
While the official installation process at [usefathom.com](https://usefathom.com/ref/Q0QUXX) references a blog post by [Vercel](https://vercel.com/guides/deploying-nextjs-using-fathom-analytics-with-vercel) which describes the required steps pretty good, I sill had to add some thoughts myself. Here are things I'm going to cover in this post:

- Install the fathom-client
- Store the tracking identifier in an environment variable

## Install the fathom-client

First, you need to log into or signup at [usefathom.com](https://usefathom.com/ref/Q0QUXX) and create a site. After this you need to add a script tag to your website or you use a client library instead. I would recommend the following library: [fathom-client](https://github.com/derrickreimer/fathom-client).

```bash
yarn add fathom-client
```

This lib provides three functions:

- [load()](https://github.com/derrickreimer/fathom-client#loadsiteid-string-opts-object) - Injects the Fathom script into the DOM and lets you set some config
- [trackPageview()](https://github.com/derrickreimer/fathom-client#trackpageviewopts-object) - Tracks a page view
- [trackGoal()](https://github.com/derrickreimer/fathom-client#trackgoalcode-string-cents-number) - Tracks custom goals

All this needs to be implemented in a custom `_app.js` file like so:

```javascript
//within pages/_app.js
import { useRouter } from "next/router";
import { useEffect } from "react";
import * as Fathom from "fathom-client";

function App({ Component, pageProps }) {

  //...

  const router = useRouter();

  useEffect(() => {
    Fathom.load("your-tracking-id", {
      // Including domains is optional, but I would recommend it as it will only count page views and events on this domains. Dev environments will be excluded with this config.
      includedDomains: ["yourdomain.com"],
    });

    function onRouteChangeComplete() {
      Fathom.trackPageview();
    }
    // Record a pageview when route changes
    router.events.on("routeChangeComplete", onRouteChangeComplete);

    // Unassign event listener
    return () => {
      router.events.off("routeChangeComplete", onRouteChangeComplete);
    };
  }, [router.events]);

  //...
```

## Store the tracking identifier in a environment variable

It's really not a good idea to store your keys (even if they are no secrets) within your source code. To store them within the environment here is what you need to do:

```javascript
//within pages/_app.js
import { useRouter } from "next/router";
import { useEffect } from "react";
import * as Fathom from "fathom-client";

function App({ Component, pageProps }) {

  //...

  const router = useRouter();

  useEffect(() => {
    // Test if the fathom key is available within process.env
     if (process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_FATHOM) {
       // !!! Don't forget the NEXT_PUBLIC_* since only this will make the variable available to your frontend
        Fathom.load(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_FATHOM, {
          includedDomains: ["yourdomain.com"],
        });
      } else {
        // If it is not available, print a message.
        console.warn("Tried to load Fathom but no key was provided.");
      }

    function onRouteChangeComplete() {
      Fathom.trackPageview();
    }
    // Record a pageview when route changes
    router.events.on("routeChangeComplete", onRouteChangeComplete);

    // Unassign event listener
    return () => {
      router.events.off("routeChangeComplete", onRouteChangeComplete);
    };
  }, [router.events]);

  //...
```

If you want to track goals, like newsletter signups or checkouts call the [trackGoal()](https://github.com/derrickreimer/fathom-client#trackgoalcode-string-cents-number) function whereever you like.

While it should [not be required](https://usefathom.com/compliance) to add a annoying cookie notice when using Fathom, you probably should update your privacy policy text on your website. Fathom has a nice [little snippet](https://usefathom.com/docs/legal/privacy-policy-sample) which can be easily added to your website.


I used Google Analytics for almost forever. But since GDPR requires you to add a notfication if you use cookies I switched to Fathom. Here is how to add it to a Next.js app.

Add Fathom to your Next.js App


Getting started in a new job in an enterprise? I have changed jobs several times, and based on my experiences I wrote down some thoughts. While a general appliciable checklist is possible, individual onboarding in an enterprise is paramount. Unfortunately, there is a huge gap between great onbording and the onboarding processes I experienced. That's why it is really important to have your own onboarding plan.

Here are my thoughts on getting started in a new enterprise job.

## Get to know your human environment

To integrate yourself as fast as possible, it is crucial that you know the people around you and their place in the organization. Every company should have something like a [organization chart](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FOrganizational_chart&psig=AOvVaw3TjwUPGpRKuDbKDiiorl3B&ust=1592404866842000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCIiK_sbIhuoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD). Ask or for it or look for it by yourself. Print it out and put it into you notebook (if you have one). I personally like to take notes when I meet those people for the first time and make notes directly the organizational chart. Something like "Young guy with glasses. Knows alot about finances." What will look a little bit creepy will help you remember the people around you better, and will help you to build organizational connections. This is a crucial part of your initial experience as already mentioned in one of my [previous posts](/blog/two-books-for-young-professionals-in-an-enterprise-world).

## Get to know your technical environment

Major enterprises work because of processes and standards. The faster you get to know them, the faster you will be able to deliver good work. By that I refer to all processes you could somehow initiate or benefit from. Sometimes companies have process maps internally available for any employee and sometimes the process is something everybody talks about but nobody actually understands. Therefore it is really important to truly understand the process, and even more important to use the process for your needs. If it is not documented, then you should document it yourself.
While processes feel stiff, they most of the time work. Because of this they are avoided and bypassed by the majority. If you know how the really work, it is your chance to really create value for your team and the enterprise.

## Get to know your mission from any level

Enterprises have strategies, missions and visions. While they are intended to give the company purpose and influence actions, there is often a huge gap between what the company would like to be and what the company actually is. Don't be misled by those externally communicated strategies. Ask you leader: what is really the purpose and role of your organization? What is your role? Why did they hire you? The answers to these questions should guide your action.


Three things I would recommend everyone entering a new job or position.

Individual Onboarding in a New Enterprise Job


I recently wrote some [Cypress](https://www.cypress.io/) tests for a project using [Firebase](https://firebase.google.com/). While most of it was pretty straight forward, I had trouble testing the authentication flow. Signing up is not a problem, but before or after the test case, the corresponding test user needs to be deleted. The problem is that the Firebase Admin SDK needed to accomplish this needs a node.js environment.

## Initializing the Firebase Admin SDK

The first thing I found was the [Cypress-Firebase](https://github.com/prescottprue/cypress-firebase) lib. The project is well documented and up-to-date, but I realized it wouldn't help me with the initial problem - deleting the test user after the test run. So I searched for another way, and I found that Cypress allows you to call a node script right from the test case itself. And that's what I will show you how to do.

The [cy.exec](https://docs.cypress.io/api/commands/exec.html) function allows us to run a system command. So, why not call a node script that initializes the firebase admin SDK and deletes our test user?

```javascript
// clearFirebase.js
var admin = require('firebase-admin')
var app = admin.initializeApp()

admin
    .auth()
    .getUserByEmail(<theEmail>)
    .then(function (userRecord) {
        admin
            .auth()
            .deleteUser(userRecord.uid)
            .then(function () {
                console.log('Successfully deleted user')
                process.exit(0)
            })
            .catch(function (error) {
                console.log(error.code)
                process.exit(1)
            })
    })
    .catch(function (error) {
        console.log('Error fetching user data:', error)
        process.exit(1)
    })
```

In order to use the admin SDK, you have to initialize it with credentials. If you initialize it in the way I just showed you, the credential file needs to be linked to a local environment variable like so: `export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/home/user/service-account-file.json"`. You can read more about [initializing here](https://firebase.google.com/docs/admin/setup#initialize-sdk).

## Clear state and delete the test user

Deleting the test user is pretty basic, and you can read more about how to accomplish that in the offical [firebase docs](https://firebase.google.com/docs/auth/admin/manage-users#delete_a_user). But the missing piece is: `.getUserByEmail(<theEmail>)`. Our cypress test needs to somehow provide a user identifier to the script. To make this possible, we can pass an environment variable to the script:

```javascript
//yourtest.spec.js
cy.exec('node ./cypress/cleanupFirebase.js', {
    // user.email comes from a fixture file but you can use a simple string as well
    env: { email: user.email }
}).then((result) => {
    //Just for debugging
    console.log(result.code)
    console.log(result.stderr)
    console.log(result.stdout)
})
```

While this will work, there is still a small issue. The test state (in this case, the existence of the test user) should be cleaned ~~both~~ before ~~and after~~ the test run, because your test case should always be mounted on a clean and stable state (well, I also clean the state afterwards just to cleanup my test database, although this shouldn't be necessary). The [cypress docs](https://docs.cypress.io/guides/references/best-practices.html#Using-after-or-afterEach-hooks) say that you should always clean the state before testing, so if the test user doesn't exit, the firebase.auth will throw an error. However, since we want to continue our test case, we need to handle this error in the following way:

```javascript
// clearFirebase.js
.catch(function (error) {
        if (error.code === 'auth/user-not-found') process.exit(0)
        console.log('Error fetching user data:', error)
        process.exit(1)
    })
```

Now we can catch the _auth/user-not-found_ error code and resume our test case if the user already exists. You can find the whole script here: [the gist](https://gist.github.com/zeekrey/4ca1a768ec4cc5793c3f41c88ee66eb2).

To be honest, I don't like E2E testing the whole system. It takes a lot of initial time and is pretty fragile. That's why I like to test only major and happy user paths end to end, and focus on unit and integration testing. I definitely recommend reading more about testing at the awesome [Kent C. Dodds blog](https://kentcdodds.com/blog/write-tests).


How to test the firebase user authentication with Cypress.

Testing Firebase Authentication with Cypress

👶 Teini (tiny, [ˈtīnē]) is an extremely small webshop leveraging awesome and free solutions like Github and Vercel.

teini

TypeScript

For all, who want less 📈 and more 🐱‍👤 to describe the current COVID-19 situation. Stay safe. 💌

zeekrey

Blog

Add Fathom to your Next.js App

Individual Onboarding in a New Enterprise Job

Testing Firebase Authentication with Cypress

Open Source Projects