Integration Django

pip install posthog

POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN=your_posthog_project_token
POSTHOG_HOST=https://us.i.posthog.com

python manage.py migrate

python manage.py runserver

django/
├── manage.py                    # Django management script
├── requirements.txt             # Python dependencies
├── .env.example                 # Environment variable template
├── .gitignore
├── posthog_example/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.py              # Django settings with PostHog config
│   ├── urls.py                  # URL routing
│   ├── wsgi.py                  # WSGI application
│   └── asgi.py                  # ASGI application
└── core/
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── apps.py                  # AppConfig with PostHog initialization
    ├── views.py                 # Views with event tracking examples
    ├── urls.py                  # App URL patterns
    └── templates/
        └── core/
            ├── base.html        # Base template
            ├── home.html        # Home/login page
            ├── burrito.html     # Burrito page with event tracking
            ├── dashboard.html   # Dashboard with feature flag example
            └── profile.html     # Profile page

import posthog
from django.conf import settings

class CoreConfig(AppConfig):
    name = 'core'

    def ready(self):
        posthog.api_key = settings.POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN
        posthog.host = settings.POSTHOG_HOST

import os

# PostHog configuration
POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN = os.environ.get('POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN', '<ph_project_token>')
POSTHOG_HOST = os.environ.get('POSTHOG_HOST', 'https://us.i.posthog.com')

MIDDLEWARE = [
    # ... other middleware
    'posthog.integrations.django.PosthogContextMiddleware',
]

import posthog

def login_view(request):
    # ... authentication logic
    if user:
        with posthog.new_context():
            posthog.identify_context(str(user.id))
            posthog.tag('email', user.email)
            posthog.tag('username', user.username)
            posthog.capture('user_logged_in', properties={
                'login_method': 'email',
            })

import posthog

def consider_burrito(request):
    user_id = str(request.user.id) if request.user.is_authenticated else 'anonymous'

    with posthog.new_context():
        posthog.identify_context(user_id)
        posthog.capture('burrito_considered', properties={
            'total_considerations': request.session.get('burrito_count', 0),
        })

import posthog

def dashboard_view(request):
    user_id = str(request.user.id) if request.user.is_authenticated else 'anonymous'

    show_new_feature = posthog.feature_enabled(
        'new-dashboard-feature',
        distinct_id=user_id
    )

    return render(request, 'core/dashboard.html', {
        'show_new_feature': show_new_feature
    })

import posthog

def profile_view(request):
    try:
        risky_operation()
    except Exception as e:
        posthog.capture_exception(e)

posthog.init('<ph_project_token>', {
    api_host: 'https://us.i.posthog.com',
    __add_tracing_headers: ['your-backend-domain.com'],
})

POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN=
POSTHOG_HOST=https://us.i.posthog.com
DJANGO_SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key-here
DEBUG=True

# Core app for PostHog Django example

"""
Django AppConfig that initializes PostHog when the application starts.

This ensures the SDK is configured once when Django starts, making it available throughout the application.
"""

from django.apps import AppConfig
from django.conf import settings


class CoreConfig(AppConfig):
    default_auto_field = 'django.db.models.BigAutoField'
    name = 'core'

    def ready(self):
        """
        Initialize PostHog when Django starts.

        This method is called once when Django starts. We configure the
        PostHog SDK here so it's available everywhere in the application.

        Note: Import posthog inside this method to avoid import issues
        during Django's startup sequence.
        """
        import posthog

        # Configure PostHog with settings from Django settings
        posthog.api_key = settings.POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN
        posthog.host = settings.POSTHOG_HOST

        # Disable PostHog if configured (useful for testing)
        if settings.POSTHOG_DISABLED:
            posthog.disabled = True

        # Optional: Enable debug mode in development
        if settings.DEBUG:
            posthog.debug = True

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>{% block title %}PostHog Django example{% endblock %}</title>
    <style>
        * {
            box-sizing: border-box;
            margin: 0;
            padding: 0;
        }
        body {
            font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, sans-serif;
            line-height: 1.6;
            background-color: #f5f5f5;
            color: #333;
        }
        .container {
            max-width: 800px;
            margin: 0 auto;
            padding: 20px;
        }
        nav {
            background: #1d4ed8;
            padding: 15px 20px;
            margin-bottom: 30px;
        }
        nav a {
            color: white;
            text-decoration: none;
            margin-right: 20px;
        }
        nav a:hover {
            text-decoration: underline;
        }
        .card {
            background: white;
            border-radius: 8px;
            padding: 20px;
            margin-bottom: 20px;
            box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);
        }
        h1, h2, h3 {
            margin-bottom: 15px;
            color: #1d4ed8;
        }
        button, .btn {
            background: #1d4ed8;
            color: white;
            border: none;
            padding: 10px 20px;
            border-radius: 5px;
            cursor: pointer;
            font-size: 14px;
            display: inline-block;
            text-decoration: none;
        }
        button:hover, .btn:hover {
            background: #1e40af;
        }
        button.danger {
            background: #dc2626;
        }
        button.danger:hover {
            background: #b91c1c;
        }
        input {
            width: 100%;
            padding: 10px;
            margin-bottom: 15px;
            border: 1px solid #ddd;
            border-radius: 5px;
            font-size: 14px;
        }
        .messages {
            margin-bottom: 20px;
        }
        .message {
            padding: 10px 15px;
            border-radius: 5px;
            margin-bottom: 10px;
        }
        .message.error {
            background: #fee2e2;
            color: #dc2626;
        }
        .message.success {
            background: #d1fae5;
            color: #059669;
        }
        .feature-flag {
            background: #fef3c7;
            border: 2px dashed #f59e0b;
            padding: 15px;
            border-radius: 8px;
            margin: 20px 0;
        }
        code {
            background: #f3f4f6;
            padding: 2px 6px;
            border-radius: 3px;
            font-family: monospace;
        }
        .count {
            font-size: 48px;
            font-weight: bold;
            color: #1d4ed8;
            text-align: center;
            padding: 20px;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    {% if user.is_authenticated %}
    <nav>
        <a href="{% url 'dashboard' %}">Dashboard</a>
        <a href="{% url 'burrito' %}">Burrito</a>
        <a href="{% url 'profile' %}">Profile</a>
        <a href="{% url 'logout' %}" style="float: right;">Logout ({{ user.username }})</a>
    </nav>
    {% endif %}

    <div class="container">
        {% if messages %}
        <div class="messages">
            {% for message in messages %}
            <div class="message {{ message.tags }}">{{ message }}</div>
            {% endfor %}
        </div>
        {% endif %}

        {% block content %}{% endblock %}
    </div>

    {% block scripts %}{% endblock %}
</body>
</html>

{% extends 'core/base.html' %}

{% block title %}Burrito - PostHog Django example{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="card">
    <h1>Burrito consideration tracker</h1>
    <p>This page demonstrates custom event tracking with PostHog.</p>
</div>

<div class="card" style="text-align: center;">
    <h2>Times considered</h2>
    <div class="count" id="burrito-count">{{ burrito_count }}</div>
    <button onclick="considerBurrito()" style="font-size: 18px; padding: 15px 30px;">
        Consider a burrito
    </button>
</div>

<div class="card">
    <h3>How event tracking works</h3>
    <p>Each time you click the button, a <code>burrito_considered</code> event is sent to PostHog:</p>
    <pre style="background: #f3f4f6; padding: 15px; border-radius: 5px; overflow-x: auto; margin-top: 15px;"><code>from posthog import new_context, identify_context, capture

with new_context():
    identify_context(user_id)
    capture('burrito_considered', properties={
        'total_considerations': count,
    })</code></pre>
</div>
{% endblock %}

{% block scripts %}
<script>
async function considerBurrito() {
    try {
        const response = await fetch('{% url "consider_burrito" %}', {
            method: 'POST',
            headers: {
                'X-CSRFToken': '{{ csrf_token }}',
                'Content-Type': 'application/json',
            },
        });

        const data = await response.json();

        if (data.success) {
            document.getElementById('burrito-count').textContent = data.count;
        }
    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error:', error);
    }
}
</script>
{% endblock %}

{% extends 'core/base.html' %}

{% block title %}Dashboard - PostHog Django example{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="card">
    <h1>Dashboard</h1>
    <p>Welcome back, <strong>{{ user.username }}</strong>!</p>
</div>

<div class="card">
    <h2>Feature flags</h2>
    <p>Feature flags allow you to control feature rollouts and run A/B tests.</p>

    {% if show_new_feature %}
    <div class="feature-flag">
        <h3>New feature enabled!</h3>
        <p>
            This section is only visible because the <code>new-dashboard-feature</code>
            flag is enabled for your user.
        </p>
        {% if feature_config %}
        <p><strong>Feature config:</strong> {{ feature_config }}</p>
        {% endif %}
    </div>
    {% else %}
    <div style="background: #f3f4f6; padding: 15px; border-radius: 8px; margin-top: 15px;">
        <p>
            The <code>new-dashboard-feature</code> flag is not enabled for your user.
            Create this flag in your PostHog project to see it in action.
        </p>
    </div>
    {% endif %}
</div>

<div class="card">
    <h3>How feature flags work</h3>
    <pre style="background: #f3f4f6; padding: 15px; border-radius: 5px; overflow-x: auto;"><code># Check if a feature flag is enabled
show_feature = posthog.feature_enabled(
    'new-dashboard-feature',
    distinct_id=user_id,
    person_properties={
        'email': user.email,
        'is_staff': user.is_staff,
    }
)

# Get feature flag payload for configuration
config = posthog.get_feature_flag_payload(
    'new-dashboard-feature',
    distinct_id=user_id,
)</code></pre>
</div>
{% endblock %}

{% extends 'core/base.html' %}

{% block title %}Login - PostHog Django example{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="card">
    <h1>PostHog Django example</h1>
    <p>Welcome! This example demonstrates PostHog integration with Django.</p>
</div>

<div class="card">
    <h2>Login</h2>
    <p>Login to see PostHog analytics in action.</p>

    <form method="post" style="margin-top: 20px;">
        {% csrf_token %}
        <input type="text" name="username" placeholder="Username" required>
        <input type="password" name="password" placeholder="Password" required>
        <button type="submit">Login</button>
    </form>

    <p style="margin-top: 15px; color: #666; font-size: 14px;">
        Tip: Create a user with <code>python manage.py createsuperuser</code>
    </p>
</div>

<div class="card">
    <h3>What this example demonstrates</h3>
    <ul style="padding-left: 20px;">
        <li><strong>User identification</strong> - Users are identified with <code>identify_context()</code> on login</li>
        <li><strong>Pageview tracking</strong> - Middleware extracts session and user context</li>
        <li><strong>Event tracking</strong> - Custom events captured with <code>capture()</code> in context</li>
        <li><strong>Feature flags</strong> - Conditional features with <code>posthog.feature_enabled()</code></li>
        <li><strong>Error tracking</strong> - Exceptions captured with <code>capture_exception()</code></li>
    </ul>
</div>
{% endblock %}

{% extends 'core/base.html' %}

{% block title %}Profile - PostHog Django example{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
<div class="card">
    <h1>Profile</h1>
    <p>This page demonstrates error tracking with PostHog.</p>
</div>

<div class="card">
    <h2>User information</h2>
    <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse;">
        <tr>
            <td style="padding: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;"><strong>Username:</strong></td>
            <td style="padding: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;">{{ user.username }}</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td style="padding: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;"><strong>Email:</strong></td>
            <td style="padding: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;">{{ user.email|default:"Not set" }}</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td style="padding: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;"><strong>Date Joined:</strong></td>
            <td style="padding: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;">{{ user.date_joined }}</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td style="padding: 10px;"><strong>Staff Status:</strong></td>
            <td style="padding: 10px;">{{ user.is_staff|yesno:"Yes,No" }}</td>
        </tr>
    </table>
</div>

<div class="card">
    <h2>Error tracking demo</h2>
    <p>Click the buttons below to trigger different types of errors. These errors are caught and sent to PostHog.</p>

    <div style="margin-top: 20px;">
        <button class="danger" onclick="triggerError('value')">
            Trigger ValueError
        </button>
        <button class="danger" onclick="triggerError('key')" style="margin-left: 10px;">
            Trigger KeyError
        </button>
        <button class="danger" onclick="triggerError('generic')" style="margin-left: 10px;">
            Trigger Generic Error
        </button>
    </div>

    <div id="error-result" style="margin-top: 20px; display: none;"></div>
</div>

<div class="card">
    <h3>How error tracking works</h3>
    <pre style="background: #f3f4f6; padding: 15px; border-radius: 5px; overflow-x: auto;"><code>import posthog

try:
    risky_operation()
except Exception as e:
    posthog.capture_exception(e)</code></pre>
</div>
{% endblock %}

{% block scripts %}
<script>
async function triggerError(errorType) {
    const resultDiv = document.getElementById('error-result');

    try {
        const response = await fetch('{% url "trigger_error" %}', {
            method: 'POST',
            headers: {
                'X-CSRFToken': '{{ csrf_token }}',
                'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
            },
            body: 'error_type=' + errorType,
        });

        const data = await response.json();

        resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
        if (data.success) {
            resultDiv.innerHTML = '<div class="message success">No error occurred</div>';
        } else {
            resultDiv.innerHTML = `
                <div class="message error">
                    <strong>Error captured:</strong> ${data.error}<br>
                    <small>${data.message}</small>
                </div>
            `;
        }
    } catch (error) {
        resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
        resultDiv.innerHTML = `<div class="message error">Request failed: ${error}</div>`;
    }
}
</script>
{% endblock %}

"""
URL configuration for the core app.

This module defines all the URL patterns for the PostHog example views.
"""

from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    # Home login page
    path('', views.home_view, name='home'),

    # Authentication
    path('logout/', views.logout_view, name='logout'),

    # Dashboard with feature flags
    path('dashboard/', views.dashboard_view, name='dashboard'),

    # Burrito example for event tracking
    path('burrito/', views.burrito_view, name='burrito'),
    path('api/burrito/consider/', views.consider_burrito_view, name='consider_burrito'),

    # Profile with error tracking
    path('profile/', views.profile_view, name='profile'),
    path('api/trigger-error/', views.trigger_error_view, name='trigger_error'),

    # Group analytics example
    path('api/group-analytics/', views.group_analytics_view, name='group_analytics'),
]

"""Django views demonstrating PostHog integration patterns"""

import posthog
from posthog import new_context, identify_context, tag, capture
from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from django.contrib.auth import authenticate, login, logout
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.contrib import messages
from django.http import JsonResponse
from django.views.decorators.http import require_POST


def home_view(request):
    """Home page with login functionality"""
    if request.user.is_authenticated:
        return redirect('dashboard')

    if request.method == 'POST':
        username = request.POST.get('username')
        password = request.POST.get('password')

        user = authenticate(request, username=username, password=password)

        if user is not None:
            login(request, user)

            # PostHog: Identify user and capture login event
            with new_context():
                identify_context(str(user.id))

                # Set person properties (PII goes in tag, not capture)
                tag('email', user.email)
                tag('username', user.username)
                tag('name', user.get_full_name() or user.username)
                tag('is_staff', user.is_staff)
                tag('date_joined', user.date_joined.isoformat())

                capture('user_logged_in', properties={
                    'login_method': 'email',
                })

            return redirect('dashboard')
        else:
            messages.error(request, 'Invalid username or password')

    return render(request, 'core/home.html')


def logout_view(request):
    """Logout the current user"""
    if request.user.is_authenticated:
        user_id = str(request.user.id)

        # PostHog: Track logout before session ends
        with new_context():
            identify_context(user_id)
            capture('user_logged_out')

        logout(request)

    return redirect('home')


@login_required
def dashboard_view(request):
    """Dashboard page with feature flag example"""
    user_id = str(request.user.id)

    # PostHog: Track dashboard view
    with new_context():
        identify_context(user_id)
        capture('dashboard_viewed', properties={
            'is_staff': request.user.is_staff,
        })

    # PostHog: Check feature flag
    show_new_feature = posthog.feature_enabled(
        'new-dashboard-feature',
        distinct_id=user_id,
        person_properties={
            'email': request.user.email,
            'is_staff': request.user.is_staff,
        }
    )

    # PostHog: Get feature flag payload
    feature_config = posthog.get_feature_flag_payload(
        'new-dashboard-feature',
        distinct_id=user_id,
    )

    context = {
        'show_new_feature': show_new_feature,
        'feature_config': feature_config,
    }

    return render(request, 'core/dashboard.html', context)


@login_required
def burrito_view(request):
    """Example page demonstrating event tracking"""
    count = request.session.get('burrito_count', 0)

    context = {
        'burrito_count': count,
    }

    return render(request, 'core/burrito.html', context)


@login_required
@require_POST
def consider_burrito_view(request):
    """API endpoint for tracking burrito considerations"""
    count = request.session.get('burrito_count', 0) + 1
    request.session['burrito_count'] = count

    user_id = str(request.user.id)

    # PostHog: Track custom event
    with new_context():
        identify_context(user_id)
        capture('burrito_considered', properties={
            'total_considerations': count,
        })

    return JsonResponse({
        'success': True,
        'count': count,
    })


@login_required
def profile_view(request):
    """Profile page with error tracking demonstration"""
    user_id = str(request.user.id)

    # PostHog: Track profile view
    with new_context():
        identify_context(user_id)
        capture('profile_viewed')

    context = {
        'user': request.user,
    }

    return render(request, 'core/profile.html', context)


@login_required
@require_POST
def trigger_error_view(request):
    """API endpoint that demonstrates error tracking"""
    try:
        error_type = request.POST.get('error_type', 'generic')

        if error_type == 'value':
            raise ValueError("Invalid value provided by user")
        elif error_type == 'key':
            data = {}
            _ = data['nonexistent_key']
        else:
            raise Exception("Something went wrong!")

    except Exception as e:
        # PostHog: Capture exception
        posthog.capture_exception(e)

        # PostHog: Track error trigger event
        with new_context():
            identify_context(str(request.user.id))
            capture('error_triggered', properties={
                'error_type': error_type,
                'error_message': str(e),
            })

        return JsonResponse({
            'success': False,
            'error': str(e),
            'message': 'Error has been captured by PostHog',
        }, status=400)

    return JsonResponse({'success': True})


@login_required
def group_analytics_view(request):
    """Example demonstrating group analytics"""
    user_id = str(request.user.id)

    # PostHog: Identify group
    posthog.group_identify(
        group_type='company',
        group_key='acme-corp',
        properties={
            'name': 'Acme Corporation',
            'plan': 'enterprise',
            'employee_count': 150,
        }
    )

    # PostHog: Capture event with group
    with new_context():
        identify_context(user_id)
        capture(
            'feature_used',
            properties={
                'feature_name': 'group_analytics',
            },
            groups={
                'company': 'acme-corp',
            }
        )

    return JsonResponse({
        'success': True,
        'message': 'Group analytics event captured',
    })

#!/usr/bin/env python
"""Django's command-line utility for administrative tasks."""
import os
import sys


def main():
    """Run administrative tasks."""
    os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'posthog_example.settings')
    try:
        from django.core.management import execute_from_command_line
    except ImportError as exc:
        raise ImportError(
            "Couldn't import Django. Are you sure it's installed and "
            "available on your PYTHONPATH environment variable? Did you "
            "forget to activate a virtual environment?"
        ) from exc
    execute_from_command_line(sys.argv)


if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

# PostHog Django example project

"""
ASGI config for PostHog example project
"""

import os

from django.core.asgi import get_asgi_application

os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'posthog_example.settings')

application = get_asgi_application()

"""Django settings for PostHog example project"""

import os
from pathlib import Path

try:
    from dotenv import load_dotenv
    load_dotenv()
except ImportError:
    pass

BASE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent

SECRET_KEY = os.environ.get('DJANGO_SECRET_KEY', 'django-insecure-example-key-change-in-production')

DEBUG = os.environ.get('DEBUG', 'True').lower() == 'true'

ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['localhost', '127.0.0.1']


# PostHog configuration
POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN = os.environ.get('POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN', '<ph_project_token>')
POSTHOG_HOST = os.environ.get('POSTHOG_HOST', 'https://us.i.posthog.com')
POSTHOG_DISABLED = os.environ.get('POSTHOG_DISABLED', 'False').lower() == 'true'


INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'core.apps.CoreConfig',
]

MIDDLEWARE = [
    'django.middleware.security.SecurityMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.sessions.middleware.SessionMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.common.CommonMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.csrf.CsrfViewMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
    'django.contrib.messages.middleware.MessageMiddleware',
    'django.middleware.clickjacking.XFrameOptionsMiddleware',
    'posthog.integrations.django.PosthogContextMiddleware',
]

ROOT_URLCONF = 'posthog_example.urls'

TEMPLATES = [
    {
        'BACKEND': 'django.template.backends.django.DjangoTemplates',
        'DIRS': [],
        'APP_DIRS': True,
        'OPTIONS': {
            'context_processors': [
                'django.template.context_processors.debug',
                'django.template.context_processors.request',
                'django.contrib.auth.context_processors.auth',
                'django.contrib.messages.context_processors.messages',
            ],
        },
    },
]

WSGI_APPLICATION = 'posthog_example.wsgi.application'

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.sqlite3',
        'NAME': BASE_DIR / 'db.sqlite3',
    }
}

AUTH_PASSWORD_VALIDATORS = [
    {'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.UserAttributeSimilarityValidator'},
    {'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.MinimumLengthValidator'},
    {'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.CommonPasswordValidator'},
    {'NAME': 'django.contrib.auth.password_validation.NumericPasswordValidator'},
]

LANGUAGE_CODE = 'en-us'
TIME_ZONE = 'UTC'
USE_I18N = True
USE_TZ = True

STATIC_URL = 'static/'

DEFAULT_AUTO_FIELD = 'django.db.models.BigAutoField'

"""
URL configuration for PostHog example project
"""

from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    # Include the core app URLs for PostHog examples
    path('', include('core.urls')),
]

"""
WSGI config for PostHog example project
"""

import os

from django.core.wsgi import get_wsgi_application

os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'posthog_example.settings')

application = get_wsgi_application()

Django>=4.2,<5.0
posthog  # Always use latest version
python-dotenv>=1.0.0