PostHog Agent SDK

TypeScript agent framework that wraps the Claude Agent SDK for PostHog's Array desktop app. Features a Git-based task execution system that stores task artifacts alongside your code.

Quick Start

pnpm install
pnpm run example

Key Features

• Git-Based Task Execution: Plans and artifacts stored in .posthog/ folders and committed to Git
• PostHog Integration: Fetches existing tasks from PostHog API
• 3-Phase Execution: Research → Plan → Build with automatic progression
• Branch Management: Automatic branch creation for planning and implementation
• Progress Tracking: Execution status stored in PostHog TaskRun records for easy polling

Usage

import { Agent, PermissionMode } from '@posthog/agent';
import type { AgentEvent } from '@posthog/agent';

const agent = new Agent({
    workingDirectory: "/path/to/repo",
    posthogApiUrl: "https://app.posthog.com",
    posthogApiKey: process.env.POSTHOG_API_KEY, // Used for both API and MCP
    posthogProjectId: 1,
    onEvent: (event) => {
      // Streamed updates for responsive UIs
      if (event.type !== 'token') {
        handleLiveEvent(event);
      }
    },
});

// Run a task
const taskId = "task_abc123";
const task = await agent.getPostHogClient()?.fetchTask(taskId);

await agent.runTask(task, {
  repositoryPath: "/path/to/repo",
  permissionMode: PermissionMode.ACCEPT_EDITS,
  isCloudMode: false,
  createPR: true, // Optional: create PR after build. This setting has no effect if running in cloud mode.
  autoProgress: true,
});

For local MCP development:

const agent = new Agent({
  workingDirectory: "/path/to/repo",
  posthogMcpUrl: 'http://localhost:8787/mcp',
});

Task Execution

Each task execution creates Git branches and follows a 3-phase approach:

1. Research Phase: Analyzes the codebase and may generate clarifying questions
2. Planning Phase: Creates an implementation plan in .posthog/{id}/plan.md on branch posthog/task-{id}-planning
3. Build Phase: Implements code changes on branch posthog/task-{id}-implementation

File System

your-repo/
├── .posthog/
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── .gitignore
│   └── {task-id}/
│       ├── plan.md
│       ├── questions.json (if research phase generated questions)
│       └── context.md (optional)
└── (your code)

Progress Updates

Progress for each task execution is persisted to PostHog's TaskRun model, so UIs can poll for updates without relying on streaming hooks:

const agent = new Agent({
  workingDirectory: repoPath,
  posthogApiUrl: "https://app.posthog.com",
  posthogApiKey: process.env.POSTHOG_KEY,
  posthogProjectId: 1,
});

const poller = setInterval(async () => {
  const client = agent.getPostHogClient();
  const runs = await client?.listTaskRuns(taskId);
  const latestRun = runs?.sort((a, b) =>
    new Date(b.created_at).getTime() - new Date(a.created_at).getTime()
  )[0];
  
  if (latestRun) {
    // Fetch logs from S3 using presigned URL
    const logs = await client?.fetchTaskRunLogs(latestRun);
    renderProgress(latestRun.status, logs || []);
  }
}, 3000);

try {
  await agent.runTask(task, { repositoryPath: repoPath });
} finally {
  clearInterval(poller);
}

// Live stream still available through the onEvent hook
function handleLiveEvent(event: AgentEvent) {
  switch (event.type) {
    case 'status':
      // optimistic UI update
      break;
    case 'error':
      notifyError(event.message);
      break;
    default:
      break;
  }
}

Prefer streaming updates? Pass an onEvent handler when constructing the agent to keep receiving real-time events while progress is also written to PostHog.

Requirements

• PNPM
• Git repository
• PostHog API access
• Claude API access via @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk

Configuration Options

You can customize behavior using TaskExecutionOptions:

await agent.runTask(task, {
  repositoryPath: "/path/to/repo",
  permissionMode: PermissionMode.ACCEPT_EDITS, // or PLAN, DEFAULT, BYPASS
  isCloudMode: false, // local execution with pauses between phases
  autoProgress: true, // automatically progress through phases
  queryOverrides: {
    model: 'claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929',
    temperature: 0.7
  }
});

Fine-Grained Permissions

For advanced control over agent actions, you can provide a canUseTool callback that intercepts every tool use during the build phase (for task execution) or direct run calls. This allows you to implement custom approval flows, logging, or restrictions.

See the Claude Agent SDK Permissions docs for more details.

Per-Agent Configuration

Apply the same permission hook to all task executions and direct runs:

import { Agent } from '@posthog/agent';
import type { PermissionResult } from '@posthog/agent';

const agent = new Agent({
  workingDirectory: "/path/to/repo",
  posthogApiUrl: "https://app.posthog.com",
  posthogApiKey: process.env.POSTHOG_API_KEY,
  posthogProjectId: 1,
  canUseTool: async (toolName, input, { signal, suggestions }) => {
    // Block destructive commands
    if (toolName === 'Bash' && input.command?.includes('rm -rf')) {
      return {
        behavior: 'deny',
        message: 'Destructive rm -rf commands are not allowed',
        interrupt: true
      };
    }

    // Allow everything else
    return {
      behavior: 'allow',
      updatedInput: input
    };
  }
});

Per-Task Configuration

Override permissions for specific tasks (only applied during build phase):

await agent.runTask(task, {
  repositoryPath: "/path/to/repo",
  permissionMode: PermissionMode.DEFAULT,
  canUseTool: async (toolName, input, { signal, suggestions }) => {
    // Custom approval UI
    const approved = await showApprovalDialog({
      tool: toolName,
      input: input,
      suggestions: suggestions // Permission updates for "always allow"
    });

    if (approved.action === 'allow') {
      return {
        behavior: 'allow',
        updatedInput: approved.modifiedInput || input,
        updatedPermissions: approved.rememberChoice ? suggestions : undefined
      };
    }

    return {
      behavior: 'deny',
      message: approved.reason || 'User denied permission',
      interrupt: !approved.continueWithGuidance
    };
  }
});

Direct Run Example

For one-off queries with custom permissions:

const result = await agent.run("Fix the authentication bug", {
  repositoryPath: "/path/to/repo",
  permissionMode: PermissionMode.DEFAULT,
  canUseTool: async (toolName, input, { signal }) => {
    console.log(`Agent wants to use ${toolName}:`, input);

    // Simple approval logic
    if (toolName === 'Write' || toolName === 'Edit') {
      const allowedFiles = ['src/', 'tests/'];
      const filePath = input.file_path || input.path;
      const isAllowed = allowedFiles.some(prefix => filePath?.startsWith(prefix));

      if (!isAllowed) {
        return {
          behavior: 'deny',
          message: `Can only modify files in: ${allowedFiles.join(', ')}`
        };
      }
    }

    return { behavior: 'allow', updatedInput: input };
  }
});

Available Tool Names

The canUseTool callback receives one of these tool names:

• Read-only: Read, Glob, Grep, WebFetch, WebSearch, ListMcpResources, ReadMcpResource
• Modifications: Write, Edit, NotebookEdit
• Execution: Bash, BashOutput, KillBash, Task
• Planning: ExitPlanMode, TodoWrite

Note: Research and planning phases have fixed, read-only tool sets. The canUseTool hook only applies to the build phase and direct run calls.