---
title: map-dots
author: Frederick Boniface
date: '2023-08-16'
---

[map-dots Repo](https://git.fjla.uk/fred.boniface/map-dots) [map-dots-fetch Repo](https://git.fjla.uk/fred.boniface/map-dots-fetch)

I'm someone who likes to gather data – a bit of a data hoarder. But truth be told, having the data doesn't mean I always know what to do with it.

You know those monthly emails from Google that break down your location history? I used to find them fascinating. But, handing over all that info to Google didn't sit right with me. So, I took matters into my own hands and set up a Traccar instance at home, connecting my mobile devices to it.

Now, my location history is kept under my own roof. I even turned off Google's location history feature.

However, the downside was losing those monthly reports. You see, Traccar isn't exactly built for that; it's more focused on fleet tracking.

That's when "map-dots" came into play. It's a Go-based application that can be run through the command line or as an API server. While it's still a work in progress, it's got potential. Currently, it can take in HTTP requests, connect to a Traccar server, retrieve location history data, and turn it into an image.

To keep things ticking, I created the "map-dots-fetch" script in Python. It fetches a new image at regular intervals, and I've set that image as the wallpaper on my devices.
