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+# Analytics Data Flow
+
+This document traces the full path from an in-app action to a number on the
+analytics dashboard, referencing the actual files that make up each stage of
+the pipeline. Use it to figure out where a change belongs before touching the
+module.
+
+## Overview
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart LR
+    subgraph Game["Feature module"]
+        A["XpLevelService.addXp()
+backend/src/users/providers/xp-level.service.ts"]
+    end
+
+    subgraph Analytics["backend/src/analytics/"]
+        B["UsersAnalyticsListener
+listeners/users-analytics.listener.ts
+@OnEvent('xp_awarded' | 'user_leveled_up')"]
+        C[("analytics_events table
+entities/analytics-event.entity.ts")]
+        D["DailyActiveUsersRollupJob
+jobs/daily-active-users-rollup.job.ts
+@Cron(EVERY_DAY_AT_MIDNIGHT)"]
+        E[("daily_active_users table
+entities/daily-active-user.entity.ts")]
+        F["GetDauProvider
+providers/get-dau.provider.ts
+(not yet implemented)"]
+        G["AnalyticsController
+controllers/analytics.controller.ts"]
+    end
+
+    subgraph Frontend["frontend/"]
+        H["getDauMauMetrics()
+lib/api/analyticsApi.ts"]
+        I["DauMauChart
+components/analytics/DauMauChart.tsx"]
+        J["Analytics page
+app/analytics/page.tsx"]
+    end
+
+    A -- "eventEmitter.emit('xp_awarded', ...)" --> B
+    B -- "analyticsEventRepository.save()" --> C
+    C -- "raw rows for the previous day" --> D
+    D -- "dedup userIds, delete+save" --> E
+    E -- "read (cheap COUNT, no scan)" --> F
+    F -. "route not wired yet" .-> G
+    G -- "GET /analytics/dau-mau" --> H
+    H --> I
+    I --> J
+```
+
+## Pipeline stages
+
+| # | Stage | File | Responsibility |
+|---|-------|------|-----------------|
+| 1 | Event emission | [`backend/src/users/providers/xp-level.service.ts`](../users/providers/xp-level.service.ts) | Business logic (`addXp()`) fires domain events (`xp_awarded`, `user_leveled_up`) via `EventEmitter2`, fire-and-forget so the request path isn't blocked. |
+| 2 | Event capture | [`listeners/users-analytics.listener.ts`](listeners/users-analytics.listener.ts) | `@OnEvent` handlers translate domain events into `AnalyticsEvent` rows and persist them. |
+| 3 | Raw storage | [`entities/analytics-event.entity.ts`](entities/analytics-event.entity.ts) | `analytics_events` table — one row per raw event (`eventType`, `userId`, `entityId`, `payload`, `timestamp`). |
+| 4 | Nightly rollup | [`jobs/daily-active-users-rollup.job.ts`](jobs/daily-active-users-rollup.job.ts) | `@Cron(EVERY_DAY_AT_MIDNIGHT)` job dedupes `userId`s from the previous day's raw events and materializes one row per active user. |
+| 5 | Aggregated storage | [`entities/daily-active-user.entity.ts`](entities/daily-active-user.entity.ts) | `daily_active_users` table — pre-aggregated, so reads don't need to scan raw events. |
+| 6 | Read provider | `providers/get-dau.provider.ts` (**not yet implemented**) | Would read `daily_active_users` with a cheap `COUNT`/`find` instead of `SELECT DISTINCT` over raw events. |
+| 7 | API | [`controllers/analytics.controller.ts`](controllers/analytics.controller.ts) | Exposes providers over HTTP (e.g. `POST /analytics/track`, `GET /analytics/funnel/onboarding`, `GET /analytics/users/retention`). A `GET /analytics/dau-mau` route is expected by the frontend but not yet added here. |
+| 8 | Frontend fetch | [`frontend/lib/api/analyticsApi.ts`](../../../frontend/lib/api/analyticsApi.ts) | `getDauMauMetrics()` already calls `GET /analytics/dau-mau`, ahead of the backend route existing. |
+| 9 | Dashboard | [`frontend/components/analytics/DauMauChart.tsx`](../../../frontend/components/analytics/DauMauChart.tsx) rendered from [`frontend/app/analytics/page.tsx`](../../../frontend/app/analytics/page.tsx) | Turns the API response into the chart the player/ops team sees. |
+
+## Other patterns in this module
+
+Not every metric follows the "raw events → nightly rollup → provider" shape
+above — the module currently has other read patterns worth knowing about:
+
+- **Query raw events directly** — [`providers/get-onboarding-funnel.provider.ts`](providers/get-onboarding-funnel.provider.ts)
+  counts `AnalyticsEvent` rows per funnel stage on every request. No rollup;
+  fine for low-cardinality funnel counts, wired up at `GET /analytics/funnel/onboarding`.
+- **Pre-aggregated, rollup job still missing** — [`providers/get-retention-curve.provider.ts`](providers/get-retention-curve.provider.ts)
+  reads [`entities/retention-cohort.entity.ts`](entities/retention-cohort.entity.ts)
+  (`retention_cohorts`), which its own docstring says is "populated by a
+  nightly aggregation job" — that job doesn't exist in the codebase yet, even
+  though the provider itself is wired up (admin-only) at `GET /analytics/users/retention`.
+
+See [`DATA_DICTIONARY.md`](DATA_DICTIONARY.md) for full entity/column
+definitions and [`EVENT_TAXONOMY.md`](EVENT_TAXONOMY.md) for event-naming
+rules.
+
+## Adding a new metric
+
+1. Emit a domain event from the owning feature module (naming per
+   [`EVENT_TAXONOMY.md`](EVENT_TAXONOMY.md)), or reuse an existing one.
+2. Add an `@OnEvent` handler in a listener under `listeners/` to persist it as
+   an `AnalyticsEvent`.
+3. If the metric needs aggregation, add a `@Cron` job under `jobs/` that reads
+   raw events and writes a dedicated summary entity — see
+   `jobs/daily-active-users-rollup.job.ts` for the pattern.
+4. Add a `Get*Provider` under `providers/` that reads the summary entity (or
+   raw events, for cheap/low-volume queries).
+5. Expose it via a route on `controllers/analytics.controller.ts`.
+6. Wire the frontend call in `frontend/lib/api/analyticsApi.ts` and consume it
+   from a dashboard component.
diff --git a/backend/src/analytics/README.md b/backend/src/analytics/README.md
index ad2864c..6a2ca0d 100644
--- a/backend/src/analytics/README.md
+++ b/backend/src/analytics/README.md
@@ -5,3 +5,4 @@ This module contains the analytics entities, providers, controllers, jobs, and l
 ## Reference docs
 - [EVENT_TAXONOMY.md](./EVENT_TAXONOMY.md)
 - [DATA_DICTIONARY.md](./DATA_DICTIONARY.md)
+- [ANALYTICS_FLOW_DIAGRAM.md](./ANALYTICS_FLOW_DIAGRAM.md)