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Instrument Integration

PostHogOfficialCreated by PostHog

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Data and AI
  • MIT
  • Low risk

From the author

Add PostHog SDK integration to your application. Use when setting up PostHog for the first time or reviewing PRs that need PostHog initialization. Covers SDK installation, provider setup, and basic configuration for any framework.
— the description by PostHog

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a structured, multi-step procedure for integrating the PostHog SDK into a wide range of web, mobile, and backend frameworks. It handles the detection of the project environment, installation of the appropriate SDK, initialization, user identification, and secure configuration of environment variables. The skill emphasizes following framework-specific patterns and maintaining an analytics contract, ensuring that PostHog is implemented consistently without disrupting existing application logic.

What it does

  • Detects the project's framework, language, and package manager.
  • Installs the correct PostHog SDK for the identified platform.
  • Configures PostHog initialization and provider setup based on framework-specific references.
  • Implements user identification logic for login and signup events.
  • Manages environment variables for project tokens and host URLs securely.
  • Verifies the integration and performs minimal cleanup.

When to use it

  • When setting up PostHog in a project for the first time.
  • When reviewing pull requests that require PostHog initialization.
  • When adding analytics to a new application across supported frameworks.
  • When migrating or updating PostHog configurations in an existing codebase.

Advantages

  • Ensures consistent implementation across diverse technology stacks.
  • Prevents hardcoding of sensitive project tokens and host URLs.
  • Follows established framework-specific best practices and patterns.
  • Minimizes the risk of breaking application boot or build processes.
  • Automates the repetitive aspects of SDK setup and environment configuration.

Usage examples

“Set up PostHog in my Next.js project.”
The agent will detect the Next.js environment, install the PostHog SDK, configure the necessary provider, and set up environment variables in .env.local.
“Integrate PostHog into this Android app.”
The agent will identify the Android/Kotlin structure, initialize PostHog in the Application class, and guide the setup of local.properties for configuration.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/posthog/instrument-integration/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip instrument-integration.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by PostHog

Add PostHog SDK integration

Use this skill to add the PostHog SDK to an application. Use it when setting up PostHog for the first time, or reviewing PRs that need PostHog initialization. Covers SDK installation, provider setup, and basic configuration. Supports any framework or language.

Supported frameworks and languages: Next.js, React, React Router, Vue, Nuxt, TanStack Start, SvelteKit, Astro, Angular, Django, Flask, FastAPI, Laravel, PHP, Ruby on Rails, Go, Elixir, Android, iOS, Swift, Flutter, React Native, Expo, Node.js, and vanilla JavaScript.

Instructions

Follow these steps IN ORDER:

STEP 1: Analyze the codebase and detect the platform.

Look for dependency files (package.json, pubspec.yaml, Podfile, Package.swift, requirements.txt, Gemfile, composer.json, go.mod, mix.exs, etc.) to determine the framework and language.

Look for lockfiles (pnpm-lock.yaml, package-lock.json, yarn.lock, bun.lockb, go.sum, pubspec.lock, Podfile.lock, Package.resolved, mix.lock) to determine the package manager.

  • Check for existing PostHog setup. If PostHog is already installed and initialized, do not modify its code. Inform the user and skip to verification.

STEP 2: Research integration. 2.1. Find the reference file below that matches the detected framework — it is the source of truth for SDK initialization, provider setup, and configuration patterns. Read it now. 2.2. If no reference matches, fall back to your general knowledge and web search. Use posthog.com/docs as the primary search source.

STEP 3: Install the PostHog SDK.

  • Add the PostHog SDK package for the detected platform. Do not manually edit package.json — use the package manager's install command.

STEP 4: Initialize PostHog.

  • Follow the framework reference for where and how to initialize. This varies significantly by framework (e.g., instrumentation-client.ts for Next.js 15.3+, AppConfig.ready() for Django, create_app() for Flask).

  • Set up the PostHog provider/wrapper component if the framework requires one.

STEP 5: Identify users.

  • Add PostHog identify() calls on the client side during login and signup events.

  • If both frontend and backend exist, pass the client-side session and distinct ID using X-POSTHOG-DISTINCT-ID and X-POSTHOG-SESSION-ID headers to the server-side code.

STEP 6: Set up environment variables.

  • Check if the project already has PostHog environment variables configured (e.g. in .env, .env.local, or framework-specific env files). If valid values already exist, skip this step.

  • If the PostHog project token is missing, use the PostHog MCP server's projects-get tool to retrieve the project's api_token. If multiple projects are returned, ask the user which project to use. If the MCP server is not connected or not authenticated, ask the user for their PostHog project token instead.

  • For the PostHog host URL: check the projects-get MCP response for a region field — US maps to https://us.i.posthog.com, EU maps to https://eu.i.posthog.com. If the region is not available from the MCP response or from existing project configuration, ask the user: "Are you on PostHog US Cloud or EU Cloud?" Do not assume US Cloud.

  • Write these values to the appropriate env file (e.g. .env.local for Next.js, .env for others) using the framework's naming convention.

  • Reference these environment variables in code instead of hardcoding them.

STEP 7: Verify and clean up.

  • Check the project for errors. Look for type checking or build scripts in package.json.

  • Ensure any components created were actually used.

  • Run any linter or prettier-like scripts found in the package.json, but ONLY on the files you have edited or created during this session. Never run formatting or linting across the entire project's codebase.

Reference files

  • references/EXAMPLE-next-app-router.md - next-app-router example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-next-pages-router.md - next-pages-router example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-react-react-router-6.md - react-react-router-6 example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-react-react-router-7-framework.md - react-react-router-7-framework example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-react-react-router-7-data.md - react-react-router-7-data example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-react-react-router-7-declarative.md - react-react-router-7-declarative example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-react-vite.md - react-vite example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-nuxt-3-6.md - nuxt-3-6 example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-nuxt-4.md - nuxt-4 example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-vue-3.md - vue-3 example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-react-tanstack-router-file-based.md - react-tanstack-router-file-based example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-react-tanstack-router-code-based.md - react-tanstack-router-code-based example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-tanstack-start.md - tanstack-start example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-sveltekit.md - sveltekit example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-astro-static.md - astro-static example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-astro-view-transitions.md - astro-view-transitions example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-astro-ssr.md - astro-ssr example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-astro-hybrid.md - astro-hybrid example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-angular.md - angular example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-javascript-node.md - javascript-node example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-javascript-web.md - javascript-web example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-django.md - django example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-flask.md - flask example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-fastapi.md - fastapi example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-python.md - python example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-laravel.md - laravel example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-php.md - php example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-ruby-on-rails.md - ruby-on-rails example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-ruby.md - ruby example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-android.md - android example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-swift.md - swift example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-react-native.md - react-native example project code

  • references/EXAMPLE-expo.md - expo example project code

  • references/next-js.md - Next.js

  • references/react.md - React

  • references/react-router-v6.md - React router v6

  • references/react-router-v7-framework-mode.md - React router v7 framework mode (remix v3)

  • references/react-router-v7-data-mode.md - React router v7 data mode

  • references/react-router-v7-declarative-mode.md - React router v7 declarative mode

  • references/nuxt-js-3-6.md - Nuxt.js (v3.0 to v3.6)

  • references/nuxt-js.md - Nuxt.js

  • references/vue-js.md - Vue.js

  • references/tanstack-start.md - Tanstack start

  • references/svelte.md - Svelte

  • references/astro.md - Astro

  • references/angular.md - Angular

  • references/js.md - JavaScript web

  • references/posthog-js.md - PostHog JavaScript web SDK

  • references/node.md - Node.js

  • references/posthog-node.md - PostHog Node.js SDK

  • references/django.md - Django

  • references/flask.md - Flask

  • references/python.md - Python

  • references/posthog-python.md - PostHog python SDK

  • references/dotnet.md - .net

  • references/elixir.md - Elixir

  • references/go.md - Go

  • references/laravel.md - Laravel

  • references/php.md - Php

  • references/ruby-on-rails.md - Ruby on rails

  • references/ruby.md - Ruby

  • references/android.md - Android

  • references/ios.md - Ios

  • references/usage.md - Ios SDK usage

  • references/configuration.md - Ios SDK configuration

  • references/flutter.md - Flutter

  • references/react-native.md - React native

  • references/identify-users.md - Identify users

  • references/COMMANDMENTS.md - Framework-specific rules the integration must follow

Each framework reference contains SDK-specific installation, initialization, and usage patterns. Find the one matching the user's stack.

Key principles

  • Environment variables: Always use environment variables for PostHog keys. Never hardcode them.

  • Minimal changes: Add PostHog code alongside existing integrations. Don't replace or restructure existing code.

  • Match the example: Your implementation should follow the example project's patterns as closely as possible.

  • Analytics contract: Treat event names, property names, and feature flag keys as part of an analytics contract. Reuse existing names and patterns found in the project. When introducing new ones, make them clear, descriptive, and consistent with existing conventions.

Files

references/js.md

AI agents: this is one page from PostHog's docs. Full index of Markdown docs for LLMs: https://posthog.com/llms.txt

JavaScript web

Canonical URL: https://posthog.com/docs/libraries/js

Cloud region: This page uses US Cloud hosts. For an EU Cloud project, use https://eu.i.posthog.com instead of https://us.i.posthog.com (ingestion host), and use https://eu.posthog.com instead of https://us.posthog.com or https://app.posthog.com (app host for links).

On this page

  • Installation

  • Identifying users

  • Opt out of data capture

  • Running more than one instance of PostHog at the same time

  • Development

Note: This doc refers to our posthog-js library for use on the browser. For server-side JavaScript, see our Node SDK.

Installation

<script>
    !function(t,e){var o,n,p,r;e.__SV||(window.posthog=e,e._i=[],e.init=function(i,s,a){function g(t,e){var o=e.split(".");2==o.length&&(t=t[o[0]],e=o[1]),t[e]=function(){t.push([e].concat(Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}(p=t.createElement("script")).type="text/javascript",p.crossOrigin="anonymous",p.async=!0,p.src=s.api_host.replace(".i.posthog.com","-assets.i.posthog.com")+"/static/array.js",(r=t.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]).parentNode.insertBefore(p,r);var u=e;for(void 0!==a?u=e[a]=[]:a="posthog",u.people=u.people||[],Object.defineProperty(u,"toString",{configurable:!0,enumerable:!0,writable:!0,value:function(t){var e="posthog";return"posthog"!==a&&(e+="."+a),t||(e+=" (stub)"),e}}),Object.defineProperty(u.people,"toString",{configurable:!0,enumerable:!0,writable:!0,value:function(){return u.toString(1)+".people (stub)"}}),o="init capture register register_once register_for_session unregister unregister_for_session getFeatureFlag getFeatureFlagResult isFeatureEnabled reloadFeatureFlags updateEarlyAccessFeatureEnrollment getEarlyAccessFeatures on onFeatureFlags onSessionId getSurveys getActiveMatchingSurveys renderSurvey canRenderSurvey getNextSurveyStep identify setPersonProperties group resetGroups setPersonPropertiesForFlags resetPersonPropertiesForFlags setGroupPropertiesForFlags resetGroupPropertiesForFlags reset get_distinct_id getGroups get_session_id get_session_replay_url alias set_config startSessionRecording stopSessionRecording sessionRecordingStarted captureException loadToolbar get_property getSessionProperty createPersonProfile opt_in_capturing opt_out_capturing has_opted_in_capturing has_opted_out_capturing clear_opt_in_out_capturing debug".split(" "),n=0;n<o.length;n++)g(u,o[n]);e._i.push([i,s,a])},e.__SV=1)}(document,window.posthog||[]);
    posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', {
        api_host: 'https://us.i.posthog.com',
        defaults: '2026-08-30',
    })
</script>

Keeping the SDK version up to date

Be careful to avoid things which can cause the SDK version to be cached and fail to update. See: Ways SDK versions fall behind

Using TypeScript with the script tag?

If you're using TypeScript and want type safety for window.posthog, install the @posthog/types package:

npm install @posthog/types

Then create a type declaration file:

// posthog.d.ts
import type { PostHog } from '@posthog/types'

declare global {
    interface Window {
        posthog?: PostHog
    }
}

export {}

See the TypeScript types documentation for more details.

Option 2: Install via package manager
npm
npm install --save posthog-js
Yarn
yarn add posthog-js
pnpm
pnpm add posthog-js
Bun
bun add posthog-js

If your site sets a Content-Security-Policy, it needs to allow PostHog. This applies to the snippet and to package installs alike: the SDK lazy-loads extra bundles (session replay, surveys) from PostHog's CDN, and sends events to the ingestion host. PostHog serves from subdomains of posthog.com that change over time, so allow the wildcard:

script-src 'self' https://*.posthog.com;
connect-src 'self' https://*.posthog.com;
worker-src 'self' blob: data:;

script-src covers the snippet and the lazy-loaded bundles, connect-src covers event ingestion and feature flags, and worker-src covers session replay. The toolbar needs a few more, or use a reverse proxy so everything is first-party. Failing to do so causes silent failures where capture and identify calls never send, so the integration looks complete while zero events arrive. Remember connect-src falls back to default-src, so default-src 'self' blocks event delivery even when the script itself is bundled.

And then include it with your project token and host (which you can find in your project settings):

import posthog from 'posthog-js'

posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', {
  api_host: 'https://us.i.posthog.com',
  defaults: '2026-08-30'
})

See our framework specific docs for Next.js, React, Vue, Angular, Astro, Remix, and Svelte for more installation details.

Update early, update often

We ship weirdly fast, especially for our JavaScript web SDK. If you choose the npm package instead of the HTML snippet, be sure to update it frequently:

To actually update the package, you need to update the version constraint in your package.json file and then reinstall, or run update instead of install:

npm
npm update posthog-js
pnpm
pnpm update posthog-js
Yarn
yarn upgrade posthog-js
Bun
bun update posthog-js

Bundle all required extensions (advanced)

By default, the JavaScript Web library only loads the core functionality. It lazy-loads extensions such as surveys or the session replay 'recorder' when needed.

This can cause issues if:

  • You have a Content Security Policy (CSP) that blocks inline scripts.

  • You want to optimize your bundle at build time to ensure all dependencies are ready immediately.

  • Your app is running in environments like the Chrome Extension store or Electron that reject or block remote code loading.

To solve these issues, we have multiple import options available below.

Note: With any of the no-external options, the toolbar will be unavailable as this is only possible as a runtime dependency loaded directly from us.posthog.com.

// No external code loading possible (this disables all extensions such as Replay, Surveys, Exceptions etc.)
import posthog from 'posthog-js/dist/module.no-external'

// No external code loading possible but all external dependencies pre-bundled
import posthog from 'posthog-js/dist/module.full.no-external'

// All external dependencies pre-bundled and with the ability to load external scripts (primarily useful is you use JS snippets)
import posthog from 'posthog-js/dist/module.full'

// Finally you can also import specific extra dependencies
import "posthog-js/dist/posthog-recorder"
import "posthog-js/dist/surveys"
import "posthog-js/dist/exception-autocapture"
import "posthog-js/dist/tracing-headers"
import "posthog-js/dist/web-vitals"
import posthog from 'posthog-js/dist/module.no-external'

// All other posthog commands are the same as usual
posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', { api_host: 'https://us.i.posthog.com', defaults: '2026-08-30' })

Note: You should ensure if using this option that you always import posthog-js from the same module, otherwise multiple bundles could get included. At this time @posthog/react does not work with any module import other than the default.

Tree shaking with the slim bundle (advanced)

If you only need a subset of PostHog features, you can use the slim bundle to reduce your bundle size. It gives you the core functionality (event capture, identify, group analytics) and lets you explicitly opt in to additional features via extension bundles. This is currently experimental, but offers the biggest reduction in bundle size.

import posthog from 'posthog-js/dist/module.slim'
import {
    SessionReplayExtensions,
    AnalyticsExtensions,
} from 'posthog-js/dist/extension-bundles'

posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', {
    api_host: 'https://us.i.posthog.com',
    defaults: '2026-08-30',
    __extensionClasses: {
        ...SessionReplayExtensions,
        ...AnalyticsExtensions,
    }
})

Note: Always import posthog-js from the same module path (posthog-js/dist/module.slim) throughout your app, otherwise multiple bundles could get included.

Available extension bundles
BundleWhat's included
FeatureFlagsExtensionsFeature Flags
SessionReplayExtensionsSession Replay
AnalyticsExtensionsAutocapture, pageview tracking, heatmaps, dead click detection, web vitals
ErrorTrackingExtensionsError Tracking
SurveysExtensionsSurveys
ExperimentsExtensionsExperiments
SiteAppsExtensionsJS snippets
TracingExtensionsDistributed tracing header injection
ToolbarExtensionsToolbar
LogsExtensionsLog capture
ConversationsExtensionsSupport
WebMCPExtensionsWebMCP tool call capture for MCP Analytics. Add ErrorTrackingExtensions to also send failed calls to Error Tracking.
AllExtensionsEverything (equivalent to the default posthog-js bundle)

Note: Each extension bundle includes its own dependencies. You don't need to worry about adding them separately.

Don't want to send test data while developing?

If you don't want to send test data while you're developing, you can do the following:

if (!window.location.host.includes('127.0.0.1') && !window.location.host.includes('localhost')) {
    posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', { api_host: 'https://us.i.posthog.com', defaults: '2026-08-30' })
}

What is the defaults option?

The defaults option is a date that selects a configuration snapshot used as defaults to initialize PostHog. The examples use the latest snapshot. This default is overridden when you explicitly set a value for any of the options. The configuration reference lists each snapshot and what it changes.

Using Google Tag Manager? You can install and configure PostHog from Google Tag Manager with our tag template, without a custom HTML tag. See the Google Tag Manager docs.

Identifying users

Identifying users is required. Call posthog.identify('your-user-id') after login to link events to a known user. This is what connects frontend event captures, session replays, LLM traces, and error tracking to the same person — and lets backend events link back too.

Use a stable ID from your auth system when possible, not an email or display name. Send those as person properties instead. If your app has no other stable key, email works as a fallback if they are unique. Never a shared literal like "anonymous" or "user", which pools many people onto one person and corrupts their data. When no ID is available at all, skip the identify and retain the anonymous distinct ID that's automatically assigned.

Call posthog.reset() on logout, so the next person to use the browser doesn't inherit the last one's identity.

See our guide on identifying users for how to set this up.

If your app already knows the signed-in user when PostHog initializes, you can call identify from the loaded callback to identify them as soon as the web SDK loads.

Once you've installed PostHog, see our usage doc for more information about what you can do with it. You can also install the PostHog VS Code extension to see live analytics, flag status, and session replay links inline in your code.

Track across marketing website & app

We recommend putting PostHog both on your homepage and your application if applicable. That means you'll be able to follow a user from the moment they come onto your website, all the way through signup and actually using your product.

PostHog automatically sets a cross-domain cookie, so if your website is yourapp.com and your app is on app.yourapp.com users will be followed when they go from one to the other. See our tutorial on cross-website tracking if you need to track users across different domains.

Replay triggers

You can configure "replay triggers" in your project settings. You can configure triggers to enable or pause session recording when the user visit a page that matches the URL(s) you configure.

You are also able to setup "event triggers". Session recording will be started immediately before PostHog queues any of these events to be sent to the backend.

Opt out of data capture

You can completely opt-out users from data capture. To do this, there are two options:

  1. Opt users out by default by setting opt_out_capturing_by_default to true in your PostHog config.

posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', {
    opt_out_capturing_by_default: true,
});
  1. Opt users out on a per-person basis by calling posthog.opt_out_capturing().

Similarly, you can opt users in:

posthog.opt_in_capturing()

To check if a user is opted out:

posthog.has_opted_out_capturing()

Running more than one instance of PostHog at the same time

While not a first-class citizen, PostHog allows you to run more than one instance of PostHog at the same time if you, for example, want to track different events in different posthog instances/projects.

posthog.init accepts a third parameter that can be used to create named instances.

posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', {}, 'project1')
posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', {}, 'project2')

You can then call these different instances by accessing it on the global posthog object

posthog.project1.capture('some_event')
posthog.project2.capture('other_event')

Note: You'll probably want to disable autocapture (and some other events) to avoid them from being sent to both instances. Check all of our config options to better understand that.

Development

For instructions on how to run posthog-js locally and setup your development environment, please checkout the README on the posthog-js repository.

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs an MCP server, Needs Python, Needs Node.js

Security

What our scanner noticed· Low risk

  • Instructions that use the network

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
PostHog
Publisher
PostHog (Official)
Source
PostHog/skills · skills/omnibus/instrument-integration · commit a5d30e7
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by PostHog.

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download instrument-integration.zip