How It Works¶

A single middleware intercepts every request and creates a RequestLog:

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

The Staff Dashboard¶

Available at /activity/ for staff users.

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.