Swetrix
Self-hosting

Google Analytics import

Swetrix Community Edition can import historical data from Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Unlike the cloud version, self-hosted instances need their own Google Cloud OAuth client because Google requires every OAuth app to be registered against a specific domain.

This guide walks you through everything you need to do once.

Already have a Google Cloud project with an OAuth consent screen? Skip to Issue an OAuth client.

What you'll set up

  1. A Google Cloud project that owns the OAuth client.
  2. An OAuth consent screen for your Swetrix domain.
  3. A web-application OAuth client with the correct redirect URI.
  4. The Google Analytics Admin API enabled.
  5. The Google Analytics Data API enabled.
  6. Three environment variables on the Swetrix API container.

1. Create a Google Cloud project

Open the Google Cloud console and either select an existing project or create a new one (we recommend a dedicated one for Swetrix).

Make sure the project stays selected for every step below — Google sometimes silently switches you to a "default" project.

In the left sidebar go to APIs & Services → OAuth consent screen.

  • User type: External (the Internal option requires a Google Workspace organization).
  • App name: anything recognisable, e.g. Swetrix.
  • User support email and Developer contact information: your email.
  • Authorized domains: add the bare domain Swetrix is hosted on (no scheme, no path), e.g. analytics.example.com.
  • Scopes: add https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics.readonly.
  • Test users: add the Google account(s) that will import GA4 data from Swetrix. Google will warn you that the app is unverified; this is fine for self-hosted use.

Save and continue through the wizard until the consent screen is registered.

3. Issue an OAuth client and secret

Still in APIs & Services, open Credentials and click + Create credentials → OAuth client ID.

  • Application type: Web application.

  • Name: Swetrix CE GA4 Import (or whatever you like).

  • Authorized redirect URIs: add exactly one entry:

    https://analytics.example.com/ga4-import-connected

    Replace https://analytics.example.com with the public URL you'll set as BASE_URL on the Swetrix API container. The path must be /ga4-import-connected.

After you click Create, Google shows a Client ID and Client secret. Copy both — you'll need them in the next step.

4. Enable the Google APIs

Back in the Google Cloud console, go to APIs & Services → Library and enable both APIs in the same project:

  • Google Analytics Admin API — used to list the GA4 properties the connected Google account can access.
  • Google Analytics Data API — used to read the analytics data during import.

Without these APIs, authorisation or import requests will fail with Google API access errors.

5. Configure the Swetrix API container

Add the following variables to the .env file used by the swetrix-api container (or to your docker-compose.yml):

# Public URL of your Swetrix CE instance. Must match the redirect URI you
# registered in step 3 (without the /ga4-import-connected suffix).
BASE_URL=https://analytics.example.com

# OAuth client created in step 3
GOOGLE_GA4_CLIENT_ID=1234567890-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.apps.googleusercontent.com
GOOGLE_GA4_CLIENT_SECRET=GOCSPX-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Restart the API container so it picks up the new environment:

docker compose up -d swetrix-api

You can confirm the variables are visible to the container with:

docker compose exec swetrix-api sh -c 'echo $GOOGLE_GA4_CLIENT_ID'

6. Start an import from Swetrix

  1. Open any project in Swetrix.
  2. Go to Settings → Data import.
  3. Select Google Analytics 4.
  4. Click Connect Google. You'll be sent to Google's consent screen.
  5. Pick the Google account you added as a test user, click Continue through the unverified-app warnings, and approve the read-only Analytics scope.
  6. After Google redirects you back to Swetrix, select the GA4 property and start the import.

Swetrix creates a background import job. Keep the project settings page open if you want to watch the status update.

Troubleshooting

  • "Google Analytics import is not configured on this instance" — one of GOOGLE_GA4_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_GA4_CLIENT_SECRET, or BASE_URL is missing. Check the API container env and restart it.
  • redirect_uri_mismatch during the Google consent flow — the redirect URI you registered in step 3 doesn't exactly match ${BASE_URL}/ga4-import-connected. They must match character-for-character (scheme, hostname, port, trailing slash).
  • Access denied while loading properties — enable the Google Analytics Admin API and make sure the Google account has access to at least one GA4 property.
  • Import fails after selecting a property — enable the Google Analytics Data API in the same Google Cloud project and reconnect Google Analytics from Swetrix.
  • Access blocked: This app's request is invalid — your test user is not on the OAuth consent screen test-users list. Add them in step 2.

Rotating credentials

If you ever rotate GOOGLE_GA4_CLIENT_SECRET or SECRET_KEY_BASE, existing GA4 connections become invalid. Users will need to reconnect Google Analytics before starting a new import.

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What you'll set up1. Create a Google Cloud project2. Configure the OAuth consent screen3. Issue an OAuth client and secret4. Enable the Google APIs5. Configure the Swetrix API container6. Start an import from SwetrixTroubleshootingRotating credentials