Integration Ruby On Rails
PostHogOfficialCreated by PostHog
- Skill
- Tool integration
- Software development
- MIT
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AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides a structured workflow for adding PostHog to a Ruby on Rails project. It covers the installation of the posthog-rails and posthog-ruby gems, configuration of initializers, and best practices for event tracking, user identification, and automated error reporting. The skill emphasizes using environment variables for configuration, leveraging class-level methods for event capture, and maintaining consistency with provided implementation patterns to ensure reliable data collection across both backend and frontend environments.
What it does
- Configures PostHog initialization for Rails applications.
- Enables automated tracking of unhandled exceptions and background job failures.
- Provides patterns for manual event capture and user identification.
- Integrates feature flag support within Rails controllers.
- Demonstrates how to correlate backend events with frontend sessions.
- Offers a step-by-step workflow for planning and implementing event tracking.
When to use it
- When you need to add product analytics to a Ruby on Rails application.
- When you want to implement automated server-side error tracking.
- When you need to associate backend events with authenticated users.
- When you are setting up feature flags for Rails-based features.
Advantages
- Follows established Rails conventions for gem configuration.
- Ensures secure handling of API keys via environment variables.
- Provides clear separation between backend event tracking and frontend instrumentation.
- Includes built-in support for ActiveJob and Rails error reporting.
Usage examples
- “How do I initialize PostHog in my Rails application?”
- The agent will guide you to create an initializer file and configure the PostHog client using environment variables for the API key and host.
- “How can I track background job failures in Rails?”
- The agent will show you how to enable auto_instrument_active_job in the PostHog configuration to automatically capture job class, queue, and arguments.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/posthog/integration-ruby-on-rails/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip integration-ruby-on-rails.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by PostHog
PostHog integration for Ruby on Rails
This skill helps you add PostHog analytics to Ruby on Rails applications.
Workflow
Follow these steps in order to complete the integration:
basic-integration-1.0-begin.md- PostHog Setup - Begin ← Start herebasic-integration-1.1-edit.md- PostHog Setup - Editbasic-integration-1.2-revise.md- PostHog Setup - Revisebasic-integration-1.3-conclude.md- PostHog Setup - Conclusion
Reference files
references/EXAMPLE.md- Ruby on Rails example project codereferences/ruby-on-rails.md- Ruby on rails - docsreferences/ruby.md- Ruby - docsreferences/identify-users.md- Identify users - docsreferences/basic-integration-1.0-begin.md- PostHog setup - beginreferences/basic-integration-1.1-edit.md- PostHog setup - editreferences/basic-integration-1.2-revise.md- PostHog setup - revisereferences/basic-integration-1.3-conclude.md- PostHog setup - conclusion
The example project shows the target implementation pattern. Consult the documentation for API details.
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.
Framework guidelines
Use posthog-rails gem alongside posthog-ruby for automatic exception capture and ActiveJob instrumentation
Run
rails generate posthog:installto create the initializer, or manually create config/initializers/posthog.rbConfigure auto_capture_exceptions: true to automatically track unhandled exceptions in controllers
Configure report_rescued_exceptions: true to also capture exceptions that Rails rescues (e.g. with rescue_from)
Configure auto_instrument_active_job: true to track background job failures with job class, queue, and arguments
Use PostHog.capture() and PostHog.identify() class-level methods (NOT instance methods) — the posthog-rails gem manages the client lifecycle via PostHog.init
Do NOT manually create PostHog::Client instances in Rails — use PostHog.init in the initializer and PostHog.capture/identify everywhere else
capture_exception takes POSITIONAL args: PostHog.capture_exception(exception, distinct_id, additional_properties) — do NOT use keyword args
Define posthog_distinct_id on the User model for automatic user association in error reports — posthog-rails auto-detects by trying: posthog_distinct_id, distinct_id, id, pk, uuid (in order)
For ActiveJob user association, use the class-level DSL
posthog_distinct_id ->(user) { user.email }or pass user_id: in a hash argumentStore API key in Rails credentials or environment variables, never hardcode
For frontend tracking alongside posthog-rails, add the posthog-js snippet to the layout template — posthog-js handles pageviews, session replay, and client-side errors while posthog-ruby handles backend events, server errors, feature flags, and background jobs
posthog-ruby is the Ruby SDK gem name (add
gem 'posthog-ruby'to Gemfile) but require it withrequire 'posthog'(NOTrequire 'posthog-ruby')Use PostHog::Client.new(api_key: key, host: host) for instance-based initialization in scripts and CLIs
In CLIs and scripts: MUST call client.shutdown before exit or all events are lost
Use begin/rescue/ensure with shutdown in the ensure block for proper cleanup
capture and identify take a single hash argument: client.capture(distinct_id: 'user_123', event: 'my_event', properties: { key: 'value' })
capture_exception takes POSITIONAL args (not keyword): client.capture_exception(exception, distinct_id, additional_properties) — do NOT use
distinct_id:keyword syntax
Identifying users
Identify users during login and signup events. Refer to the example code and documentation for the correct identify pattern for this framework. If both frontend and backend code exist, pass the client-side session and distinct ID using X-POSTHOG-DISTINCT-ID and X-POSTHOG-SESSION-ID headers to maintain correlation.
Error tracking
Add PostHog error tracking to relevant files, particularly around critical user flows and API boundaries.
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer975 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.0 KiB
- SKILL.md4.4 KiB
- references/EXAMPLE.md37.6 KiB
- references/basic-integration-1.0-begin.md2.1 KiB
- references/basic-integration-1.1-edit.md2.5 KiB
- references/basic-integration-1.2-revise.md937 B
- references/basic-integration-1.3-conclude.md1.6 KiB
- references/identify-users.md8.1 KiB
- references/ruby-on-rails.md10.6 KiB
- references/ruby.md18.9 KiB
references/EXAMPLE.md
PostHog Ruby on Rails Example Project
Repository: https://github.com/PostHog/context-mill Path: basics/ruby-on-rails
README.md
PostHog Ruby on Rails example
This is a Ruby on Rails example demonstrating PostHog integration with product analytics, error tracking (auto-instrumentation), feature flags, user identification, and ActiveJob instrumentation via the posthog-rails gem.
Features
Product analytics: Track user events and behaviors with
PostHog.captureError tracking (auto): Unhandled exceptions captured automatically by
posthog-railsError tracking (manual): Handled errors captured with
PostHog.capture_exceptionRails.error integration: Rails 7+ error reporting captured automatically
ActiveJob instrumentation: Background job failures captured automatically
User identification: Associate events with authenticated users via
PostHog.identifyFeature flags: Control feature rollouts with
PostHog.is_feature_enabledUser context: Exceptions automatically associated with
current_userFrontend tracking: posthog-js captures pageviews and session replay alongside backend events
Getting started
1. Install dependencies
bundle install2. Configure environment variables
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and add your PostHog project tokenGet your PostHog project token from your PostHog project settings.
3. Setup database
bin/rails db:create db:migrate db:seed4. Run the development server
bin/rails serverOpen http://localhost:3000 with your browser. Login with [email protected] / admin.
Project structure
ruby-on-rails/
├── config/
│ ├── routes.rb # URL routing
│ └── initializers/
│ └── posthog.rb # PostHog + posthog-rails configuration
├── app/
│ ├── controllers/
│ │ ├── application_controller.rb # Base controller with current_user
│ │ ├── sessions_controller.rb # Login/logout with PostHog identify
│ │ ├── registrations_controller.rb # Signup with PostHog identify
│ │ ├── dashboard_controller.rb # Feature flags + ActiveJob demo
│ │ ├── burritos_controller.rb # Custom event tracking
│ │ ├── profiles_controller.rb # Page view tracking
│ │ └── errors_controller.rb # Error tracking demos
│ ├── jobs/
│ │ └── example_job.rb # ActiveJob auto-instrumentation demo
│ ├── models/
│ │ └── user.rb # posthog_distinct_id + posthog_properties
│ └── views/
│ ├── layouts/application.html.erb # Base layout with posthog-js snippet
│ ├── sessions/new.html.erb # Login page
│ ├── registrations/new.html.erb # Signup page
│ ├── dashboard/show.html.erb # Feature flags demo
│ ├── burritos/show.html.erb # Event tracking demo
│ └── profiles/show.html.erb # Error tracking demo
├── db/
│ ├── migrate/ # Database migrations
│ └── seeds.rb # Default admin user
├── .env.example # Environment variable template
├── Gemfile # Ruby dependencies
└── README.md # This fileKey integration points
PostHog initialization (config/initializers/posthog.rb)
# Rails-specific auto-instrumentation
PostHog::Rails.configure do |config|
config.auto_capture_exceptions = true
config.report_rescued_exceptions = true
config.auto_instrument_active_job = true
config.capture_user_context = true
config.current_user_method = :current_user
config.user_id_method = :posthog_distinct_id
end
PostHog.init do |config|
config.api_key = ENV.fetch('POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN', nil)
config.host = ENV.fetch('POSTHOG_HOST', 'https://us.i.posthog.com')
endUser model (app/models/user.rb)
class User < ApplicationRecord
has_secure_password
# Called by posthog-rails for automatic user association in error reports
def posthog_distinct_id
email
end
def posthog_properties
{ email: email, is_staff: is_staff, date_joined: created_at&.iso8601 }
end
endUser identification (app/controllers/sessions_controller.rb)
# Identify the user and capture login event
PostHog.identify(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
properties: user.posthog_properties
)
PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'user_logged_in',
properties: { login_method: 'email' }
)Feature flags (app/controllers/dashboard_controller.rb)
# Check if a feature flag is enabled
@show_new_feature = PostHog.is_feature_enabled(
'new-dashboard-feature',
user.posthog_distinct_id,
person_properties: user.posthog_properties
)
# Get feature flag payload for configuration
@feature_config = PostHog.get_feature_flag_payload(
'new-dashboard-feature',
user.posthog_distinct_id
)Error tracking — auto-capture
With auto_capture_exceptions: true, unhandled exceptions in controllers are captured automatically. No code needed:
# This exception is automatically captured by posthog-rails
# with the current_user's posthog_distinct_id attached
def show
raise "Something went wrong" # Captured automatically!
endError tracking — manual capture
begin
risky_operation
rescue => e
PostHog.capture_exception(e, current_user.posthog_distinct_id)
endError tracking — Rails.error integration
# posthog-rails subscribes to Rails.error automatically
Rails.error.handle(context: { user_id: user.id }) do
risky_operation
endActiveJob instrumentation
# config: auto_instrument_active_job = true
# Job failures are captured automatically.
# Use the posthog_distinct_id DSL to associate errors with a user.
class ExampleJob < ApplicationJob
posthog_distinct_id ->(distinct_id, *) { distinct_id }
def perform(distinct_id, should_fail: false)
raise "Job failed" # Captured automatically with user context
end
end
# In the controller, pass the distinct_id when enqueuing:
ExampleJob.perform_later(current_user.posthog_distinct_id, should_fail: true)Frontend + Backend integration
This example includes the posthog-js snippet in the layout template to demonstrate how frontend and backend tracking work together.
How it works
posthog-js (frontend) captures pageviews, clicks, and session replay
posthog-ruby + posthog-rails (backend) captures business logic events, errors, and feature flag evaluations
Shared distinct_id — frontend and backend events are linked when the same
distinct_idis used on both sides. Callposthog.identify(user.email)in posthog-js after login, matching theposthog_distinct_idused on the backendSession replay lets you watch user sessions where errors occurred
Note: Unlike the Django SDK, posthog-rails does not include a context middleware that reads X-POSTHOG-SESSION-ID or X-POSTHOG-DISTINCT-ID tracing headers. Frontend and backend events are correlated through the shared distinct_id.
When to track frontend vs backend
Frontend: UI interactions, client-side errors, session replay, pageviews
Backend: Business logic (signups, purchases), server errors, feature flag evaluations, background jobs
Learn more
.env.example
# PostHog Configuration
POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN=phc_your_project_token_here
POSTHOG_HOST=https://us.i.posthog.com
# Optional: Enable debug mode to see PostHog requests
# POSTHOG_DEBUG=true
app/controllers/application_controller.rb
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
protect_from_forgery with: :exception
private
def current_user
@current_user ||= User.find_by(id: session[:user_id]) if session[:user_id]
end
helper_method :current_user
def require_login
unless current_user
redirect_to login_path
end
end
end
app/controllers/burritos_controller.rb
class BurritosController < ApplicationController
before_action :require_login
def show
@burrito_count = session[:burrito_count] || 0
end
def consider
count = (session[:burrito_count] || 0) + 1
session[:burrito_count] = count
user = current_user
# PostHog: Track custom event
PostHog.identify(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
properties: user.posthog_properties
)
PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'burrito_considered',
properties: { total_considerations: count }
)
render json: { success: true, count: count }
end
end
app/controllers/dashboard_controller.rb
class DashboardController < ApplicationController
before_action :require_login
def show
user = current_user
# PostHog: Track dashboard view
PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'dashboard_viewed',
properties: { is_staff: user.is_staff }
)
# PostHog: Check feature flag
@show_new_feature = PostHog.is_feature_enabled(
'new-dashboard-feature',
user.posthog_distinct_id,
person_properties: user.posthog_properties
)
# PostHog: Get feature flag payload for configuration
@feature_config = PostHog.get_feature_flag_payload(
'new-dashboard-feature',
user.posthog_distinct_id
)
end
def enqueue_test_job
# Enqueue a job that will fail — posthog-rails captures the error automatically.
# The distinct_id is passed so the posthog_distinct_id DSL can associate the error with this user.
ExampleJob.perform_later(current_user.posthog_distinct_id, should_fail: true)
render json: {
success: true,
message: 'Job enqueued. The job will fail and posthog-rails will capture the error automatically.'
}
end
end
app/controllers/errors_controller.rb
class ErrorsController < ApplicationController
before_action :require_login
def test
# Manual exception capture — catch the error and report it explicitly
begin
raise StandardError, 'Test exception from critical operation'
rescue StandardError => e
# PostHog: Manually capture the exception
PostHog.capture_exception(e, current_user.posthog_distinct_id)
PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: current_user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'error_triggered',
properties: {
error_type: e.class.name,
error_message: e.message
}
)
render json: {
success: false,
error: e.message,
message: 'Error has been captured by PostHog'
}, status: :internal_server_error
end
end
def test_rails_error
# Rails.error.handle — Rails 7+ error reporting integration.
# posthog-rails subscribes to Rails.error, so exceptions reported
# via Rails.error.handle are automatically captured in PostHog.
Rails.error.handle(context: { user_id: current_user.id }) do
raise StandardError, 'Test error via Rails.error.handle — captured automatically by posthog-rails'
end
render json: {
success: true,
message: 'Error was handled via Rails.error.handle and captured by posthog-rails'
}
end
end
app/controllers/profiles_controller.rb
class ProfilesController < ApplicationController
before_action :require_login
def show
# PostHog: Track profile view
PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: current_user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'profile_viewed'
)
end
end
app/controllers/registrations_controller.rb
class RegistrationsController < ApplicationController
def new
redirect_to dashboard_path if current_user
end
def create
user = User.new(
email: params[:email],
password: params[:password],
password_confirmation: params[:password_confirmation]
)
if user.save
session[:user_id] = user.id
# PostHog: Identify the new user and capture signup event
PostHog.identify(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
properties: user.posthog_properties
)
PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'user_signed_up',
properties: { signup_method: 'form' }
)
redirect_to dashboard_path
else
flash[:error] = user.errors.full_messages.join(', ')
render :new, status: :unprocessable_entity
end
end
end
app/controllers/sessions_controller.rb
class SessionsController < ApplicationController
def new
redirect_to dashboard_path if current_user
end
def create
user = User.find_by(email: params[:email])
if user&.authenticate(params[:password])
session[:user_id] = user.id
# PostHog: Identify the user and capture login event
PostHog.identify(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
properties: user.posthog_properties
)
PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'user_logged_in',
properties: { login_method: 'email' }
)
redirect_to dashboard_path
else
flash[:error] = 'Invalid email or password'
render :new, status: :unprocessable_entity
end
end
def destroy
if current_user
# PostHog: Track logout before session ends
PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: current_user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'user_logged_out'
)
end
session.delete(:user_id)
redirect_to login_path
end
end
app/jobs/application_job.rb
class ApplicationJob < ActiveJob::Base
end
app/jobs/example_job.rb
# Example ActiveJob demonstrating posthog-rails auto-instrumentation.
#
# When auto_instrument_active_job is enabled in the PostHog config,
# posthog-rails automatically captures exceptions from failed jobs.
# The job class name, queue, and arguments are included as properties
# on the error event.
#
# Use the posthog_distinct_id DSL to associate job errors with a user.
# The proc receives the same arguments as perform and should return
# the distinct_id string. Without this, job errors have no user context.
class ExampleJob < ApplicationJob
queue_as :default
# Extract distinct_id from the first argument so posthog-rails
# can associate the error with the user who triggered the job.
posthog_distinct_id ->(distinct_id, *) { distinct_id }
def perform(distinct_id, should_fail: false)
if should_fail
raise StandardError, 'Example job failure - this error is automatically captured by posthog-rails'
end
Rails.logger.info "ExampleJob completed successfully for #{distinct_id}"
end
end
app/models/application_record.rb
class ApplicationRecord < ActiveRecord::Base
primary_abstract_class
end
app/models/user.rb
class User < ApplicationRecord
has_secure_password
validates :email, presence: true, uniqueness: true
# Called by posthog-rails for automatic user association in error reports.
# When auto_capture_exceptions and capture_user_context are enabled,
# posthog-rails calls this method on current_user to get the distinct_id.
def posthog_distinct_id
email
end
# Helper used by controllers when calling PostHog.identify to set person properties.
# These properties appear on the person profile in PostHog.
def posthog_properties
{
email: email,
is_staff: is_staff,
date_joined: created_at&.iso8601
}
end
end
app/views/burritos/show.html.erb
<% content_for(:title) { 'Burrito - PostHog Rails example' } %>
<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>PostHog.capture(
distinct_id: user.posthog_distinct_id,
event: 'burrito_considered',
properties: { total_considerations: count }
)</code></pre>
</div>
<% content_for :scripts do %>
<script>
async function considerBurrito() {
try {
const response = await fetch('/api/burrito/consider', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'X-CSRF-Token': document.querySelector('meta[name="csrf-token"]').content,
'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>
<% end %>
app/views/dashboard/show.html.erb
<% content_for(:title) { 'Dashboard - PostHog Rails example' } %>
<div class="card">
<h1>Dashboard</h1>
<p>Welcome back, <strong><%= current_user.email %></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>
<% end %>
</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>
<% end %>
</div>
<div class="card">
<h2>ActiveJob instrumentation</h2>
<p>
Click below to enqueue a background job that will fail.
<code>posthog-rails</code> automatically captures the exception — no extra code needed.
</p>
<button onclick="enqueueTestJob()" style="margin-top: 10px;">Enqueue failing job</button>
<div id="job-result" style="margin-top: 15px; display: none;"></div>
</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.is_feature_enabled(
'new-dashboard-feature',
user.posthog_distinct_id,
person_properties: user.posthog_properties
)
# Get feature flag payload for configuration
config = PostHog.get_feature_flag_payload(
'new-dashboard-feature',
user.posthog_distinct_id
)</code></pre>
</div>
<% content_for :scripts do %>
<script>
async function enqueueTestJob() {
const resultDiv = document.getElementById('job-result');
try {
const response = await fetch('/api/test-job', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'X-CSRF-Token': document.querySelector('meta[name="csrf-token"]').content,
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
},
});
const data = await response.json();
resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
resultDiv.innerHTML = '<div class="flash success">' + data.message + '</div>';
} catch (error) {
resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
resultDiv.innerHTML = '<div class="flash error">Request failed: ' + error + '</div>';
}
}
</script>
<% end %>
app/views/layouts/application.html.erb
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title><%= content_for?(:title) ? yield(:title) : 'PostHog Rails example' %></title>
<%= csrf_meta_tags %>
<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;
}
.flash {
padding: 10px 15px;
border-radius: 5px;
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.flash.error {
background: #fee2e2;
color: #dc2626;
}
.flash.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>
<!-- PostHog frontend tracking (posthog-js) -->
<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||[],u.toString=function(t){var e="posthog";return"posthog"!==a&&(e+="."+a),t||(e+=" (stub)"),e},u.people.toString=function(){return u.toString(1)+".people (stub)"},o="init capture register register_once register_for_session unregister unregister_for_session getFeatureFlag getFeatureFlagPayload isFeatureEnabled reloadFeatureFlags updateEarlyAccessFeatureEnrollment getEarlyAccessFeatures on onFeatureFlags onSessionId getSurveys getActiveMatchingSurveys renderSurvey canRenderSurvey 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 getPageViewId".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('<%= ENV["POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN"] %>', {
api_host: '<%= ENV.fetch("POSTHOG_HOST", "https://us.i.posthog.com") %>',
person_profiles: 'identified_only'
})
</script>
</head>
<body>
<% if current_user %>
<nav style="display: flex; align-items: center;">
<a href="<%= dashboard_path %>">Dashboard</a>
<a href="<%= burrito_path %>">Burrito</a>
<a href="<%= profile_path %>">Profile</a>
<%= button_to 'Logout (' + current_user.email + ')', logout_path, method: :delete, form: { style: 'margin-left: auto;' }, style: 'background: transparent; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; padding: 0;' %>
</nav>
<% end %>
<div class="container">
<% if flash[:error] %>
<div class="flash error"><%= flash[:error] %></div>
<% end %>
<% if flash[:notice] %>
<div class="flash success"><%= flash[:notice] %></div>
<% end %>
<%= yield %>
</div>
<%= yield :scripts %>
</body>
</html>
app/views/profiles/show.html.erb
<% content_for(:title) { 'Profile - PostHog Rails example' } %>
<div class="card">
<h1>Profile</h1>
<p>This page demonstrates error tracking with PostHog and <code>posthog-rails</code>.</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>Email:</strong></td>
<td style="padding: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;"><%= current_user.email %></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;"><%= current_user.created_at %></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 10px;"><strong>Staff Status:</strong></td>
<td style="padding: 10px;"><%= current_user.is_staff ? '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 and see how PostHog captures them.</p>
<div style="margin-top: 20px;">
<button class="danger" onclick="triggerError('manual')">
Manual capture_exception
</button>
<button class="danger" onclick="triggerError('rails')" style="margin-left: 10px;">
Rails.error.handle
</button>
</div>
<div id="error-result" style="margin-top: 20px; display: none;"></div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<h3>How error tracking works</h3>
<p><strong>Auto-capture (no code needed):</strong></p>
<pre style="background: #f3f4f6; padding: 15px; border-radius: 5px; overflow-x: auto;"><code># config/initializers/posthog.rb
PostHog::Rails.configure do |config|
config.auto_capture_exceptions = true
config.capture_user_context = true
end
# That's it! Unhandled exceptions are captured automatically.</code></pre>
<p style="margin-top: 15px;"><strong>Manual capture:</strong></p>
<pre style="background: #f3f4f6; padding: 15px; border-radius: 5px; overflow-x: auto;"><code>begin
risky_operation
rescue => e
PostHog.capture_exception(e, user.posthog_distinct_id)
end</code></pre>
<p style="margin-top: 15px;"><strong>Rails.error integration:</strong></p>
<pre style="background: #f3f4f6; padding: 15px; border-radius: 5px; overflow-x: auto;"><code># posthog-rails subscribes to Rails.error automatically
Rails.error.handle(context: { user_id: user.id }) do
risky_operation
end</code></pre>
</div>
<% content_for :scripts do %>
<script>
async function triggerError(type) {
const resultDiv = document.getElementById('error-result');
const url = type === 'rails' ? '/api/test-rails-error' : '/api/test-error';
try {
const response = await fetch(url, {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'X-CSRF-Token': document.querySelector('meta[name="csrf-token"]').content,
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
},
});
const data = await response.json();
resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
if (data.success) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = '<div class="flash success">' + data.message + '</div>';
} else {
resultDiv.innerHTML = '<div class="flash error"><strong>Error captured:</strong> ' + data.error + '<br><small>' + data.message + '</small></div>';
}
} catch (error) {
resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
resultDiv.innerHTML = '<div class="flash error">Request failed: ' + error + '</div>';
}
}
</script>
<% end %>
app/views/registrations/new.html.erb
<% content_for(:title) { 'Sign Up - PostHog Rails example' } %>
<div class="card">
<h1>Sign Up</h1>
<p>Create an account to see PostHog analytics in action.</p>
<form action="<%= signup_path %>" method="post" style="margin-top: 20px;">
<%= hidden_field_tag :authenticity_token, form_authenticity_token %>
<input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Email" required>
<input type="password" name="password" placeholder="Password" required>
<input type="password" name="password_confirmation" placeholder="Confirm Password" required>
<button type="submit">Sign Up</button>
</form>
<p style="margin-top: 15px; color: #666; font-size: 14px;">
Already have an account? <a href="<%= login_path %>">Login</a>
</p>
</div>
app/views/sessions/new.html.erb
<% content_for(:title) { 'Login - PostHog Rails example' } %>
<div class="card">
<h1>PostHog Rails example</h1>
<p>Welcome! This example demonstrates PostHog integration with Ruby on Rails, including automatic error tracking via <code>posthog-rails</code>.</p>
</div>
<div class="card">
<h2>Login</h2>
<p>Login to see PostHog analytics in action.</p>
<form action="<%= login_path %>" method="post" style="margin-top: 20px;">
<%= hidden_field_tag :authenticity_token, form_authenticity_token %>
<input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Email" 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;">
Don't have an account? <a href="<%= signup_path %>">Sign up</a><br>
Tip: Run <code>bin/rails db:seed</code> to create [email protected] / admin
</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>PostHog.identify</code> on login</li>
<li><strong>Event tracking</strong> — Custom events captured with <code>PostHog.capture</code></li>
<li><strong>Feature flags</strong> — Conditional features with <code>PostHog.is_feature_enabled</code></li>
<li><strong>Error tracking (auto)</strong> — Unhandled exceptions captured automatically by <code>posthog-rails</code></li>
<li><strong>Error tracking (manual)</strong> — Handled errors captured with <code>PostHog.capture_exception</code></li>
<li><strong>ActiveJob instrumentation</strong> — Background job failures captured automatically</li>
<li><strong>Rails.error integration</strong> — Rails 7+ error reporting captured by <code>posthog-rails</code></li>
<li><strong>Frontend tracking</strong> — posthog-js captures pageviews and session replay</li>
</ul>
</div>
bin/rails
#!/usr/bin/env ruby
APP_PATH = File.expand_path('../config/application', __dir__)
require_relative '../config/boot'
require 'rails/commands'
config.ru
require_relative 'config/environment'
run Rails.application
config/application.rb
require_relative 'boot'
require 'rails/all'
Bundler.require(*Rails.groups)
module PosthogExample
class Application < Rails::Application
config.load_defaults 7.1
# Use SQLite for all stores
config.active_job.queue_adapter = :async
end
end
config/boot.rb
ENV['BUNDLE_GEMFILE'] ||= File.expand_path('../Gemfile', __dir__)
require 'bundler/setup'
config/environment.rb
require_relative 'application'
Rails.application.initialize!
config/environments/development.rb
require 'active_support/core_ext/integer/time'
Rails.application.configure do
config.enable_reloading = true
config.eager_load = false
config.consider_all_requests_local = true
config.server_timing = true
# Secret key for development (not used in production)
config.secret_key_base = 'dev-secret-key-for-posthog-example-only'
config.action_controller.perform_caching = false
config.cache_store = :memory_store
config.active_support.deprecation = :log
config.active_support.disallowed_deprecation = :raise
config.active_support.disallowed_deprecation_warnings = []
config.active_record.migration_error = :page_load
config.active_record.verbose_query_logs = true
end
config/initializers/posthog.rb
# PostHog configuration with posthog-rails auto-instrumentation
#
# The posthog-rails gem provides:
# - Automatic exception capture for unhandled controller errors
# - ActiveJob instrumentation for background job failures
# - User context detection from current_user
# - Rails.error integration for rescued exceptions
PostHog.init do |config|
config.api_key = ENV.fetch('POSTHOG_PROJECT_TOKEN', nil)
config.host = ENV.fetch('POSTHOG_HOST', 'https://us.i.posthog.com')
end
PostHog::Rails.configure do |config|
# Auto-capture unhandled exceptions in controllers
config.auto_capture_exceptions = true
# Also capture exceptions that Rails rescues (e.g. ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound)
config.report_rescued_exceptions = true
# Auto-instrument ActiveJob failures
config.auto_instrument_active_job = true
# Automatically associate errors with the current user
config.capture_user_context = true
config.current_user_method = :current_user
config.user_id_method = :posthog_distinct_id
end
config/routes.rb
Rails.application.routes.draw do
# Auth
get 'login', to: 'sessions#new'
post 'login', to: 'sessions#create'
delete 'logout', to: 'sessions#destroy'
get 'signup', to: 'registrations#new'
post 'signup', to: 'registrations#create'
# App
get 'dashboard', to: 'dashboard#show'
get 'burrito', to: 'burritos#show'
post 'api/burrito/consider', to: 'burritos#consider'
get 'profile', to: 'profiles#show'
# Error tracking demos
post 'api/test-error', to: 'errors#test'
post 'api/test-rails-error', to: 'errors#test_rails_error'
# Background job demo
post 'api/test-job', to: 'dashboard#enqueue_test_job'
root 'sessions#new'
end
db/migrate/20240101000000_create_users.rb
class CreateUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.1]
def change
create_table :users do |t|
t.string :email, null: false
t.string :password_digest, null: false
t.boolean :is_staff, default: false
t.timestamps
end
add_index :users, :email, unique: true
end
end
db/schema.rb
# This file is auto-generated from the current state of the database. Instead
# of editing this file, please use the migrations feature of Active Record to
# incrementally modify your database, and then regenerate this schema definition.
#
# This file is the source Rails uses to define your schema when running `bin/rails
# db:schema:load`. When creating a new database, `bin/rails db:schema:load` tends to
# be faster and is potentially less error prone than running all of your
# migrations from scratch. Old migrations may fail to apply correctly if those
# migrations use external dependencies or application code.
#
# It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
ActiveRecord::Schema[7.2].define(version: 2024_01_01_000000) do
create_table "users", force: :cascade do |t|
t.string "email", null: false
t.string "password_digest", null: false
t.boolean "is_staff", default: false
t.datetime "created_at", null: false
t.datetime "updated_at", null: false
t.index ["email"], name: "index_users_on_email", unique: true
end
end
db/seeds.rb
# Create a default admin user for testing
User.find_or_create_by!(email: '[email protected]') do |user|
user.password = 'admin'
user.password_confirmation = 'admin'
user.is_staff = true
end
puts 'Seed data created: [email protected] / admin'
Gemfile
source 'https://rubygems.org'
gem 'rails', '~> 7.1'
gem 'sqlite3', '~> 1.7'
gem 'puma', '~> 6.0'
gem 'bcrypt', '~> 3.1'
gem 'dotenv-rails', '~> 3.0'
# PostHog
gem 'posthog-ruby', '~> 3.0'
gem 'posthog-rails'
Rakefile
require_relative 'config/application'
Rails.application.load_tasks
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 API key
Security
No issues found by our static scan· No issues found
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Attribution and licence
- Created by
- PostHog
- Publisher
- PostHog (Official)
- Source
- PostHog/skills · skills/posthog/integration/skills/ruby-on-rails · commit a5d30e7
- Licence
- MIT License (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
- Also distributed in
- PostHog/skills
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 integration-ruby-on-rails.zip