Requirements
Rybbit does not use OAuth — you connect it per client with an API key. On Rybbit Cloud (app.rybbit.io), creating an API key requires a Standard plan; if you run Rybbit self-hosted, that requirement does not apply. You also need the numeric site ID from your tracking snippet — on self-hosted setups the site ID is alphanumeric.
Create the API key and connect
- 1Create an API key in your Rybbit account.
- 2Note the site ID from your tracking snippet.
- 3In MetricDash, enter the API key and site ID for the matching client.
- 4If you run a self-hosted instance, additionally enter its host URL.
- 5Assign the connection to the client account.
Why clients choose Rybbit
Rybbit tracks in real time and completely cookieless — no consent banner, and no visitor data ending up with Google. That is the argument for clients who deliberately reject Google Analytics or are GDPR-sensitive. You can run Rybbit in the cloud or fully self-hosted in the EU.
For engagement, MetricDash shows page views, bounce rate and average session duration, plus the device split by desktop, mobile and tablet — so you can tell whether a landing page works on mobile or only on desktop.
What lands in the website tab
Sessions, unique users, the traffic channels with the dominant source highlighted, and the top pages appear automatically in the website tab of the client view. It is the same provider-agnostic website tab that Google Analytics, Plausible and Umami also feed — switch provider later and your view stays identical.
Your clients see the same numbers live through their own read-only portal login, without you having to give them access to Rybbit.
Common pitfalls
- Cloud needs a Standard plan: without a Standard plan, Rybbit Cloud will not create an API key — self-hosting removes this hurdle.
- Wrong site ID: the numeric ID comes from the tracking snippet; on self-hosted instances it is alphanumeric.
- Self-hosted without host URL: self-hosted instances additionally need the host URL — without it MetricDash reads against Rybbit Cloud instead of your server.
- Self-hosted behind Cloudflare: if your instance sits behind Cloudflare, the /api/ path needs a WAF exception (configuration rule) — otherwise Cloudflare blocks MetricDash’s server-side requests with a challenge page.
- Reports: Rybbit numbers live in the dashboard and portal; they do not yet flow into the automatic report emails.