Install PostHog

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Tip: If you have multiple customer-facing products (e.g. a marketing website + iOS app + web app), it's best to install PostHog on them all and group them in one project. This way you can track the user across their entire journey.

Installation

This is the simplest way to get PostHog up and running. It only takes a few minutes.

Copy the snippet below and replace <ph_project_api_key> and <ph_client_api_host> with your project's values, then add it within the <head> tags at the base of your product - ideally just before the closing </head> tag. This ensures PostHog loads on any page users visit.

You can find the snippet pre-filled with this data in your project settings.

HTML
<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 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_api_key>', {api_host: 'https://us.i.posthog.com', person_profiles: 'identified_only'})
</script>

Once the snippet is added, PostHog automatically captures $pageview and other events like button clicks. You can then enable other products, such as session replays, within your project settings.


Set up a reverse proxy (recommended)

We recommend setting up a reverse proxy so that events are less likely to be intercepted by tracking blockers. We have our own managed reverse proxy service included in the Teams plan, which routes through our infrastructure and makes setting up your proxy easy.

If you don't want to use our managed service then there are several other options for creating a reverse proxy, including using Cloudflare, AWS Cloudfront, and Vercel.

Include ES5 support (optional)

If you need ES5 support for example to track Internet Explorer 11 replace /static/array.js in the snippet with /static/array.full.es5.js

Questions?

  • Jacopo    2 months ago

    How to separate dev and production ?

    Which is the best practice to have data separated by dev and production ? So we test new “custom events” in dev and then do the same in production without tracking dev data into production dashboard ?

  • Jon    7 months ago

    Installing on Discourse

    More of a comment than a question. ;-) I wrote a guide for installing PostHog on Discourse. It's probably easiest to use a Theme Component that can be shared across teams.

    Since Discourse is a Rails application, it might be useful to create a plugin for Discourse using the Ruby library. But if you just want to get JavaScript events and session recordings, the Theme Component method works perfectly.

  • Rohit    7 months ago

    Posthog installation on AWS account

    Is there a self hosted version of Posthog. Where data do not leave our premises. We would like to install this on our own AWS accounts and let all the client integrate with it and send events to our own data ware houses. And visualisation also speaks to our system

  • kyle    8 months ago

    Install on one page

    Hi there

    Is it possible to install on only one page within my wordpress website?

  • Marc    9 months ago

    Are you planning to have Unity support?

    Are you planning to have Unity support?

    • Max AI
      7 months agoSolution

      Based on the available information, PostHog does not currently have Unity support, and there are no immediate plans to implement it in the near future.(1)

      While Unity integration has been discussed in the past, it's not currently on PostHog's active development roadmap. A PostHog team member mentioned that it was a future goal about two years ago, but there hasn't been any recent progress on this front.(1)

      As of now, Unity support remains a potential future feature, but there's no specific timeline for its development. If you're interested in this integration, it might be worth keeping an eye on PostHog's updates or considering contributing to the project if you have the expertise.(1)

      For the most up-to-date information on PostHog's plans and roadmap, you may want to check their official channels or community forums regularly.

  • Igor    a year ago

    SvelteKit support?

    Would be awesome to start supporting SvelteKit that's gaining popularity quite a bit :)

  • Lucas    a year ago

    C++ Support

    Is there a plan to create a library for c++?

  • Jakob Felix Eugen    2 years ago

    Good Typescript Support

    Does this tool has good Typescript support?

    • Paul(he/him)      2 years agoSolution

      Hey Jakob,

      posthog-js is written in TypeScript https://github.com/PostHog/posthog-js and we write the front end of app.posthog.com in TypeScript importing posthog-js. We also have multiple customers using PostHog with TypeScript projects.

  • Power    2 years ago

    Does the snippet work with/in Retool?

    I need to automatically capture all events.

    • Marcus      2 years agoSolution

      Hey, we do not have a SDK that works with retool, a workaround is to use our API. (Note: this will not allow auto-capture)

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