Google Analytics CLI

Google Analytics 4 data analysis and reporting via google-analytics-cli. Use when the user wants to check GA4 traffic, run reports with dimensions and metrics, monitor realtime users, explore account structure, or analyze user behavior. Triggers: "Google Analytics", "GA4", "analytics report", "active users", "page views", "traffic source", "sessions", "engagement", "realtime", "bounce rate".

Google Analytics CLI Skill

You have access to google-analytics-cli, a read-only CLI for the GA4 API. Use it to run reports, monitor realtime activity, and explore account/property structure.

Quick start

bash

# Check if the CLI is available
google-analytics-cli --help

# List accounts and properties
google-analytics-cli accounts

If the CLI is not installed, install it:

bash

npm install -g google-analytics-cli

Authentication

The CLI uses Google service account credentials. Credentials are resolved in this order:

1. --credentials <path> flag (per-command)
2. GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS env var
3. ~/.config/google-analytics-cli/credentials.json (auto-detected)
4. gcloud Application Default Credentials

Before running any command, verify credentials by running google-analytics-cli accounts. If it fails, ask the user to set up a service account and grant it Viewer access in Google Analytics.

Property ID

Most commands require a GA4 property ID. It can be provided as:

• A positional argument: google-analytics-cli report 123456789 ...
• The --property flag: google-analytics-cli report --property 123456789 ...
• The GA_PROPERTY_ID env var: export GA_PROPERTY_ID=123456789

Both raw numbers (123456789) and prefixed format (properties/123456789) are accepted.

Output format

All commands output pretty-printed JSON by default. Use --format compact for single-line JSON.

Admin commands

bash

# List all accounts and their properties
google-analytics-cli accounts

# Get details about a specific property
google-analytics-cli property 123456789

# List properties for an account
google-analytics-cli properties 987654321
google-analytics-cli properties 987654321 --show-deleted

# List data streams for a property
google-analytics-cli data-streams 123456789

# List key events (conversions) for a property
google-analytics-cli key-events 123456789

# List custom dimensions for a property (Admin API)
google-analytics-cli admin-custom-dimensions 123456789

# List custom metrics for a property (Admin API)
google-analytics-cli admin-custom-metrics 123456789

# Get data retention settings for a property
google-analytics-cli data-retention 123456789

# List Google Ads links for a property
google-analytics-cli ads-links 123456789

# List annotations for a property (alpha API)
google-analytics-cli annotations 123456789

# Get custom dimensions and metrics for a property (Data API, filters by customDefinition)
google-analytics-cli custom-dims 123456789

Change history

Search change history events for an account:

bash

google-analytics-cli change-history 987654321
google-analytics-cli change-history 987654321 --filter-property 123456789
google-analytics-cli change-history 987654321 --earliest-change-time 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z
google-analytics-cli change-history 987654321 --earliest-change-time 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z --latest-change-time 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z
google-analytics-cli change-history 987654321 --actor-email [e-mail]
google-analytics-cli change-history 987654321 --resource-type '["PROPERTY","DATA_STREAM"]'
google-analytics-cli change-history 987654321 --action '["CREATED","UPDATED"]'

Access report

Run an access report to see who accessed the property:

bash

google-analytics-cli access-report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "accessorEmail,accessMechanism" \
  --metrics "accessCount" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]'

Options: --dimension-filter, --metric-filter, --order-by, --limit, --offset, --time-zone, --return-entity-quota, --include-all-users, --expand-groups.

Note: Access report uses dimensionName/metricName (not name) internally and entity (not property).

Running reports

The report command runs a GA4 Data API report.

bash

google-analytics-cli report <property_id> \
  --dimensions "<comma-separated>" \
  --metrics "<comma-separated>" \
  --date-ranges '<JSON array>' \
  [--dimension-filter '<JSON>'] \
  [--metric-filter '<JSON>'] \
  [--order-by '<JSON array>'] \
  [--limit <n>] \
  [--offset <n>] \
  [--currency-code <ISO4217>] \
  [--keep-empty-rows] \
  [--return-property-quota]

Required options: --dimensions, --metrics, --date-ranges.

Date ranges

The --date-ranges option takes a JSON array of date range objects:

bash

# Relative dates
--date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]'

# Absolute dates
--date-ranges '[{"startDate": "2026-01-01", "endDate": "2026-01-31"}]'

# Compare two periods
--date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday", "name": "current"}, {"startDate": "60daysAgo", "endDate": "31daysAgo", "name": "previous"}]'

Valid date values:

• Absolute: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2026-01-01)
• Relative: NdaysAgo (e.g. 30daysAgo, 7daysAgo)
• Special: yesterday, today
• Up to 4 date ranges per request

Dimension filters

The --dimension-filter option takes a JSON FilterExpression:

bash

# Exact match
--dimension-filter '{"filter": {"fieldName": "country", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "EXACT", "value": "United States"}}}'

# Contains
--dimension-filter '{"filter": {"fieldName": "pagePath", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "CONTAINS", "value": "/blog"}}}'

# Regex
--dimension-filter '{"filter": {"fieldName": "pagePath", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "PARTIAL_REGEXP", "value": "^/products/[0-9]+"}}}'

# In list
--dimension-filter '{"filter": {"fieldName": "eventName", "inListFilter": {"values": ["page_view", "scroll", "click"]}}}'

# AND group
--dimension-filter '{"andGroup": {"expressions": [{"filter": {"fieldName": "country", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "EXACT", "value": "United States"}}}, {"filter": {"fieldName": "deviceCategory", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "EXACT", "value": "mobile"}}}]}}'

# OR group
--dimension-filter '{"orGroup": {"expressions": [{"filter": {"fieldName": "country", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "EXACT", "value": "United States"}}}, {"filter": {"fieldName": "country", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "EXACT", "value": "Canada"}}}]}}'

# NOT
--dimension-filter '{"notExpression": {"filter": {"fieldName": "pagePath", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "EXACT", "value": "/"}}}}'

StringFilter matchType values: EXACT, BEGINS_WITH, ENDS_WITH, CONTAINS, FULL_REGEXP, PARTIAL_REGEXP.

Metric filters

The --metric-filter option takes the same FilterExpression structure but with numeric filters:

bash

# Greater than
--metric-filter '{"filter": {"fieldName": "sessions", "numericFilter": {"operation": "GREATER_THAN", "value": {"int64Value": "100"}}}}'

# Between
--metric-filter '{"filter": {"fieldName": "bounceRate", "betweenFilter": {"fromValue": {"doubleValue": 0.5}, "toValue": {"doubleValue": 0.9}}}}'

NumericFilter operations: EQUAL, LESS_THAN, LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL, GREATER_THAN, GREATER_THAN_OR_EQUAL.

NumericValue: use {"int64Value": "string"} for integers or {"doubleValue": number} for decimals.

Ordering

The --order-by option takes a JSON array:

bash

# By metric descending
--order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "sessions"}, "desc": true}]'

# By dimension alphabetically
--order-by '[{"dimension": {"dimensionName": "date", "orderType": "ALPHANUMERIC"}}]'

# Multiple sort keys
--order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "sessions"}, "desc": true}, {"dimension": {"dimensionName": "country"}}]'

DimensionOrderBy orderType values: ALPHANUMERIC, CASE_INSENSITIVE_ALPHANUMERIC, NUMERIC.

Pivot reports

Run a pivot report for cross-tabulation analysis:

bash

google-analytics-cli pivot-report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "country,browser" \
  --metrics "sessions,activeUsers" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --pivots '[{"fieldNames": ["browser"], "limit": 5, "orderBys": [{"metric": {"metricName": "sessions"}, "desc": true}]}]'

Options: --dimension-filter, --metric-filter, --currency-code, --keep-empty-rows, --return-property-quota.

Batch reports

Run up to 5 reports in a single request:

bash

google-analytics-cli batch-report 123456789 \
  --requests '[{"dimensions": [{"name": "date"}], "metrics": [{"name": "activeUsers"}], "dateRanges": [{"startDate": "7daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]}, {"dimensions": [{"name": "country"}], "metrics": [{"name": "sessions"}], "dateRanges": [{"startDate": "7daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]}]'

Metadata and compatibility

bash

# Get full metadata (all available dimensions and metrics)
google-analytics-cli metadata 123456789

# Check if dimensions and metrics are compatible
google-analytics-cli check-compatibility 123456789 \
  --dimensions "date,country" \
  --metrics "sessions,activeUsers"

Options: --dimension-filter, --metric-filter (same FilterExpression format as report).

Audience exports

bash

# Create an audience export
google-analytics-cli audience-export-create 123456789 \
  --audience "properties/123456789/audiences/456" \
  --dimensions "deviceId,userId"

# Get status of an audience export
google-analytics-cli audience-export 123456789 properties/123456789/audienceExports/789

# List all audience exports
google-analytics-cli audience-exports 123456789

# Query rows from a completed audience export
google-analytics-cli audience-export-query 123456789 properties/123456789/audienceExports/789 \
  --limit 1000 --offset 0

Realtime reports

The realtime command monitors current activity. No date ranges or currency code.

bash

google-analytics-cli realtime <property_id> \
  --dimensions "<comma-separated>" \
  --metrics "<comma-separated>" \
  [--dimension-filter '<JSON>'] \
  [--metric-filter '<JSON>'] \
  [--order-by '<JSON array>'] \
  [--limit <n>] \
  [--return-property-quota]

Realtime reports cover the last 30 minutes of activity.

Realtime dimensions (limited set)

appVersion, audienceId, audienceName, audienceResourceName, city, cityId, country, countryId, deviceCategory, eventName, minutesAgo, platform, streamId, streamName, unifiedScreenName

Note: minutesAgo is "00" for the current minute, "01" for the previous, up to "29".

Realtime metrics (4 only)

activeUsers, eventCount, keyEvents, screenPageViews

Common dimensions reference

Traffic source (session-scoped): sessionSource, sessionMedium, sessionSourceMedium, sessionDefaultChannelGroup, sessionCampaignName, sessionCampaignId

Traffic source (first-user acquisition): firstUserSource, firstUserMedium, firstUserSourceMedium, firstUserDefaultChannelGroup, firstUserCampaignName

Page/Screen: pagePath, pageTitle, pagePathPlusQueryString, landingPage, landingPagePlusQueryString, hostName, fullPageUrl, contentGroup

Event: eventName, isKeyEvent

User: newVsReturning, userAgeBracket, userGender, firstSessionDate

Geography: country, countryId, city, cityId, region, continent, language

Device: deviceCategory, browser, operatingSystem, operatingSystemVersion, screenResolution, mobileDeviceBranding, platform

Time: date, dateHour, day, dayOfWeek, dayOfWeekName, hour, month, week, year, yearMonth, nthDay

Ecommerce: transactionId, itemName, itemId, itemCategory, itemBrand, itemVariant, orderCoupon

Google Ads: sessionGoogleAdsCampaignName, sessionGoogleAdsAdGroupName, sessionGoogleAdsKeyword, sessionGoogleAdsAdNetworkType, googleAdsAccountName

Audience: audienceId, audienceName

Custom dimensions: customEvent:parameter_name (event-scoped), customUser:parameter_name (user-scoped), customItem:parameter_name (item-scoped)

Common metrics reference

User: activeUsers, newUsers, totalUsers

Session: sessions, sessionsPerUser, averageSessionDuration, bounceRate

Engagement: engagedSessions, engagementRate, screenPageViews, screenPageViewsPerSession, screenPageViewsPerUser, userEngagementDuration

Event: eventCount, eventCountPerUser, eventValue, eventsPerSession

Key events (conversions): keyEvents, sessionKeyEventRate, userKeyEventRate

Ecommerce/Revenue: ecommercePurchases, purchaseRevenue, totalRevenue, transactions, averagePurchaseRevenue, averageRevenuePerUser, itemRevenue, addToCarts, checkouts, cartToViewRate

Advertising: advertiserAdClicks, advertiserAdCost, advertiserAdCostPerClick, advertiserAdImpressions, returnOnAdSpend

Custom metrics: customEvent:parameter_name (sum), averageCustomEvent:parameter_name (average), countCustomEvent:parameter_name (count)

Report examples

Traffic overview (last 30 days):

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "sessionDefaultChannelGroup" \
  --metrics "sessions,activeUsers,engagementRate,keyEvents,totalRevenue" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "sessions"}, "desc": true}]'

Top pages by views:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "pagePath" \
  --metrics "screenPageViews,activeUsers,averageSessionDuration,bounceRate" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "screenPageViews"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 20

Daily trend:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "date" \
  --metrics "activeUsers,sessions,screenPageViews,keyEvents" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"dimension": {"dimensionName": "date"}}]'

Traffic source breakdown:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "sessionSource,sessionMedium" \
  --metrics "sessions,activeUsers,engagementRate,bounceRate,keyEvents" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "7daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "sessions"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 20

Landing page performance:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "landingPage" \
  --metrics "sessions,activeUsers,bounceRate,keyEvents,averageSessionDuration" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "sessions"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 20

Device breakdown:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "deviceCategory" \
  --metrics "activeUsers,sessions,engagementRate,bounceRate,screenPageViews" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]'

Geography:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "country" \
  --metrics "activeUsers,sessions,engagementRate,keyEvents" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "activeUsers"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 20

Event analysis:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "eventName" \
  --metrics "eventCount,eventCountPerUser,eventValue" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "7daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "eventCount"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 20

Period comparison:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "sessionDefaultChannelGroup" \
  --metrics "sessions,activeUsers,keyEvents" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday", "name": "current"}, {"startDate": "60daysAgo", "endDate": "31daysAgo", "name": "previous"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "sessions"}, "desc": true}]'

Ecommerce performance:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "itemName" \
  --metrics "itemRevenue,itemsPurchased,addToCarts,cartToViewRate" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "itemRevenue"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 20

New vs returning users:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "newVsReturning" \
  --metrics "activeUsers,sessions,engagementRate,screenPageViews,keyEvents" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]'

User acquisition (first-touch):

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "firstUserDefaultChannelGroup" \
  --metrics "newUsers,activeUsers,sessions,keyEvents,totalRevenue" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "newUsers"}, "desc": true}]'

Campaign (UTM) performance:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "sessionCampaignName,sessionSourceMedium" \
  --metrics "sessions,activeUsers,engagementRate,keyEvents,totalRevenue" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "sessions"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 20

Google Ads campaign performance:

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "sessionGoogleAdsCampaignName" \
  --metrics "sessions,keyEvents,advertiserAdCost,advertiserAdClicks,returnOnAdSpend" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "advertiserAdCost"}, "desc": true}]'

Filtered report (blog pages only, US mobile users):

bash

google-analytics-cli report 123456789 \
  --dimensions "pagePath" \
  --metrics "screenPageViews,activeUsers,engagementRate" \
  --date-ranges '[{"startDate": "30daysAgo", "endDate": "yesterday"}]' \
  --dimension-filter '{"andGroup": {"expressions": [{"filter": {"fieldName": "pagePath", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "BEGINS_WITH", "value": "/blog"}}}, {"filter": {"fieldName": "country", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "EXACT", "value": "United States"}}}, {"filter": {"fieldName": "deviceCategory", "stringFilter": {"matchType": "EXACT", "value": "mobile"}}}]}}' \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "screenPageViews"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 20

Realtime -- active users by country:

bash

google-analytics-cli realtime 123456789 \
  --dimensions "country" \
  --metrics "activeUsers" \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "activeUsers"}, "desc": true}]'

Realtime -- active pages:

bash

google-analytics-cli realtime 123456789 \
  --dimensions "unifiedScreenName" \
  --metrics "activeUsers,screenPageViews" \
  --order-by '[{"metric": {"metricName": "activeUsers"}, "desc": true}]' \
  --limit 10

Important rules

1. Dimension/metric compatibility. Not all dimensions and metrics can be used together. If you get a compatibility error, reduce the number of dimensions or try different combinations. Use the check-compatibility command to test before running a report, or use metadata to see all available dimensions and metrics.

2. Max 9 dimensions per report request.

3. Max 4 date ranges per report request.

4. Max 250,000 rows per response. Use --offset and --limit for pagination.

5. Realtime is limited. Only 15 dimensions and 4 metrics. No date ranges, no currency code, no offset. Covers the last 30 minutes.

6. Thresholded dimensions. userAgeBracket, userGender, and audienceId/audienceName may return thresholded (sampled) data for privacy when row counts are too low.

7. Quota. Use --return-property-quota to check current quota status. Standard properties get 200,000 tokens/day.

8. Filter scope. --dimension-filter only accepts dimension field names. --metric-filter only accepts metric field names. They are applied independently by the API.

9. Batch reports. Max 5 report objects per batch request.

10. Audience exports. Creating an export returns a long-running operation. Poll with audience-export until state is ACTIVE, then query rows with audience-export-query.

Workflow guidance

Quick overview

1. Run google-analytics-cli accounts to find properties
2. Run a traffic overview report with sessionDefaultChannelGroup and key metrics
3. Present trends with daily date dimension

Deep analysis

1. Start broad: traffic channels and top-level metrics
2. Drill down: specific pages, events, or sources that underperform
3. Compare periods to identify trends
4. Check device and geography breakdowns for segment-specific issues
5. Use --dimension-filter to isolate specific segments

Property exploration

1. Run google-analytics-cli properties <account_id> to see all properties
2. Run google-analytics-cli data-streams <property_id> to see data streams
3. Run google-analytics-cli key-events <property_id> to see configured conversions
4. Run google-analytics-cli metadata <property_id> for all available dimensions and metrics
5. Run google-analytics-cli check-compatibility <property_id> before complex reports

Error handling

• Permission denied -- the service account needs Viewer access in Google Analytics
• Incompatible dimensions/metrics -- use check-compatibility to test, reduce dimensions or try different combinations
• Empty results -- check property ID, date range, and whether data exists for those dimensions
• Quota exceeded -- use --return-property-quota to check usage; reduce request frequency or complexity

API documentation references

• google-analytics-cli documentation
• GA4 Data API overview
• Dimensions and metrics reference
• Realtime API schema
• FilterExpression reference
• OrderBy reference
• Quotas and limits
• GA4 Admin API