Back to Help

What is Activity Tracking?

Zero-config request logging built into SmallStack.

  • Automatic capture via middleware — no code changes needed
  • Staff-only dashboard with live stats
  • Configurable retention and pruning
  • No external dependencies

How It Works

A single middleware intercepts every request and creates a RequestLog:

Field Field Field
path user timestamp
method ip_address duration_ms
status_code user_agent

Static files, health checks, and admin media are excluded by default.

The Staff Dashboard

Available at /activity/ for staff users.

Activity Dashboard

Stat cards: Requests today, unique visitors, active users, avg response time

Request log table: Filterable list with path, method, status, user, and color-coded response times

Access requires is_staff=True — no extra permissions needed.

Configuration & Pruning

Key settings in settings.py:

  • ACTIVITY_TRACKING_ENABLED — on/off toggle
  • ACTIVITY_EXCLUDE_PATHS — prefixes to skip (/static/, /media/, etc.)
  • ACTIVITY_RETENTION_DAYS — auto-prune after N days (default 30)

Pruning runs daily via django-tasks background worker. ~60 MB storage for 10k requests/day over 30 days.

htmx Live Refresh

Dashboard stats update every 10 seconds via hx-trigger="every 10s" — no page reload.

Dual-response pattern: Views return a full page normally, or just the HTML fragment for htmx requests.

No WebSockets needed — simple polling works behind any reverse proxy.