---
title: "Automatic Event Tracking in HitKeep | HitKeep"
description: "HitKeep can automatically track outbound links, file downloads, and form submissions from hk.js without changing your backend event schema."
canonical: "https://hitkeep.com/guides/tracking/automatic-events/"
---

# Automatic Event Tracking in HitKeep

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](https://hitkeep.com/_astro/feature-site-tracking.CZgMSKQI.png)

## 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](https://hitkeep.com/reference/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](https://hitkeep.com/guides/tracking/tracker-architecture/).

## Event rules

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

1. Manual `window.hk.event(...)` calls stay independent and unchanged.
2. Elements marked with `data-hk-event` or `data-hitkeep-event` are reserved for explicit tracking and are ignored by generic auto-tracking.
3. If a clicked link is both outbound and a download, HitKeep records `outbound_click`.
4. 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](https://hitkeep.com/_astro/analytics-events.CRjIOP7j.png)

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.

## Related

- [Google Analytics Alternative for WordPress](https://hitkeep.com/use-cases/google-analytics-alternative-wordpress/)
- [Custom Events](https://hitkeep.com/guides/tracking/custom-events/)
- [Cookieless Event Tracking](https://hitkeep.com/use-cases/cookieless-event-tracking/)
- [Tracker Architecture](https://hitkeep.com/guides/tracking/tracker-architecture/)
- [HitKeep Agent Skills](https://hitkeep.com/guides/integrations/hitkeep-agent-skills/)
- [Facts and Limits](https://hitkeep.com/reference/facts-and-limits/)
- [Event Analytics](https://hitkeep.com/guides/analytics/events/)
- [Goals](https://hitkeep.com/guides/analytics/goals/)
- [REST API Reference](https://hitkeep.com/api/)

[Previous Custom tracking domains](https://hitkeep.com/guides/tracking/custom-tracking-domains/)[Next Custom events](https://hitkeep.com/guides/tracking/custom-events/)