# I launched Plausible Automation Toolkit

> I launched a macOS CLI and Codex skill that installs analytics, reports traffic, and manages goals on self-hosted Plausible.

Author: [Flavio Copes](https://flaviocopes.com/about/) | Published: 2026-08-06 | Topics: [News](https://flaviocopes.com/tags/news/) | Canonical: https://flaviocopes.com/i-launched-plausible-automation-toolkit/

Today I launched [Plausible Automation Toolkit](https://prototyped.dev/apps/plausible-automation) on Prototyped.

It turns this request:

> Install Plausible on this site.

into a repeatable operation.

I built it for myself.

I self-host Plausible and use it on all my sites. Every new project came with the same small checklist.

Create the property. Find the shared site layout. Add the tracker without adding it twice. Check that it works. Later, create an API key, remember the Stats API, and configure conversion goals.

None of this is difficult. But I kept repeating it and looking up the same details.

Adding a script tag is easy. The complete job is not.

## One request, then a dry run

Plausible Automation Toolkit includes a Codex skill and a command-line tool called `plausible-setup`.

The skill helps Codex inspect the project and choose the right action. The CLI does the work in a predictable way.

Before changing anything, it can show me exactly what it plans to do:

```bash
plausible-setup setup --dry-run
```

The command detects the website domain, finds the shared layout, and previews the tracker change.

Then I can apply it:

```bash
plausible-setup setup
```

The tool signs in to my Plausible dashboard, creates the property if it does not exist, and adds the tracker to the project.

Running it again does not create another property or add a second tracker.

Plausible Community Edition does not provide the same Sites API as Plausible Cloud. The toolkit works through the authenticated dashboard instead. It preserves the form's security fields and checks the resulting state before continuing.

## It works with your Plausible instance

This is not a hosted analytics service.

You need a self-hosted Plausible Community Edition instance you control. During installation, you give the toolkit its HTTPS address:

```bash
./install.sh --plausible-url https://analytics.yourdomain.com
```

There is no analytics domain or account from me inside the package.

The toolkit detects each website domain from its project. You can also provide it yourself:

```bash
plausible-setup setup --domain shop.yourdomain.com
```

This means one installation can operate all the websites on your Plausible instance.

## Read traffic without opening the dashboard

I also wanted to make the analytics data available from the terminal.

For example, this command reports the last 30 days and compares them with the previous 30:

```bash
plausible-setup report \
  --domain shop.yourdomain.com \
  --period 30d \
  --compare previous
```

It reports visitors, visits, pageviews, bounce rate, visit duration, top pages, traffic sources, and goals.

I can also ask for a specific breakdown:

```bash
plausible-setup breakdown \
  --domain shop.yourdomain.com \
  --by country \
  --format markdown
```

The CLI supports pages, sources, campaigns, countries, devices, browsers, operating systems, goals, and custom properties.

It can return text, JSON, CSV, or Markdown. I can use the output directly, or ask Codex to explain what changed and which pages or sources matter.

## Goals and health checks

The toolkit can list, create, and delete custom-event and pageview goals.

For example:

```bash
plausible-setup goal-add \
  --domain shop.yourdomain.com \
  --event Signup
```

Goal commands use a token limited to one Plausible site. Deleting a goal requires its exact ID and an explicit confirmation.

There is also a read-only health check:

```bash
plausible-setup doctor --domain shop.yourdomain.com
```

It checks the Plausible instance, tracker endpoint, project snippet, property, Stats API, and optional goal token. It does not create or change anything.

## Secrets stay out of the project

I did not want dashboard passwords or API tokens in project files, shell history, or AI conversations.

The toolkit stores the dashboard login, generated Stats API key, and site-specific goal tokens as separate macOS Keychain entries.

This is why the first release is macOS-only.

The CLI uses Python's standard library for its main workflow. The secret-storage layer is separate and documented, so you can replace Keychain with Linux Secret Service or Windows Credential Manager.

## What you get

Plausible Automation Toolkit is available on Prototyped for a one-time $20 purchase.

The download includes:

- the complete MIT-licensed Python source
- the installable Codex skill
- property creation and safe tracker installation
- traffic reports, comparisons, breakdowns, and exports
- goal management and read-only diagnostics
- macOS Keychain integration
- eight fake-server regression tests
- setup, architecture, security, configuration, customization, and deployment guides
- instructions for coding agents

You need macOS, Python 3.10 or newer, and an account on your own self-hosted Plausible Community Edition instance.

Codex is optional. The CLI works directly from the terminal.

[Get Plausible Automation Toolkit on Prototyped](https://prototyped.dev/apps/plausible-automation).

If you want to understand the system behind it, I also wrote a detailed guide to [how Plausible Community Edition is built](https://flaviocopes.com/how-plausible-analytics-is-built/).