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GnomeMan4201
GnomeMan4201

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Built a Free Analytics Tool for DEV.to (Because the Dashboard Wasn't Enough)

#devto #opensource #python

The Problem Every DEV Writer Faces

You publish an article. It gets some views. Maybe a few reactions. But then what?

DEV.to's built-in analytics show you the basics, but they don't answer the questions that actually matter:

  • Which tags are driving the most traffic?
  • Is my content getting better over time?
  • Which old articles should I update?
  • What's my actual engagement rate?
  • Should I be using different tags?

After publishing 16 articles and hitting 983 views, I realized I was flying blind. So I built DEV.to Analytics Pro - and the insights completely changed my content strategy.

What I Discovered About My Own Content

Using the tool on my own articles, I found some surprising patterns:

AI Security Posts Get 2x Average Views

My two articles about AI security averaged 116 views each - nearly double my overall average of 61 views/article. This completely shifted my content strategy toward AI + security topics.

October Engagement Is 4x Better Than July

Despite publishing fewer articles, my October content got 12 reactions total vs just 9 in July (when I published 9 articles!). I'd learned something about quality over quantity without realizing it.

The Zero Comments Problem

Not a single comment across 16 articles. The tool showed me this pattern clearly, and I started adding discussion prompts at the end of new posts.

Tag Performance Varies Wildly

The #ai tag averaged 116 views per article, while #cybersecurity only got 62 views despite being way more popular. Sometimes niche beats broad.

How It Works 

# Install
git clone https://github.com/GnomeMan4201/devto-analytics-pro.git
cd devto-analytics-pro
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run full report
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --full-report
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Sample Output 

============================================================
DEV.TO ANALYTICS OVERVIEW (all time)
============================================================
Total Articles:      16
Total Views:         983
Total Reactions:     25
Total Comments:      0
Avg Views/Article:   61
Engagement Rate:     4.50%
============================================================
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Key Features

1. Tag Performance Analysis

See which tags actually drive traffic:

TAG PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
Tag                  Articles   Avg Views
------------------------------------------
ai                   2          116
infosec              3          101
cybersecurity        10         62
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This showed me I was overusing #cybersecurity (10 articles, mediocre results) and underusing #ai (only 2 articles, excellent results).

2. Growth Trends

Track your progress month over month:

GROWTH TREND
Month           Articles   Total Views     Total Reactions
-----------------------------------------------------------
2025-07         9          509             9
2025-08         1          62              1
2025-09         3          248             3
2025-10         3          164             12
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I discovered my engagement rate jumped from 2.54% to 4.50% in 3 months by following the data.

3. Underperformer Detection 

python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --underperformers --days 90
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Identifies articles with below-average performance so you know what to update or improve.

4. Reading Time Analysis 

READING TIME ANALYSIS
Time Range      Articles   Avg Views       Avg Reactions
---------------------------------------------------------
0-3 min         7          56              1.9
4-5 min         6          66              0.8
6-10 min        3          66              2.3
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For my content, 6-10 minute reads got the best engagement. Shorter wasn't always better.

5. Export Options 

# Export to CSV for deeper analysis
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --export-csv analytics.csv

# Export to JSON
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --export-json data.json
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Installation & Setup

1. Get Your API Key

Go to DEV.to Settings and generate an API key under "DEV Community API Keys"

2. Clone & Install 

git clone https://github.com/GnomeMan4201/devto-analytics-pro.git
cd devto-analytics-pro
pip install -r requirements.txt
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3. Run Your First Report 

python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_API_KEY --full-report
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That's it. You'll get a comprehensive analysis of all your articles.

Real-World Use Cases

Content Strategy

I used tag analysis to discover that AI security was my "blue ocean" - high interest, low competition in my niche.

SEO Optimization

Export data to CSV and correlate with Google Search Console to see which articles are driving organic traffic.

Content Audit

The underperformer detection helped me identify 3 articles worth updating. After refreshing them with current information and better tags, views increased.

Portfolio Analytics

When applying for technical writing opportunities, I can now show concrete metrics: "983 total views, 4.50% engagement rate, expertise in AI security content (2x average views)."

Command-Line Options 

# Overview statistics
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --overview

# Top 20 articles by engagement
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --top 20 --sort engagement

# Last 30 days only
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --overview --days 30

# Tag analysis for last 90 days
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --tags --days 90

# Find underperformers
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --underperformers

# Full report
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --full-report
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What's Next for the Tool?

This is just v1.0. Here's what I'm planning:

  • Web Dashboard - Visual interface instead of CLI only
  • Real-time Monitoring - Track views as they happen
  • Alerts - Notify when an article is trending
  • AI Recommendations - Suggest topics based on your best performers
  • Benchmark Mode - Compare your stats to DEV.to averages
  • Best Time to Post - Analyze when your audience is most active

Contributing

The tool is open source - contributions welcome

Ideas for contributions:

  • Add more visualization types
  • Implement a web UI
  • Create article recommendation engine
  • Add support for other platforms (Medium, Hashnode)
  • Build comparison/benchmarking features

Try It Yourself

If you write on DEV.to, this tool will give you insights you can't get anywhere else.

Get started in 2 minutes:

git clone https://github.com/GnomeMan4201/devto-analytics-pro.git
cd devto-analytics-pro
pip install -r requirements.txt
python3 dev.py --api-key YOUR_KEY --full-report
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Final Thoughts

Building this tool taught me more about my writing than any individual article's performance. The patterns only become clear when you analyze everything together.

Key lessons:

  • Niche topics (AI security) beat broad topics (general cybersecurity)
  • Quality over quantity actually works (3 articles in October > 9 in July)
  • Tags matter more than I thought (2x difference between best and worst)
  • Engagement is trainable (mine nearly doubled in 3 months)

If you're serious about growing your DEV.to presence, data-driven decisions beat gut feelings every time.

What analytics would YOU want to see? Drop a comment and I might add it to the tool.

GitHub Repository: devto-analytics-pro

My DEV Profile: @gnomeman4201

My Other Tools: LANimals, bad_BANANA

Built this while analyzing my own data and discovered I was terrible at picking tags. Hope it helps you avoid my mistakes.

🔥 Next on my radar...

I’ve been experimenting with a GitHub version of this idea —

a “Security Intelligence Dashboard” that maps all your repos

by maturity, innovation, and influence.

Still early, but if that’s something you’d want to see,

let me know in the comments

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