Feature plan: Step 1 · Step 2 · Step 3 · Step 4

Original Query

As an operator, I'd like to see basic stats about clients/users visiting my instance.

Understood Intent

Give an instance operator a simple, privacy-conscious view of usage without defining the exact metrics, retention, or presentation yet.

Problem

Operators cannot currently assess basic instance use from the application without independently inspecting infrastructure data.

Options

Option A: Infrastructure access-log reporting

• Derive statistics from the reverse proxy or web-server logs.

• Pros: no application changes; captures all HTTP traffic; can use existing operational tooling.

• Cons: varies by deployment; mixes people with bots and assets; exposes IP-address handling and has no reliable user identity context.

Option B: First-party, privacy-preserving aggregate statistics

• Record only bounded aggregate visit and participation measures in the instance, surfaced to its operator.

• Pros: consistent across deployments; can distinguish anonymous clients from known users where appropriate; avoids per-visitor histories and third-party sharing.

• Cons: needs clear definitions for unique/repeat visits, bot handling, retention, and operator access; may not capture traffic that never reaches the application.

Option C: Optional external analytics integration

• Send or expose events to a configured analytics service.

• Pros: mature dashboards, segmentation, and reporting with little custom UI.

• Cons: adds vendor and deployment dependency; raises privacy, consent, and data-egress concerns; weak fit for a self-hosted instance baseline.

Recommendation

Choose Option B as a small vertical slice: show operators a few aggregate, time-bounded client and signed-in-user counts, with no individual visitor profiles. It produces a portable in-product outcome while preserving infrastructure logs as an optional operational complement. Step 2 should settle the metric definitions, privacy/retention policy, bot treatment, and operator-facing location before planning implementation.