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AWStats analyzes server log files and turns them into reports about website traffic and other server activity. It remains usable for existing setups, but the project says it is no longer actively developed and recommends Matomo Log Analytics for modern, supported log analytics. If you are choosing a tool today, weigh that maintenance status alongside AWStats’s log-based approach and your operational needs.
What AWStats is and how it works
AWStats—Advanced Web Statistics—is GPLv3-or-later software that reads server logs and builds graphical statistics reports. You can run it from the command line or publish reports through a web-server CGI interface. Unlike analytics tools that depend on a JavaScript tag running in a visitor’s browser, AWStats derives its measurements from the requests recorded in your logs. The AWStats project repository describes it as a web-server logfile analyzer.
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That distinction affects both setup and interpretation: you need access to usable logs, and the result reflects what those logs record and how AWStats is configured to parse them. It is not a direct count of people in the way a person might casually interpret “visitors.”
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A full analysis can cover a broad set of activity and traffic dimensions. Depending on the log fields and configuration, reports include:
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- Visits, unique visitors, visit duration, last visits, and authenticated users.
- Traffic by day, hour, domain, country, host, and unresolved IP address.
- Entry pages, exit pages, most-viewed pages, file types, downloads, and compression.
- Browsers, operating systems, screen sizes, and browser capability ratios.
- Robots, worm attacks, HTTP errors, search engines, keyphrases, and keywords.
- Bookmark additions and load-balancer cluster reports.
These are log-derived reports, not guarantees that every request can be attributed to a real person or that every category is available from every server’s logs. Bot filtering, exclusions, parsing rules, and the fields present all affect the result.
Which log formats AWStats supports
AWStats supports common web-server formats including Apache common and combined logs, IIS W3C logs, and WebStar, as well as other web, proxy, WAP, and streaming formats. Its documentation also covers selected FTP, syslog, and mail logs. Custom LogFormat definitions are possible when the source log contains the information AWStats needs. The AWStats FAQ lists supported and configurable formats.
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Before enabling reports, confirm that your actual log format matches the configuration. A syntactically readable file is not enough if important fields are missing or interpreted incorrectly. Time zone settings, log rotation, and exclusions also need to reflect how your server operates. These details can materially change totals and comparisons over time.
How to install and operate AWStats
The official documentation organizes deployment into three stages: install and configure, process logs to build or update the statistics database, then generate and read reports. The AWStats documentation describes the workflow and the Apache-compatible setup helper, perl awstats_configure.pl.
Requirements
- A server log file AWStats can read.
- An operating system capable of running Perl scripts.
- The Perl
Encodemodule. - For browser-based CGI reports, a web server configured to execute CGI scripts.
Deployment sequence
- Install and configure: Install AWStats and create a configuration that identifies the site and correctly describes its log format. For an Apache-compatible setup, the documented helper is
perl awstats_configure.pl. - Process the logs: Run AWStats against the logs to create or update its statistics database. Schedule updates in the way that fits your log rotation and reporting needs.
- Serve or inspect reports: Read generated reports from the command line or configure the web server to expose the CGI interface. Restrict report access to the people who should see the data.
The helper is not a substitute for checking the resulting configuration: verify the format, time zone, rotation behavior, and exclusions against your own server. The AWStats documentation is the reference for detailed installation and configuration steps.
How to interpret AWStats totals
Log analyzers can disagree because they do not necessarily parse records the same way or define traffic the same way. Bot handling, excluded requests, time zones, and the rules used to group requests into visits can change reported figures. A change in AWStats totals therefore does not automatically mean that actual audience behavior changed; first check whether the log source or configuration changed.
For dependable trend comparisons, keep the log format and analysis settings consistent, and document the exclusions and time zone used. When comparing AWStats with a tag-based analytics service, treat differences as a result of different collection and counting methods unless you have established a more specific cause.
Is AWStats still maintained?
The AWStats project site lists version 8.0 as the last stable release, dated August 26, 2025, and says version 8 will be the final version released by the original author. In a November 2025 notice, the repository says AWStats is no longer actively developed and recommends Matomo Log Analytics as a modern, privacy-respecting log analytics option. See the AWStats project site and its repository status notice for the project’s statements.
For an existing deployment, keep a known-good package pinned, limit who can view reports, and record the exact log format and exclusions. Check current security support before continuing to expose or rely on the software in production.
What should you use instead of AWStats?
For a new log-analytics deployment, start by evaluating maintained alternatives rather than assuming AWStats will receive future fixes or releases. Matomo Log Analytics is the replacement named by the AWStats project. Review its current maintenance and security status, supported log formats, migration requirements, privacy and data-ownership model, and how it fits your reporting workflow before choosing it.
If your priority is a simple report from server logs, compare alternatives on these practical points:
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- Collection method: Does it analyze server logs, collect data through a JavaScript tag, or support both? These methods observe different events and can produce different totals.
- Log compatibility: Can it parse your server’s format and preserve the fields your reports need?
- Operations: Can you automate processing from the command line, or do you need a browser-managed interface?
- Freshness: How quickly must reports update, and what processing schedule can the tool support?
- Control and upkeep: Where is data stored, who can access it, and is the software actively maintained?
- Migration effort: Can you carry forward historical data, or will you need to retain AWStats reports separately for older periods?
There is no universal replacement choice: the best fit depends on whether you need log-based analysis, the formats you have, your privacy requirements, and how much operational work you can support.
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