Analytics pings with query args, cleanup.

docs/analytics.md

@@ -20,9 +20,12 @@ Struct dumped to disk — separate from the kanta content database, path from
 ## What is collected
 
 The client (`pagerite.js`) POSTs fire-and-forget pings to `/_a` with
-`{fr, to}` (`fr` = source path):
+`fr`, `to`, `hide` and `read` as query parameters (`fr` = source path;
+falsy values are omitted):
 
-- **Initial page load**: `to` is the loaded path. This ping is what starts
+- **Initial page load**: only `to` — the loaded path — is sent, never `fr`
+  (an `fr` equal to `to` would log a bogus self-transition when a session
+  already exists, e.g. a second tab). This ping is what starts
   the visit and counts the entry page view — the document GET alone records
   nothing, so bots and admin browsing never register. JS-running crawlers
   (Googlebot, GoogleOther, Applebot, ...) do ping, but their User-Agent
@@ -34,7 +37,8 @@ The client (`pagerite.js`) POSTs fire-and-forget pings to `/_a` with
   abuse rules regardless. Reloads are not
   visits: the ping is skipped (PerformanceNavigationTiming `reload`), so a
   refresh neither counts a second view nor logs a self-transition. The GET
-  handler stashes a cross-origin https `Referer` (origin part only) and any
+  handler stashes a cross-origin https `Referer` (origin part only —
+  unavailable to JS once the page has loaded) and any
   `utm_*` query parameters in in-memory IP tables, consumed by the ping that
   starts the visit; internal or absent referers never touch the referer table.
 - **Internal fetch-navigations**: `to` is the target path, sent only after

frontend/src/pagerite.js

@@ -417,10 +417,12 @@ import "overlayscrollbars/overlayscrollbars.css";
   }
 
   // --- Analytics pings ---------------------------------------------------
-  // Fire-and-forget POST /_a {fr, to, read}: on the initial page load
-  // (starts the visit — the server counts nothing from the document GET
-  // alone), for internal fetch-navigations, for external https exits, and
-  // on window close. ``read`` is the active time (ms) spent on ``fr``.
+  // Fire-and-forget POSTs to /_a with the fields as query parameters (a
+  // beacon can carry no body, and query args show in server logs next to
+  // the document GET they refer to): on the initial page load (starts the
+  // visit — the server counts nothing from the document GET alone), for
+  // internal fetch-navigations, for external https exits, and on window
+  // close. ``read`` is the active time (ms) spent on ``fr``.
   // Reading time pauses after 1 minute of inactivity and resumes on the
   // next mouse/touch/scroll/keyboard event.
   // Excluded: back/forward (popstate never pings), everything while the
@@ -434,24 +436,32 @@ import "overlayscrollbars/overlayscrollbars.css";
   // records nothing and scrubs any session the same browser accumulated
   // before logging in, so admins never show up as visits or crawlers.
   // See docs/analytics.md.
-  function ping(to, fr = currentPath, read = 0) {
-    if (document.body.classList.contains("editing")) return;
-    if (to && to === "/_a") return;
-    const hide = ssoAvailable && isAdmin ? 1 : 0;
-    const body = JSON.stringify({
-      fr, to, hide,
-      read: Math.max(0, Math.round(read / 1000)),
-    });
+
+  // fetch wrapper: every key of ``params`` becomes a query arg on /_a
+  // (falsy values are omitted). Admins get hide=1. ``beacon`` uses
+  // sendBeacon when available, for unload-time pings.
+  function pingFetch(params, { beacon = false } = {}) {
+    const query = new URLSearchParams();
+    if (ssoAvailable && isAdmin) params = { ...params, hide: 1 };
+    for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(params)) {
+      if (value) query.set(key, value);
+    }
+    const url = `/_a?${query}`;
     try {
-      fetch("/_a", {
-        method: "POST",
-        keepalive: true,
-        headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
-        body,
-      });
+      if (beacon && navigator.sendBeacon) {
+        navigator.sendBeacon(url);
+      } else {
+        fetch(url, { method: "POST", keepalive: true });
+      }
     } catch { /* analytics must never break navigation */ }
   }
 
+  function ping({ to, fr = currentPath, read = 0, beacon = false } = {}) {
+    if (document.body.classList.contains("editing")) return;
+    if (to === "/_a") return;
+    pingFetch({ fr, to, read: Math.round(read / 1000) }, { beacon });
+  }
+
   // Active reading time for the current page. The clock stops after 1 minute
   // without activity and restarts on the next mouse/touch/scroll/keyboard
   // event.
@@ -495,24 +505,10 @@ import "overlayscrollbars/overlayscrollbars.css";
 
   function sendClosePing() {
     if (closePingedFor === currentPath) return;
-    const read = Math.max(0, Math.round(takeReadTime() / 1000));
-    if (read <= 0) return;
-    const hide = ssoAvailable && isAdmin ? 1 : 0;
-    const body = JSON.stringify({ fr: currentPath, hide, read });
-    const blob = new Blob([body], { type: "application/json" });
-    try {
-      if (navigator.sendBeacon) {
-        navigator.sendBeacon("/_a", blob);
-      } else {
-        fetch("/_a", {
-          method: "POST",
-          keepalive: true,
-          headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
-          body,
-        });
-      }
-    } catch { /* analytics must never break navigation */ }
     closePingedFor = currentPath;
+    const read = takeReadTime();
+    if (Math.round(read / 1000) <= 0) return;
+    ping({ read, beacon: true });
   }
 
   for (const ev of ["mousemove", "mousedown", "touchstart", "touchmove", "scroll", "keydown"]) {
@@ -522,6 +518,10 @@ import "overlayscrollbars/overlayscrollbars.css";
 
   // The initial page load pings too — it is what starts the visit and
   // counts the entry page view (the document GET alone records nothing).
+  // It carries only ``to``: the server attributes the entry to the referer
+  // it saw on the document GET (unavailable to JS once loaded), and an
+  // ``fr`` equal to ``to`` would log a bogus self-transition when a
+  // session already exists (e.g. a second tab).
   // Sent once per load, after the auth probes so the admin gate applies;
   // the pageshow re-probe must not ping again. Reloads are not visits:
   // pinging them would double-count the view and log a self-transition.
@@ -531,7 +531,7 @@ import "overlayscrollbars/overlayscrollbars.css";
     entryPinged = true;
     const nav = performance.getEntriesByType?.("navigation")[0];
     if (nav ? nav.type === "reload" : performance.navigation?.type === 1) return;
-    ping(currentPath);
+    ping({ to: currentPath, fr: "" });
   }
 
   // --- Analytics page mount/unmount --------------------------------------
@@ -732,7 +732,7 @@ import "overlayscrollbars/overlayscrollbars.css";
       // different links to the same domain stay distinct in analytics.
       if (url.protocol === "https:") {
         closePingedFor = currentPath;
-        ping(url.href, currentPath, takeReadTime());
+        ping({ to: url.href, read: takeReadTime() });
       }
       return;
     }
@@ -748,7 +748,7 @@ import "overlayscrollbars/overlayscrollbars.css";
     load(url).then((ok) => {
       if (!ok) return;
       closePingedFor = null;
-      ping(url.pathname, from, takeReadTime());
+      ping({ to: url.pathname, fr: from, read: takeReadTime() });
       resetReadTime();
     });
   });

pagerite/app.py

@@ -31,7 +31,14 @@ from xml.sax.saxutils import escape as xml_escape
 
 import blake3
 import msgspec
-from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, Request, WebSocket, WebSocketDisconnect
+from fastapi import (
+    FastAPI,
+    HTTPException,
+    Query,
+    Request,
+    WebSocket,
+    WebSocketDisconnect,
+)
 from fastapi.responses import RedirectResponse, Response
 from fastapi_vue import Frontend
 from kanta import Kanta
@@ -802,17 +809,6 @@ def _schedule_analytics_broadcast() -> None:
     )
 
 
-class AnalyticsPing(BaseModel):
-    """Navigation ping from pagerite.js (see docs/analytics.md)."""
-
-    fr: str = ""
-    to: str | None = None
-    #: 1 from admin clients: scrub the session instead of recording it.
-    hide: int = 0
-    #: Active reading time on ``fr`` (ms), if any.
-    read: int = 0
-
-
 @app.get("/_a", response_model=None)
 async def analytics_page(request: Request) -> Response:
     """Render the analytics viewer as a normal site page at /_a.
@@ -831,21 +827,31 @@ async def analytics_page(request: Request) -> Response:
 
 
 @app.post("/_a", status_code=204)
-async def analytics_ping(ping: AnalyticsPing, request: Request) -> None:
-    """Record a navigation ping ({fr, to}); fire-and-forget, never fails.
+async def analytics_ping(
+    request: Request,
+    fr: str = Query(""),
+    to: str | None = Query(None),
+    hide: int = Query(0),
+    read: int = Query(0),
+) -> None:
+    """Record a navigation ping (?fr=&to=&hide=&read=); fire-and-forget.
+
+    The initial page-load ping carries only ``to``: the entry is attributed
+    to the referer/UTM tags stashed by the document GET (see _track_entry),
+    which JS cannot see once the page has loaded.
 
     The reverse-DNS and DB-IP geoip lookups happen in a background task so
     the response is never delayed by slow DNS or the first MMDB decompress.
     """
     ip = _client_ip(request)
     visit_index, flushed_clients = analytics_store.ping(
-        ping.fr,
-        ping.to,
+        fr,
+        to,
         ip,
         request.headers.get("user-agent", ""),
         request.headers.get("accept-language", ""),
-        hide=bool(ping.hide),
-        read=ping.read,
+        hide=bool(hide),
+        read=read,
     )
     if visit_index is not None:
         visit = analytics_store.data.visits[visit_index]