The Problem
Many CLI tools, SDKs, and frameworks collect telemetry data by default.
Each one has its own way to opt out:
Tool
Opt-out method
.NET
DOTNET_CLI_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT=1
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AWS SAM CLI
SAM_CLI_TELEMETRY=0
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Azure CLI
AZURE_CORE_COLLECT_TELEMETRY=0
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Gatsby
GATSBY_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1
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Go
go telemetry off
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Google Cloud SDK
gcloud config set disable_usage_reporting true
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Homebrew
HOMEBREW_NO_ANALYTICS=1
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Netlify CLI
netlify --telemetry-disable
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Syncthing
STNOUPGRADE=1
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You get the idea. There are too many, and they are all different.
The Proposal
A single, standard environment variable that clearly and unambiguously
expresses a user's wish to opt out of
any
of the following:
Ad tracking
Usage reporting, anonymous or not
Telemetry
Crash reporting
Non-essential-to-functionality
requests to the creator of the software or third-party
We just want local software.
export DO_NOT_TRACK=1
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Add the line above to your shell configuration file so it applies
to all your terminal sessions:
Shell
File
Syntax
Bash
~/.bashrc
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export DO_NOT_TRACK=1
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Zsh
~/.zshrc
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export DO_NOT_TRACK=1
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Fish
~/.config/fish/config.fish
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set -x DO_NOT_TRACK 1
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PowerShell
$PROFILE
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$env:DO_NOT_TRACK = "1"
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Windows (CMD)
System Environment Variables
setx DO_NOT_TRACK 1
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For Software Authors
If you develop tools that collect telemetry, analytics, or make
non-essential network requests, please check for this variable:
If
DO_NOT_TRACK
is set to
1
, disable all tracking
Respect the variable alongside your existing opt-out mechanisms
Consider making telemetry opt-in rather than opt-out
See Also
no-color.org
—
NO_COLOR
, a standard for disabling color output
force-color.org
—
FORCE_COLOR
, a standard for forcing color output