Swetrix
Self-hosting

Google Search Console

Swetrix Community Edition can integrate with Google Search Console (GSC) to power the SEO dashboard. 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 and a verified Search Console property? 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. Verification of your domain in Google Search Console.
  5. The Google Search Console API enabled in the same Google Cloud project.
  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: you can leave the optional scopes empty.
  • Test users: add the Google account(s) that will connect Search Console 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 (or whatever you like).

  • Authorized redirect URIs: add exactly one entry:

    https://analytics.example.com/gsc-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 /gsc-connected.

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

4. Verify your domain in Search Console

Open the Google Search Console and add your site as a property if you haven't already. Either the Domain or the URL prefix verification methods work — follow the in-product instructions.

The Google account that owns the verified property is the same account you'll connect from Swetrix later, so make sure it appears in the OAuth test-users list from step 2.

5. Enable the Search Console API

Back in the Google Cloud console, go to APIs & Services → Library and search for Google Search Console API. Open it and click Enable.

Without this step, every authorisation attempt from Swetrix will fail with accessNotConfigured.

6. 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 /gsc-connected suffix).
BASE_URL=https://analytics.example.com

# OAuth client created in step 3
GOOGLE_GSC_CLIENT_ID=1234567890-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.apps.googleusercontent.com
GOOGLE_GSC_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_GSC_CLIENT_ID'

7. Connect Search Console from Swetrix

  1. Open any project in Swetrix.
  2. Go to Settings → Integrations.
  3. Click Connect in the Google Search Console card. You'll be sent to Google's consent screen.
  4. Pick the Google account you added as a test user, click Continue through the unverified-app warnings, and approve the read-only Search Console scope.
  5. You'll be redirected back to the Swetrix integrations page. Pick the Search Console Website Property that matches this project from the dropdown and click Save.

The SEO tab on the project dashboard will start showing data within a minute or two.

Troubleshooting

  • "Google Search Console is not configured on this server" in the integrations card — one of GOOGLE_GSC_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_GSC_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}/gsc-connected. They must match character-for-character (scheme, hostname, port, trailing slash).
  • accessNotConfigured or "API not enabled" errors — go back to step 5 and enable the Google Search Console API for the same Google Cloud project that owns the OAuth client.
  • 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_GSC_CLIENT_SECRET or SECRET_KEY_BASE, existing GSC connections become invalid. Users will need to disconnect and reconnect Search Console for each project.

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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. Verify your domain in Search Console5. Enable the Search Console API6. Configure the Swetrix API container7. Connect Search Console from SwetrixTroubleshootingRotating credentials