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Google Analytics usage by ReportPortal

ReportPortal uses Google Analytics (GA) for web analytics capabilities. GA helps the ReportPortal Team to understand product usage and make ReportPortal more convenient and useful for our users. To address any concerns about the data we collect, we want to be transparent about which data is sent to GA, and assure you that no personal or confidential data is transferred. To be clear, we do not gather personal information at all through GA. In this article, we explain how Google Analytics works on ReportPortal, its benefits, and how you can turn it off if you want.

Google Analytics usage on ReportPortal UI​

We collect only the following data by using Google Analytics on ReportPortal UI:

  1. Device information: hardware model, operating system version, screen resolution, browser version.

  2. Behavior information: how user interacts with ReportPortal, where user clicks, what actions he or she does, app usage time.

These analytics helps us to improve performance and user-friendliness. Based on analytics, for example, we can decide to write a new documentation or optimize our features and app navigation.

note

We do not collect information that personally identifies you. We follow privacy policy in all cases.

How to disable Google Analytics on ReportPortal UI​

You can turn off Google Analytics on ReportPortal UI as well.

  1. Log in to ReportPortal as Admin.

  2. Open Menu at the bottom and select “Administrate” section.

  1. Select “Server Settings”.

  1. Open “Analytics” tab.

  2. Uncheck “Help make ReportPortal better by automatically sending analytics to us” checkbox.

note

You can enable Google Analytics if you check “Help make ReportPortal better by automatically sending analytics to us” checkbox.

Google Analytics usage on ReportPortal agents​

We collect only the following data by using Google Analytics on ReportPortal agents:

  1. Start of the Launch, and the calendar date of this event.

  2. ReportPortal SDK library name and it’s version, e.g., reportportal 5.0.6.

  3. ReportPortal Integration library (agent name), e.g., pytest-reportportal, version 5.0.11.

  4. Code Interpreter name, e.g., Python 3.6.9.

We need this data to know what libraries and development platforms our users prefer. So, we can prioritize our work on agents in accordance to its actual usage.

How to disable Google Analytics gathering on ReportPortal agents​

Basics​

At the nutshell you need to set AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS environment variable with any non-empty value. In Unix or Linux you can use export command for that:

export AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS=1

For Windows systems there is analogue command set:

set AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS=1

Then you can run your tests in the same shell and analytics gathering will be disabled.

To test that you actually have set the variable you can use echo command.

Linux:

echo "${AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS}"

Windows:

echo %AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS%

If you don't want to set that variable each time you start a shell, there are several technics you can use.

Constantly disabling analytics​

Unix/Linux​

Everything what you export in .bash_profile file in your test user's home directory will be automatically set each time you log in into console. To edit the file you can use nano - a simple text editor:

nano ~/.bash_profile

Put export line somewhere in the file and hit Ctrl+O to save it and Ctrl+X to close.

Windows​

To set environment variable on Windows 10 family systems right-click on it icon in taskbar and choose System. In opened window hit Advanced system settings in the right menu and then Environment variables button in opened System Properties window. Click New button in System variables section, enter variable name and value and close everything with OK button. The changes will be applied after the system restart.

Build systems​

Some build systems can set environment variables on their own we can use this feature to set the variable.

Gradle​

Gradle has environment keyword which sets variables for child processes, so all you need to do is to set it in test task:

test {
    environment "AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS", "1"
}

Maven​

maven-surefire-plugin has option to set environment variables for forked processes, so you can configure the plugin accordingly:

<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
    <groupId>com.epam.reportportal.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>example-mute</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    
    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>2.22.2</version>
                <configuration>
                    <forkMode>once</forkMode>
                    <environmentVariables>
                        <AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS>1</AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS>
                    </environmentVariables>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</project>

tox​

Python's tox automation tool also provides a way to set necessary variables with setenv parameter in tox.ini file:

[testenv]
setenv   =
    AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS = 1

Docker​

If your tests are wrapped in a docker container you need to bypass this variable through command-line with -e flag:

docker run --rm -it \
  -e "AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS=1"
  selenium/standalone-chrome:103.0

Or you can use ENV keyword in your Dockerfile when building the image:

ENV AGENT_NO_ANALYTICS=1

Thanks to Google Analytics, we can deliver interesting and helpful features to ReportPortal. As a result, you will have effective working instruments and better customer support.