A lightweight and free Joomla plugin that tracks unique clicks and file downloads using a simple shortcode. The plugin adds an automatic counter badge next to each tracked link and works with both local and external URLs.
• Tracks unique clicks based on IP address
• Displays a badge with the current download count
• Supports local files and external links (PDF, ZIP, GitHub, cloud storage, etc.)
• Easy-to-use shortcode: {download href="URL"}Text{/download}
• Works with TinyMCE and other editors that strip CSS classes
• Zero dependencies – no jQuery, no extra libraries
• Logs stored in lightweight text files (no database usage)
• Fully compatible with Joomla 5 and Joomla 6
- Download the ZIP package.
- Go to Joomla Administrator → Extensions → Install.
- Upload the ZIP file.
- Enable the plugin: Extensions → Plugins → System – DC Download Counter.
- (Optional) Configure badge colors and size in plugin settings.
Wrap any link with the shortcode:
{download href="https://example.com/file.pdf"}Download PDF{/download}
Examples:
• PDF file:
{download href="/docs/catalog.pdf"}Download catalog{/download}
• ZIP archive:
{download href="/downloads/archive.zip"}Download ZIP{/download}
• GitHub link:
{download href="https://github.com/user/repo"}GitHub repository{/download}
• Image as a link:
{download href="/docs/file.pdf"}
{/download}
• Each tracked link gets its own log file located in:
/media/plg_system_dcdownloadcounter/logs/
• Each unique IP is counted once.
• The number of lines in the log file = total downloads.
• To reset a counter, simply delete the corresponding .log file.
• Joomla 5.x
• Joomla 6.x
• PHP 8.1 – 8.3
GNU General Public License v3.0
Design Cart – https://www.designcart.pl Free extensions, tools & LAB experiments for Joomla and e-commerce.