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

# Fetch Website Analytics Using Plausible API

> Set up a Python script to fetch website analytics data from Plausible Analytics using the Plausible API

<Info>
  **Prerequisite** You should have an API key from Plausible Analytics and have it stored in a .env file.
</Info>

## Introduction

This guide demonstrates how to set up a Python script to fetch website analytics data from Plausible Analytics using the Plausible API. You’ll learn how to install the necessary library, set up your environment, and create a simple script to fetch and display analytics data.

<Accordion title="Show me the code" icon="code">
  ```python fetch_plausible_analytics.py theme={null}
  import requests
  import json
  import os
  from dotenv import load_dotenv
  from datetime import datetime, timedelta

  # Load environment variables from .env file
  load_dotenv()

  # Access the API key from environment variables
  plausible_api_key = os.getenv('PLAUSIBLE_API_KEY')

  # Replace with your actual site ID
  SITE_ID = 'guides.curiousmints.com'

  # Check if the API key is available
  if not plausible_api_key:
      raise ValueError("Plausible API key not found in the environment variables.")

  # Define the Plausible API endpoint and parameters
  url = "https://plausible.io/api/v1/stats/aggregate"

  # Calculate the date range for the last 3 days
  end_date = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
  start_date = (datetime.now() - timedelta(days=2)).strftime('%Y-%m-%d')  # 2 days before today to include 3 days

  # Parameters for the API request
  params = {
      'site_id': SITE_ID,
      'period': 'custom',
      'date': f'{start_date},{end_date}',
      'metrics': 'visitors,pageviews,bounce_rate,visit_duration'
  }
  headers = {
      'Authorization': f'Bearer {plausible_api_key}'
  }

  # Make the API request
  response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)

  # Check if the request was successful
  if response.status_code == 200:
      data = response.json()
      print(json.dumps(data, indent=4))  # Pretty print the JSON response
  else:
      print(f"Error: {response.status_code} - {response.text}")
  ```
</Accordion>

## Setup

### Step 1: Install Required Packages

First, install the necessary packages using pip:

```sh theme={null}
pip install requests python-dotenv
```

### Step 2: Create a .env File

Create a `.env` file in the project root with your Plausible API key:

```plaintext theme={null}
PLAUSIBLE_API_KEY=your_plausible_api_key
```

### Step 3: Create the Python Script

Create a Python script named `fetch_plausible_analytics.py` with the following content:

```python fetch_plausible_analytics.py theme={null}
import requests
import json
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

# Load environment variables from .env file
load_dotenv()

# Access the API key from environment variables
plausible_api_key = os.getenv('PLAUSIBLE_API_KEY')

# Replace with your actual site ID
SITE_ID = 'guides.curiousmints.com'

# Check if the API key is available
if not plausible_api_key:
    raise ValueError("Plausible API key not found in the environment variables.")

# Define the Plausible API endpoint and parameters
url = "https://plausible.io/api/v1/stats/aggregate"

# Calculate the date range for the last 3 days
end_date = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
start_date = (datetime.now() - timedelta(days=2)).strftime('%Y-%m-%d')  # 2 days before today to include 3 days

# Parameters for the API request
params = {
    'site_id': SITE_ID,
    'period': 'custom',
    'date': f'{start_date},{end_date}',
    'metrics': 'visitors,pageviews,bounce_rate,visit_duration'
}
headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {plausible_api_key}'
}

# Make the API request
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)

# Check if the request was successful
if response.status_code == 200:
    data = response.json()
    print(json.dumps(data, indent=4))  # Pretty print the JSON response
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code} - {response.text}")
```

### Step 4: Run the Script

Ensure you have the `.env` file in the same directory as the script. Then, execute the script:

```sh theme={null}
python fetch_plausible_analytics.py
```

## Conclusion

You have successfully set up a Python script to fetch website analytics data from Plausible Analytics using the Plausible API! This guide provided a basic example to get you started. You can now expand on this by customizing the data parameters and handling different scenarios.