@capawesome/capacitor-posthog

v8.6.2

Published

4 days ago

Unofficial Capacitor plugin for PostHog SDK on Android, iOS, and Web.

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robingenz

capacitor plugin native posthog capacitor-plugin analytics product analytics event tracking feature flags session replay error tracking

Capacitor PostHog Plugin

Unofficial Capacitor plugin for PostHog.[^1]

Use Cases

The PostHog plugin is typically used to understand how users interact with an app, for example:

Product analytics: Capture custom events and screen views to analyze how users move through your app.
User identification: Identify users with a distinct ID, assign aliases, and associate their events with groups.
Feature flags: Roll out features gradually by checking feature flags and their payloads at runtime.
Session replay: Record user sessions to understand usage patterns and debug issues.
Error tracking: Capture exceptions manually or automatically to monitor the stability of your app.

Compatibility

| Plugin Version | Capacitor Version | Status | | -------------- | ----------------- | -------------- | | 8.x.x | >=8.x.x | Active support | | 7.x.x | 7.x.x | Deprecated |

Installation

You can use our AI-Assisted Setup to install the plugin. Add the Capawesome Skills to your AI tool using the following command:

npx skills add capawesome-team/skills --skill capacitor-plugins

Then use the following prompt:

 Use the `capacitor-plugins` skill from `capawesome-team/skills` to install the `@capawesome/capacitor-posthog` plugin in my project.

If you prefer Manual Setup, install the plugin by running the following commands and follow the platform-specific instructions below:

npm install @capawesome/capacitor-posthog posthog-js
npx cap sync

Android

Variables

If needed, you can define the following project variable in your app’s variables.gradle file to change the default version of the dependency:

$androidxCoreKtxVersion version of androidx.core:core-ktx (default: 1.13.1)
$posthogVersion version of com.posthog:posthog-android (default: 3.27.2)

This can be useful if you encounter dependency conflicts with other plugins in your project.

Configuration

Examples

In capacitor.config.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "Posthog": {
      "apiKey": 'phc_g8wMenebiIQ1pYd5v9Vy7oakn6MczVKIsNG5ZHCspdy',
      "apiHost": 'https://eu.i.posthog.com',
      "host": 'https://eu.i.posthog.com',
      "uiHost": 'https://eu.posthog.com',
      "enableSessionReplay": undefined,
      "sessionReplayConfig": undefined,
      "captureApplicationLifecycleEvents": undefined,
      "autoCaptureExceptions": undefined
    }
  }
}

In capacitor.config.ts:

/// <reference types="@capawesome/capacitor-posthog" />

import { CapacitorConfig } from '@capacitor/cli';

const config: CapacitorConfig = {
  plugins: {
    Posthog: {
      apiKey: 'phc_g8wMenebiIQ1pYd5v9Vy7oakn6MczVKIsNG5ZHCspdy',
      apiHost: 'https://eu.i.posthog.com',
      host: 'https://eu.i.posthog.com',
      uiHost: 'https://eu.posthog.com',
      enableSessionReplay: undefined,
      sessionReplayConfig: undefined,
      captureApplicationLifecycleEvents: undefined,
      autoCaptureExceptions: undefined,
    },
  },
};

export default config;

Demo

A working example can be found here: robingenz/capacitor-plugin-demo

Usage

The following examples show how to set up the SDK, capture events, track screen views, identify users, associate users with a group, manage super properties, reset the user, and flush queued events.

Set up the SDK

Call setup(...) before any other method. Alternatively, on Android and iOS, you can configure the plugin in your Capacitor configuration file (see Configuration); in that case, you must not call this method:

import { Posthog } from '@capawesome/capacitor-posthog';

const setup = async () => {
  await Posthog.setup({
    apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    apiHost: 'https://eu.i.posthog.com',
  });
};

Capture events

Capture a custom event with optional properties:

import { Posthog } from '@capawesome/capacitor-posthog';

const capture = async () => {
  await Posthog.capture({
    event: 'event',
    properties: {
      key: 'value',
    },
  });
};

Track screen views

Send a screen event with the title of the screen. Only available on Android and iOS:

import { Posthog } from '@capawesome/capacitor-posthog';

const screen = async () => {
  await Posthog.screen({
    screenTitle: 'screen',
    properties: {
      key: 'value',
    },
  });
};

Identify users

Identify the current user with a distinct ID and set person properties. You can also assign another distinct ID to the current user using alias(...):

import { Posthog } from '@capawesome/capacitor-posthog';

const identify = async () => {
  await Posthog.identify({
    distinctId: 'distinct-id',
    userProperties: {
      key: 'value',
    },
  });
};

const alias = async () => {
  await Posthog.alias({
    alias: 'new-distinct-id',
  });
};

Associate users with a group

Associate the events of the current user with a group, for example a company or a team:

import { Posthog } from '@capawesome/capacitor-posthog';

const group = async () => {
  await Posthog.group({
    type: 'group',
    key: 'key',
    groupProperties: {
      key: 'value',
    },
  });
};

Manage super properties

import { Posthog } from '@capawesome/capacitor-posthog';

const register = async () => {
  await Posthog.register({
    key: 'super-property',
    value: 'super-value',
  });
};

const unregister = async () => {
  await Posthog.unregister({
    key: 'super-property',
  });
};

Reset the user

Reset the current user's ID and anonymous ID, for example after a logout:

import { Posthog } from '@capawesome/capacitor-posthog';

const reset = async () => {
  await Posthog.reset();
};

Flush queued events

Manually flush all events in the queue. Only available on Android and iOS:

import { Posthog } from '@capawesome/capacitor-posthog';

const flush = async () => {
  await Posthog.flush();
};

API

alias(...)

alias(options: AliasOptions) => Promise<void>

Assign another distinct ID to the current user.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | options | AliasOptions |

Since: 6.0.0

capture(...)

capture(options: CaptureOptions) => Promise<void>

Capture an event.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | options | CaptureOptions |

Since: 6.0.0

captureException(...)

captureException(options: CaptureExceptionOptions) => Promise<void>

Capture an exception.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | options | CaptureExceptionOptions |

Since: 8.5.0

flush()

flush() => Promise<void>

Flush all events in the queue.

Only available on Android and iOS.

Since: 6.0.0

getDistinctId()

getDistinctId() => Promise<GetDistinctIdResult>

Get the current distinct ID.

Returns: Promise<GetDistinctIdResult>

Since: 8.2.0

getFeatureFlag(...)

getFeatureFlag(options: GetFeatureFlagOptions) => Promise<GetFeatureFlagResult>

Get the value of a feature flag.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | options | GetFeatureFlagOptions |

Returns: Promise<GetFeatureFlagResult>

Since: 7.0.0

getFeatureFlagPayload(...)

getFeatureFlagPayload(options: GetFeatureFlagPayloadOptions) => Promise<GetFeatureFlagPayloadResult>

Get the payload of a feature flag.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | options | GetFeatureFlagPayloadOptions |

Returns: Promise<GetFeatureFlagPayloadResult>

Since: 7.1.0

getSessionId()

getSessionId() => Promise<GetSessionIdResult>

Get the current session ID.

Returns: Promise<GetSessionIdResult>

Since: 8.6.0

group(...)

group(options: GroupOptions) => Promise<void>

Associate the events for that user with a group.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | options | GroupOptions |

Since: 6.0.0

identify(...)

identify(options: IdentifyOptions) => Promise<void>

Identify the current user.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | options | IdentifyOptions |

Since: 6.0.0

isFeatureEnabled(...)

isFeatureEnabled(options: IsFeatureEnabledOptions) => Promise<IsFeatureEnabledResult>

Check if a feature flag is enabled.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | options | IsFeatureEnabledOptions |

Returns: Promise<IsFeatureEnabledResult>

Since: 7.0.0

isOptOut()

isOptOut() => Promise<IsOptOutResult>

Check if the user has opted out of capturing.

Returns: Promise<IsOptOutResult>

Since: 8.1.0

optIn()

optIn() => Promise<void>

Opt in to event capturing.

Since: 8.1.0

optOut()

optOut() => Promise<void>

Opt out of event capturing.

On Web with cookielessMode: 'on_reject': switches to cookieless anonymous tracking. On iOS/Android: stops all event capturing entirely.

Since: 8.1.0

register(...)

register(options: RegisterOptions) => Promise<void>

| Param | Type | | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | options | RegisterOptions |

Since: 6.0.0

reloadFeatureFlags()

reloadFeatureFlags() => Promise<void>

Reload the feature flags.

Since: 7.0.0

reset()

reset() => Promise<void>

Reset the current user's ID and anonymous ID.

Since: 6.0.0

screen(...)

screen(options: ScreenOptions) => Promise<void>

Send a screen event.

Only available on Android and iOS.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | options | ScreenOptions |

Since: 6.0.0

setPersonProperties(...)

setPersonProperties(options: SetPersonPropertiesOptions) => Promise<void>

Set properties on the person associated with the current user.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | options | SetPersonPropertiesOptions |

Since: 8.6.0

setup(...)

setup(options: SetupOptions) => Promise<void>

Setup the PostHog SDK with the provided options.

Attention: This method should be called before any other method. Alternatively, on Android and iOS, you can configure this plugin in your Capacitor Configuration file. In this case, you must not call this method.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | options | SetupOptions |

Since: 6.0.0

startSessionRecording()

startSessionRecording() => Promise<void>

Start session recording.

Since: 7.3.0

stopSessionRecording()

stopSessionRecording() => Promise<void>

Stop session recording.

Since: 7.3.0

unregister(...)

unregister(options: UnregisterOptions) => Promise<void>

Remove a super property.

| Param | Type | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | options | UnregisterOptions |

Since: 6.0.0

Interfaces

AliasOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ----------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | alias | string | The new distinct ID to assign to the current user. | 6.0.0 |

CaptureOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ---------------- | -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ----- | | event | string | The name of the event to capture. | 6.0.0 | | properties | Record<string, any> | The properties to send with the event. | 6.0.0 |

CaptureExceptionOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Default | Since | | ---------------- | -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | ----- | | message | string | The message of the exception. | | 8.5.0 | | name | string | The name of the exception. Used as the exception type for grouping. | 'Error' | 8.5.0 | | stacktrace | StackFrame[] | The stack trace of the exception. Can be generated from an Error using stacktrace.js. | | 8.5.0 | | properties | Record<string, any> | The properties to send with the exception. | | 8.5.0 |

StackFrame

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ------------------ | ------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ----- | | functionName | string | The name of the function. | 8.5.0 | | fileName | string | The name of the file. | 8.5.0 | | lineNumber | number | The line number within the file. | 8.5.0 | | columnNumber | number | The column number within the file. | 8.5.0 |

GetDistinctIdResult

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ---------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------ | ----- | | distinctId | string | The current distinct ID. | 8.2.0 |

GetFeatureFlagResult

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ----------- | -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | value | string | boolean | null | The value of the feature flag. If the feature flag does not exist, the value will be null. | 7.0.0 |

GetFeatureFlagOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | --------- | ------------------- | ---------------------------- | ----- | | key | string | The key of the feature flag. | 7.0.0 |

GetFeatureFlagPayloadResult

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ----------- | --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ----- | | value | JsonType | The value of the feature flag payload. | 7.1.0 |

GetFeatureFlagPayloadOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | --------- | ------------------- | ---------------------------- | ----- | | key | string | The key of the feature flag. | 7.1.0 |

GetSessionIdResult

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | --------------- | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | sessionId | string | null | The current session ID. If no session is active, the value will be null. | 8.6.0 |

GroupOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ----- | | type | string | The group type. | 6.0.0 | | key | string | The group key. | 6.0.0 | | groupProperties | Record<string, any> | The properties to send with the group event. | 6.0.0 |

IdentifyOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | -------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ----- | | distinctId | string | The distinct ID of the user. | 6.0.0 | | userProperties | Record<string, any> | The person properties to set. | 6.0.0 |

IsFeatureEnabledResult

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ------------- | -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | enabled | boolean | Whether the feature flag is enabled. If the feature flag does not exist, the value will be false. | 7.0.0 |

IsFeatureEnabledOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | --------- | ------------------- | ---------------------------- | ----- | | key | string | The key of the feature flag. | 7.0.0 |

IsOptOutResult

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | -------------- | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ----- | | optedOut | boolean | Whether the user has opted out of capturing. | 8.1.0 |

RegisterOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ----------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------- | ----- | | key | string | The name of the super property. | 6.0.0 | | value | any | The value of the super property. | 6.0.0 |

ScreenOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ----------------- | -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ----- | | screenTitle | string | The name of the screen. | 6.0.0 | | properties | Record<string, any> | The properties to send with the screen event. | 6.0.0 |

SetPersonPropertiesOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | properties | Record<string, any> | The person properties to set. | 8.6.0 | | setOnceProperties | Record<string, any> | The person properties to set only once. Existing values will not be overwritten. | 8.6.0 |

SetupOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Default | Since | | --------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ----- | | apiKey | string | The API key of your PostHog project. | | 6.0.0 | | apiHost | string | The API host of your PostHog instance or reverse proxy. If both apiHost and host are provided, apiHost takes precedence. | 'https://us.i.posthog.com' | 8.3.0 | | host | string | The API host of your PostHog instance. Deprecated alias for apiHost. | 'https://us.i.posthog.com' | 6.0.0 | | uiHost | string | The PostHog UI host used when apiHost points to a reverse proxy. Only available on Web. | | 8.3.0 | | cookielessMode | 'always' | 'on_reject' | Cookieless tracking mode. - 'always': Always use cookieless tracking with server-side anonymous hash. - 'on_reject': Normal tracking until optOut() is called, then switches to cookieless. Only available on Web. Requires cookieless mode to be enabled in PostHog project settings. | | 8.1.0 | | enableSessionReplay | boolean | Whether to enable session recording automatically. | false | 7.3.0 | | optOut | boolean | Whether to opt out of capturing by default. User must call optIn() to enable capturing. | false | 8.1.0 | | sessionReplayConfig | SessionReplayOptions | Session replay configuration options. | | 7.3.0 | | captureApplicationLifecycleEvents | boolean | Whether to capture application lifecycle events. Only available on iOS and Android. | true | 8.3.0 | | autoCaptureExceptions | boolean | Whether to automatically capture unhandled exceptions. | false | 8.5.0 | | preloadFeatureFlags | boolean | Whether to preload feature flags on startup. Only available on Android and iOS. | true | 8.6.0 | | surveys | boolean | Whether to enable surveys. Only available on iOS and Web. | true | 8.6.0 | | webConfig | Record<string, any> | Additional posthog-js configuration options that are merged into the configuration passed to posthog.init. Options set here take precedence over the other setup options. Only available on Web. | | 8.6.0 |

SessionReplayOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Default | Since | | ----------------------------- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----- | | screenshotMode | boolean | Enable screenshot mode for session recordings. WARNING: This may capture sensitive information. | false | 7.3.0 | | maskAllTextInputs | boolean | Mask all text input fields in session recordings. | true | 7.3.0 | | maskAllImages | boolean | Mask all images in session recordings. | true | 7.3.0 | | maskAllSandboxedViews | boolean | Mask all sandboxed system views (iOS-specific). | true | 7.3.0 | | captureNetworkTelemetry | boolean | Capture network telemetry in session recordings. | false | 7.3.0 | | debouncerDelay | number | Debounce delay for session recording snapshots (in seconds). | 1.0 | 7.3.0 |

UnregisterOptions

| Prop | Type | Description | Since | | --------- | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----- | | key | string | The name of the super property to remove. | 6.0.0 |

Type Aliases

JsonType

string | number | boolean | null | { [key: string]: JsonType; } | JsonType[]

Advanced

Reverse Proxy

For PostHog managed reverse proxy, set apiHost to your proxy URL and uiHost to your PostHog app host (https://us.posthog.com or https://eu.posthog.com). host remains supported as a deprecated alias for apiHost. uiHost is only available on Web.

FAQ

Do I have to call the `setup` method before using the plugin?

Yes, the setup(...) method should be called before any other method. Alternatively, on Android and iOS, you can configure the plugin in your Capacitor configuration file (see Configuration). In that case, you must not call the setup(...) method.

What is the difference between the `apiHost` and `host` options?

The host option is a deprecated alias for apiHost. Both point to the API host of your PostHog instance or reverse proxy. If both options are provided, apiHost takes precedence, so new projects should only use apiHost.

How do I use the plugin with a reverse proxy?

Set the apiHost option to your proxy URL and the uiHost option to your PostHog app host, such as https://us.posthog.com or https://eu.posthog.com. Note that uiHost is only available on Web. See the Reverse Proxy section for more details.

How do I enable session replay?

Set the enableSessionReplay option to true in the setup(...) method or in your Capacitor configuration file, and fine-tune the recording behavior with the sessionReplayConfig option. You can also start and stop recording manually using the startSessionRecording() and stopSessionRecording() methods.

How can users opt out of tracking?

Call the optOut() method to stop event capturing and the optIn() method to re-enable it. You can check the current state with isOptOut() or opt users out by default with the optOut setup option. On Web with cookielessMode: 'on_reject', opting out switches to cookieless anonymous tracking instead of stopping capturing entirely.

Can I use this plugin with Ionic, React, Vue or Angular?

Yes, the plugin is framework-agnostic. It works in any Capacitor app regardless of the web framework, including Ionic with Angular, React, or Vue, as well as plain JavaScript projects.

Related Plugins

Analytics: Unofficial Capacitor plugin for Firebase Analytics.
Crisp: Unofficial Capacitor plugin for the Crisp live chat and customer support platform.
Formbricks: Unofficial Capacitor plugin for Formbricks to run in-app surveys.
Grafana Faro: Unofficial Capacitor plugin for Grafana Faro to monitor your app.
TikTok App Events: Unofficial Capacitor plugin for the TikTok App Events SDK.

Stay up to date with the latest news and updates about the Capawesome, Capacitor, and Ionic ecosystem by subscribing to our Capawesome Newsletter.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md.

License

See LICENSE.

[^1]: This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or approved by PostHog, Inc. or any of their affiliates or subsidiaries.

Published

Vulnerabilities

Links

Maintainers

Keywords

Readme

Capacitor PostHog Plugin

Use Cases

Compatibility

Installation

Android

Variables

Configuration

Examples

Demo

Usage

Set up the SDK

Capture events

Track screen views

Identify users

Associate users with a group

Manage super properties

Reset the user

Flush queued events

API

alias(...)

capture(...)

captureException(...)

flush()

getDistinctId()

getFeatureFlag(...)

getFeatureFlagPayload(...)

getSessionId()

group(...)

identify(...)

isFeatureEnabled(...)

isOptOut()

optIn()

optOut()

register(...)

reloadFeatureFlags()

reset()

screen(...)

setPersonProperties(...)

setup(...)

startSessionRecording()

stopSessionRecording()

unregister(...)

Interfaces

AliasOptions

CaptureOptions

CaptureExceptionOptions

StackFrame

GetDistinctIdResult

GetFeatureFlagResult

GetFeatureFlagOptions

GetFeatureFlagPayloadResult

GetFeatureFlagPayloadOptions

GetSessionIdResult

GroupOptions

IdentifyOptions

IsFeatureEnabledResult

IsFeatureEnabledOptions

IsOptOutResult

RegisterOptions

ScreenOptions

SetPersonPropertiesOptions

SetupOptions

SessionReplayOptions

UnregisterOptions

Type Aliases

JsonType

Advanced

Reverse Proxy

FAQ

Do I have to call the setup method before using the plugin?

What is the difference between the apiHost and host options?

How do I use the plugin with a reverse proxy?

How do I enable session replay?

How can users opt out of tracking?

Do I have to call the `setup` method before using the plugin?

What is the difference between the `apiHost` and `host` options?