# How to Proxy Plausible Through Netlify: A Complete Guide for Hugo Sites
> Learn how to proxy Plausible through Netlify for your Hugo site. Serve analytics from your domain to bypass ad blockers. A complete guide with configuration and redirect rules.
- Repository: [divinerites/plausible-hugo](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-02-28
---
**Proxying Plausible through Netlify requires setting `proxy_netlify = true` in your Hugo configuration and deploying redirect rules that rewrite local paths to Plausible's CDN endpoints with a 200 status code, effectively serving analytics scripts from your own domain to bypass ad-blockers.**
When deploying a Hugo site on Netlify, the `divinerites/plausible-hugo` theme provides a built-in mechanism to proxy Plausible Analytics through your own domain. This technique prevents browsers and ad-blockers from blocking the `plausible.io` domain by serving the tracking script and event API through local paths that Netlify's edge network rewrites transparently.
## Why Proxy Plausible Through Netlify?
Plausible's JavaScript and event-tracking endpoints normally load directly from `https://plausible.io`. Modern privacy tools and ad-blockers routinely block this domain, which completely prevents analytics data collection. By proxying Plausible through Netlify, you map local URLs (e.g., [`/misc/js/script.js`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main//misc/js/script.js)) to Plausible's real endpoints while returning a `200` status code, making the browser treat these requests as same-origin.
## Configuration Setup
### Enabling the Proxy Flag
First, activate the Netlify proxy feature in your site's configuration file. This flag instructs the theme's partials to generate URLs pointing to your local proxy paths rather than the external Plausible domain.
```toml
# config.toml
[params.plausible]
enable = true
domain = "example.com"
proxy_netlify = true # Activates the Netlify proxy mode
```
### Netlify Redirect Rules
The core proxy logic resides in [`layouts/partials/plausible_redirects_netlify.html`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main/layouts/partials/plausible_redirects_netlify.html). This partial generates the necessary rewrite rules that map your local paths to Plausible's infrastructure:
- [`/misc/js/script.js`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main//misc/js/script.js) proxies to the Plausible script (or the outbound-links variant if enabled)
- `/misc/api/event` proxies to the Plausible event collection API
Both rules use the `200` status code to mask the external redirect, ensuring the browser perceives the content as originating from your domain.
## Implementation Methods
### Dynamic Redirects via index.redir
The recommended approach uses Hugo's `index.redir` layout to generate the `_redirects` file dynamically during build time. Create or update `layouts/_default/index.redir` to include the Plausible partial:
```html
# layouts/_default/index.redir
# Existing alias redirects (preserve these)
{{ range $p := site.Pages -}}
{{ range .Aliases }}
{{ . | printf "%-35s" }} {{ $p.RelPermalink }} 301!
{{ end -}}
{{- end -}}
# Inject Plausible proxy rules
{{ partial "plausible_redirects_netlify.html" . }}
```
During the Hugo build, this renders to a `_redirects` file in your publish directory containing the three critical rewrite rules.
### Static _redirects File
If you prefer not to use `index.redir`, create a static file at `static/_redirects` with the explicit rules:
```txt
# Netlify proxy for Plausible Analytics
/misc/js/script.js https://plausible.io/js/script.js 200
/misc/api/event https://plausible.io/api/event 200
```
If you have enabled `outbound_link = true` in your configuration, use the outbound-links variant instead:
```txt
/misc/js/script.js https://plausible.io/js/script.outbound-links.js 200
/misc/api/event https://plausible.io/api/event 200
```
## Content Security Policy Support
When serving Plausible through a proxy, you may need to update your Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to allow the local proxy paths. The theme includes [`layouts/partials/plausible_csp.html`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main/layouts/partials/plausible_csp.html) to generate the necessary directives.
Add the partial to your Netlify headers configuration:
```html
# layouts/index.headers (generates _headers file)
Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; {{ partial "plausible_csp.html" . }}
```
This injects the correct `script-src` and `connect-src` values for [`/misc/js/script.js`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main//misc/js/script.js) and `/misc/api/event`, ensuring the browser permits execution and event posting.
## How the Proxy Works
Once configured, the [`plausible_head.html`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main/plausible_head.html) partial generates a script tag pointing to the local proxy path:
```html
```
When a visitor loads your page, Netlify's edge network intercepts the request for [`/misc/js/script.js`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main//misc/js/script.js) and transparently rewrites it to `https://plausible.io/js/script.js`, returning the content with a `200` status. The browser executes the script as if it were a native site asset. Subsequent page view events sent to `/misc/api/event` undergo the same transparent rewriting to `https://plausible.io/api/event`.
## Summary
- **Enable the proxy** by setting `proxy_netlify = true` in `[params.plausible]` within your [`config.toml`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main/config.toml).
- **Deploy redirect rules** using either the [`plausible_redirects_netlify.html`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main/plausible_redirects_netlify.html) partial in `index.redir` or a static `static/_redirects` file.
- **Map three critical paths**: the JavaScript script (with optional outbound-links variant) and the event API endpoint, both using the `200` rewrite status.
- **Update CSP headers** using [`plausible_csp.html`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main/plausible_csp.html) if your site employs Content Security Policy headers.
- **Bypass ad-blockers** by serving Plausible assets from your own domain rather than the blocked `plausible.io` domain.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What file contains the actual redirect rules for the Netlify proxy?
The redirect rules are defined in [`layouts/partials/plausible_redirects_netlify.html`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main/layouts/partials/plausible_redirects_netlify.html) within the `divinerites/plausible-hugo` repository. This partial generates the specific rewrite syntax mapping [`/misc/js/script.js`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main//misc/js/script.js) and `/misc/api/event` to the corresponding Plausible.io URLs with a 200 status code.
### Do I need to modify the Plausible script tag in my templates when using the proxy?
No, the [`plausible_head.html`](https://github.com/divinerites/plausible-hugo/blob/main/plausible_head.html) partial automatically adjusts the script source when `proxy_netlify = true` is set. It generates `