
   * Current visitors displayed prominently
   * Always visible regardless of date range
   * Click to see detailed breakdown

2. **Real-time Panel**
   * Dedicated section for live data
   * Detailed breakdowns
   * Refreshes automatically

### Date Range Selection

Select "Real-time" from the date picker:

* Filters entire dashboard to last 30 minutes
* All metrics show only current activity
* Continuous updates

<Accordion title="Real-time vs Last 30 Minutes">
  While the "Current Visitors" counter shows the last 5 minutes, selecting "Real-time" as a date range displays the last 30 minutes of data for more context while still updating live.
</Accordion>

## Performance Considerations

### Update Frequency

Real-time data updates:

* **Current Visitors**: Every 5-10 seconds
* **Page Views**: Every 10-15 seconds
* **Other Metrics**: Every 15-30 seconds

### Database Queries

Real-time queries are optimized for speed:

```elixir theme={null}
# Source: lib/plausible/stats/current_visitors.ex
- Queries last 5 minutes of data only
- Filters out engagement events
- Counts unique user IDs efficiently
- Returns results in milliseconds
```

<Info>
  Even on high-traffic sites, real-time queries are lightning-fast thanks to ClickHouse's columnar database design.
</Info>

## Privacy and Real-time Data

Real-time analytics maintain Plausible's privacy standards:

* **No Individual Tracking**: You see aggregate counts, not individual visitors
* **Anonymous Data**: No personally identifiable information
* **No Session Recording**: Just statistics, no behavior recording
* **Same Privacy Model**: Uses identical hashing method as historical data

<Warning>
  Real-time data shows you patterns and trends, not individual user actions. You cannot see what a specific person is doing on your site.
</Warning>

## Integration with Other Features

### Goals in Real-time

Track goal completions as they happen:

* See conversions as they occur
* Monitor campaign performance live
* Track real-time revenue (Business plan)
* Verify goal triggers are working

### Filters and Real-time

Apply filters to real-time data:

* Filter by traffic source
* Focus on specific pages
* Geographic filtering
* Device type filtering

### Segments and Real-time

Apply saved segments to real-time view:

* Monitor specific audience segments
* Track segment behavior live
* Compare segment activity

## Limitations

Real-time analytics has some constraints:

### Time Resolution

* Minimum window is 5 minutes for current visitors
* Cannot view second-by-second data
* Some aggregation inherent in the system

### Data Completeness

* Very recent events may take a few seconds to appear
* High-traffic sites may see slight delays
* Not intended for mission-critical real-time applications

### Historical Comparison

* Real-time view focuses on now
* Historical trends shown separately
* Comparison mode not available for real-time

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Current visitors shows 0">
    * Verify your site has recent traffic
    * Check that tracking script is installed correctly
    * Ensure you're not blocking analytics (ad blocker, privacy mode)
    * Wait 5 minutes after first pageview
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Count seems low">
    * Remember it shows last 5 minutes only
    * Visitors must be actively browsing (not idle)
    * Check for script installation issues
    * Verify no filters are applied
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Real-time not updating">
    * Refresh your browser
    * Check internet connection
    * Verify no browser extensions blocking updates
    * Try a different browser
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Events delayed">
    * Small delays (5-10 seconds) are normal
    * High traffic can cause slight buffering
    * Network latency affects update speed
    * Database load during peak times
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Best Practices

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Use for Validation" icon="check">
    Verify that campaigns, events, and goals are triggering correctly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor Launches" icon="rocket">
    Watch real-time during product launches or major announcements.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Spot Issues Early" icon="triangle-exclamation">
    Catch problems immediately after deploying changes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Understand Patterns" icon="chart-line">
    Learn when your audience is most active.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Technical Details

### Query Implementation

The current visitors query:

```sql theme={null}
-- Simplified view of the real-time query
SELECT uniq(user_id) as current_visitors
FROM events_v2
WHERE site_id = ?
  AND timestamp >= now() - INTERVAL 5 MINUTE
  AND name != 'engagement'
```

### Event Filtering

Real-time excludes certain events:

* Engagement events (used for time on page calculation)
* System events
* Non-user-generated events

### Caching Strategy

Real-time data uses minimal caching:

* Most queries hit the database directly
* Brief caching (5-10 seconds) to prevent overload
* Balance between freshness and performance

## API Access

Access real-time data programmatically:

```bash theme={null}
GET /api/v1/stats/realtime/visitors
```

Use cases:

* Custom dashboards
* Alert systems
* Integration with other tools
* Automated monitoring

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Dashboard Overview" icon="chart-line" href="/features/dashboard">
    Explore the full analytics dashboard
  </Card>

  <Card title="Goals Setup" icon="bullseye" href="/features/goals-conversions">
    Track real-time conversions
  </Card>
</CardGroup>