Automatic Events

HitKeep's browser tracker emits a small set of built-in events automatically after you install the default hk.js snippet:

outbound_click
file_download
form_submit

These events use the same hk.js -> /ingest/event -> Events page pipeline as manual custom events, so you do not need a new API, schema migration, or separate dashboard.

Tracking settings with automatic event toggles

Default behavior

Automatic tracking is enabled by default once you install hk.js.

The tracker captures only privacy-safe metadata:

outbound_click: target_host, target_path, target_protocol
file_download: file_host, file_path, file_ext
form_submit: action_host, action_path, method, same_origin, optional form_id

HitKeep strips query strings and hashes before storing these properties. The tracker does not capture link text, form field values, or request bodies.

Event	Captured properties	Explicitly not captured
`outbound_click`	`target_host`, `target_path`, `target_protocol`	Query strings, hashes, link text
`file_download`	`file_host`, `file_path`, `file_ext`	Query strings, hashes, file contents
`form_submit`	`action_host`, `action_path`, `method`, `same_origin`, optional `form_id`	Form field values, request bodies

For broader runtime, privacy, and export facts, see Facts and Limits.

Install the default snippet

<script async src="https://your-hitkeep.example/hk.js"></script>

That snippet records page views plus the automatic events above.

Disable specific automatic events

Use the Site settings -> Tracking drawer in the dashboard, or add opt-out attributes manually:

<script
  async
  src="https://your-hitkeep.example/hk.js"
  data-disable-outbound-tracking="true"
  data-disable-download-tracking="true"
  data-disable-form-tracking="true"
></script>

Available attributes:

data-disable-outbound-tracking="true"
data-disable-download-tracking="true"
data-disable-form-tracking="true"

These attributes only disable the matching automatic event class. Manual window.hk.event() calls and server-side events keep working.

Existing tracker options still work the same way:

data-collect-dnt="true"
data-disable-beacon="true"
data-disable-spa-tracking="true"

For delivery behavior, retry handling, SPA tracking, and browser storage boundaries, see Tracker Architecture.

Event rules

HitKeep applies a few precedence rules so one user action maps to one event:

Manual window.hk.event(...) calls stay independent and unchanged.
Elements marked with data-hk-event or data-hitkeep-event are reserved for explicit tracking and are ignored by generic auto-tracking.
If a clicked link is both outbound and a download, HitKeep records outbound_click.
Clicks inside forms are ignored for link auto-tracking; only the actual submit event records form_submit.

Analyze automatic events in the dashboard

Open Events for your site and choose one of the automatic event quick picks when data is available.

You can then:

break the event down by its properties
filter the timeseries by a property value
inspect the audience panels for pages, sources, devices, countries, city, provider, and ASN context

Events page showing automatic event breakdowns

City, provider, and ASN are derived from the same transient IP metadata path used for pageviews. Automatic event properties still stay limited to the event-specific fields listed above.

When to use manual events instead

Use window.hk.event() when you need domain-specific business semantics such as:

product onboarding steps
pricing CTA variants
plan upgrades
chatbot milestones

Automatic events are best for baseline interaction coverage. Manual events are still the right tool for custom product analytics and conversion tracking.