PostHog Python SDK
SDK Version: 6.6.0
PostHog
This is the SDK reference for the PostHog Python SDK. You can learn more about example usage in the Python SDK documentation. You can also follow Flask and Django guides to integrate PostHog into your project.
Initialization methods
Clientpublic
Initialize a new PostHog client instance.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
project_api_key? | str |
The project API key. | |
host | any |
The host to use for the client. | |
debug | bool |
Whether to enable debug mode. | |
max_queue_size | int |
send | bool |
on_error | any |
flush_at | int |
flush_interval | float |
gzip | bool |
max_retries | int |
sync_mode | bool |
timeout | int |
thread | int |
poll_interval | int |
personal_api_key | any |
disabled | bool |
disable_geoip | bool |
historical_migration | bool |
feature_flags_request_timeout_seconds | int |
super_properties | any |
enable_exception_autocapture | bool |
log_captured_exceptions | bool |
project_root | any |
privacy_mode | bool |
before_send | any |
flag_fallback_cache_url | any |
enable_local_evaluation | bool |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
Capture methods
capturepublic
Captures an event manually. Learn about capture best practices
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
event? | str |
The event name to capture. | |
kwargs? | typing_extensions.Unpack[OptionalCaptureArgs] |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[str] |
Contexts methods
new_contextpublic
Create a new context for managing shared state. Learn more about contexts.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
fresh | bool |
Whether to create a fresh context that doesn't inherit from parent. | |
capture_exceptions | bool |
Whether to automatically capture exceptions in this context. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
Error Tracking methods
capture_exceptionpublic
Capture an exception for error tracking.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
exception? | BaseException |
The exception to capture. | |
kwargs? | typing_extensions.Unpack[OptionalCaptureArgs] |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
Feature flags methods
feature_enabledpublic
Check if a feature flag is enabled for a user.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
key? | any |
The feature flag key. | |
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to only evaluate locally. | |
send_feature_flag_events | bool |
Whether to send feature flag events. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
get_all_flagspublic
Get all feature flags for a user.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to only evaluate locally. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
flag_keys_to_evaluate? | list[str] |
A list of specific flag keys to evaluate. If provided, only these flags will be evaluated, improving performance. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[dict[str, Union[bool, str]]] |
get_all_flags_and_payloadspublic
Get all feature flags and their payloads for a user.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to only evaluate locally. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
flag_keys_to_evaluate? | list[str] |
A list of specific flag keys to evaluate. If provided, only these flags will be evaluated, improving performance. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
FlagsAndPayloads |
get_feature_flagpublic
Get multivariate feature flag value for a user.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
key? | any |
The feature flag key. | |
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to only evaluate locally. | |
send_feature_flag_events | bool |
Whether to send feature flag events. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Union[bool, str, any] |
get_feature_flag_payloadpublic
Get the payload for a feature flag.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
key? | any |
The feature flag key. | |
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
match_value | bool |
The specific flag value to get payload for. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to only evaluate locally. | |
send_feature_flag_events | bool |
Whether to send feature flag events. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
get_feature_flags_and_payloadspublic
Get feature flags and payloads for a user by calling decide.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
flag_keys_to_evaluate? | list[str] |
A list of specific flag keys to evaluate. If provided, only these flags will be evaluated, improving performance. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
FlagsAndPayloads |
get_feature_payloadspublic
Get feature flag payloads for a user by calling decide.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
flag_keys_to_evaluate? | list[str] |
A list of specific flag keys to evaluate. If provided, only these flags will be evaluated, improving performance. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
dict[str, str] |
get_feature_variantspublic
Get feature flag variants for a user by calling decide.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
flag_keys_to_evaluate? | list[str] |
A list of specific flag keys to evaluate. If provided, only these flags will be evaluated, improving performance. | |
Returns
| Type |
|---|
dict[str, Union[bool, str]] |
get_flags_decisionpublic
Get feature flags decision.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
distinct_id | Number |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups? | dict |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
flag_keys_to_evaluate? | list[str] |
A list of specific flag keys to evaluate. If provided, only these flags will be evaluated, improving performance. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
FlagsResponse |
load_feature_flagspublic
Load feature flags for local evaluation.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
Identification methods
aliaspublic
Create an alias between two distinct IDs.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
previous_id? | str |
The previous distinct ID. | |
distinct_id? | str |
The new distinct ID to alias to. | |
timestamp | any |
The timestamp of the event. | |
uuid | any |
A unique identifier for the event. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this event. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
group_identifypublic
Identify a group and set its properties.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
group_type? | str |
The type of group (e.g., 'company', 'team'). | |
group_key? | str |
The unique identifier for the group. | |
properties? | dict[str, typing.Any] |
A dictionary of properties to set on the group. | |
timestamp | datetime |
The timestamp of the event. | |
uuid? | str |
A unique identifier for the event. | |
disable_geoip? | bool |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this event. | |
distinct_id | Number |
The distinct ID of the user performing the action. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[str] |
setpublic
Set properties on a person profile.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
kwargs? | typing_extensions.Unpack[OptionalSetArgs] |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[str] |
set_oncepublic
Set properties on a person profile only if they haven't been set before.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
kwargs? | typing_extensions.Unpack[OptionalSetArgs] |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[str] |
Other methods
flushpublic
Force a flush from the internal queue to the server. Do not use directly, call shutdown() instead.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
get_feature_flag_resultpublic
Get a FeatureFlagResult object which contains the flag result and payload for a key by evaluating locally or remotely depending on whether local evaluation is enabled and the flag can be locally evaluated. This also captures the $feature_flag_called event unless send_feature_flag_events is False.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
key? | any |
The feature flag key. | |
distinct_id? | any |
The distinct ID of the user. | |
groups | any |
A dictionary of group information. | |
person_properties | any |
A dictionary of person properties. | |
group_properties | any |
A dictionary of group properties. | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to only evaluate locally. | |
send_feature_flag_events | bool |
Whether to send feature flag events. | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP for this request. | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[FeatureFlagResult] |
joinpublic
End the consumer thread once the queue is empty. Do not use directly, call shutdown() instead.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
shutdownpublic
Flush all messages and cleanly shutdown the client. Call this before the process ends in serverless environments to avoid data loss.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
PostHog Module Functions
Global functions available in the PostHog module
Client management methods
flushpublic
Tell the client to flush all queued events.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
joinpublic
Block program until the client clears the queue. Used during program shutdown. You should use shutdown() directly in most cases.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
shutdownpublic
Flush all messages and cleanly shutdown the client.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
Contexts methods
new_contextpublic
Create a new context scope that will be active for the duration of the with block.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
fresh | bool |
Whether to start with a fresh context (default: False) | |
capture_exceptions | bool |
Whether to capture exceptions raised within the context (default: True) | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
scopedpublic
Decorator that creates a new context for the function.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
fresh | bool |
Whether to start with a fresh context (default: False) | |
capture_exceptions | bool |
Whether to capture and track exceptions with posthog error tracking (default: True) | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
set_context_sessionpublic
Set the session ID for the current context.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
session_id? | str |
The session ID to associate with the current context and its children | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
tagpublic
Add a tag to the current context.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
name? | str |
The tag key | |
value? | typing.Any |
The tag value | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
Events methods
capturepublic
Capture anything a user does within your system.
Notes:
Capture allows you to capture anything a user does within your system, which you can later use in PostHog to find patterns in usage, work out which features to improve or where people are giving up. A capture call requires an event name to specify the event. We recommend using [verb] [noun], like movie played or movie updated to easily identify what your events mean later on. Capture takes a number of optional arguments, which are defined by the OptionalCaptureArgs type.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
event? | str |
The event name to specify the event **kwargs: Optional arguments including: | |
kwargs? | typing_extensions.Unpack[OptionalCaptureArgs] |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[str] |
capture_exceptionpublic
Capture exceptions that happen in your code.
Notes:
Capture exception is idempotent - if it is called twice with the same exception instance, only a occurrence will be tracked in posthog. This is because, generally, contexts will cause exceptions to be captured automatically. However, to ensure you track an exception, if you catch and do not re-raise it, capturing it manually is recommended, unless you are certain it will have crossed a context boundary (e.g. by existing a with posthog.new_context(): block already). If the passed exception was raised and caught, the captured stack trace will consist of every frame between where the exception was raised and the point at which it is captured (the "traceback"). If the passed exception was never raised, e.g. if you call posthog.capture_exception(ValueError("Some Error")), the stack trace captured will be the full stack trace at the moment the exception was captured. Note that heavy use of contexts will lead to truncated stack traces, as the exception will be captured by the context entered most recently, which may not be the point you catch the exception for the final time in your code. It's recommended to use contexts sparingly, for this reason. capture_exception takes the same set of optional arguments as capture.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
exception | BaseException |
The exception to capture. If not provided, the current exception is captured via | |
kwargs? | typing_extensions.Unpack[OptionalCaptureArgs] |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
Feature flags methods
feature_enabledpublic
Use feature flags to enable or disable features for users.
Notes:
You can call posthog.load_feature_flags() before to make sure you're not doing unexpected requests.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
key? | any |
The feature flag key | |
distinct_id? | any |
The user's distinct ID | |
groups | any |
Groups mapping | |
person_properties | any |
Person properties | |
group_properties | any |
Group properties | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to evaluate only locally | |
send_feature_flag_events | bool |
Whether to send feature flag events | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP lookup | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
feature_flag_definitionspublic
Returns loaded feature flags.
Notes:
Returns loaded feature flags, if any. Helpful for debugging what flag information you have loaded.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
get_all_flagspublic
Get all flags for a given user.
Notes:
Flags are key-value pairs where the key is the flag key and the value is the flag variant, or True, or False.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
distinct_id? | any |
The user's distinct ID | |
groups | any |
Groups mapping | |
person_properties | any |
Person properties | |
group_properties | any |
Group properties | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to evaluate only locally | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP lookup | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[dict[str, FeatureFlag]] |
get_feature_flagpublic
Get feature flag variant for users. Used with experiments.
Notes:
groups are a mapping from group type to group key. So, if you have a group type of "organization" and a group key of "5", you would pass groups={"organization": "5"}. group_properties take the format: { group_type_name: { group_properties } }. So, for example, if you have the group type "organization" and the group key "5", with the properties name, and employee count, you'll send these as: group_properties={"organization": {"name": "PostHog", "employees": 11}}.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
key? | any |
The feature flag key | |
distinct_id? | any |
The user's distinct ID | |
groups | any |
Groups mapping from group type to group key | |
person_properties | any |
Person properties | |
group_properties | any |
Group properties in format { group_type_name: { group_properties } } | |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
Whether to evaluate only locally | |
send_feature_flag_events | bool |
Whether to send feature flag events | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP lookup | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[FeatureFlag] |
load_feature_flagspublic
Load feature flag definitions from PostHog.
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
Identification methods
aliaspublic
Associate user behaviour before and after they e.g. register, login, or perform some other identifying action.
Notes:
To marry up whatever a user does before they sign up or log in with what they do after you need to make an alias call. This will allow you to answer questions like "Which marketing channels leads to users churning after a month?" or "What do users do on our website before signing up?". Particularly useful for associating user behaviour before and after they e.g. register, login, or perform some other identifying action.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
previous_id? | any |
The unique ID of the user before | |
distinct_id? | any |
The current unique id | |
timestamp | any |
Optional timestamp for the event | |
uuid | any |
Optional UUID for the event | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP lookup | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
group_identifypublic
Set properties on a group.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
group_type? | any |
Type of your group | |
group_key? | any |
Unique identifier of the group | |
properties | any |
Properties to set on the group | |
timestamp | any |
Optional timestamp for the event | |
uuid | any |
Optional UUID for the event | |
disable_geoip | any |
Whether to disable GeoIP lookup | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
identify_contextpublic
Identify the current context with a distinct ID.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
distinct_id? | str |
The distinct ID to associate with the current context and its children | |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
setpublic
Set properties on a user record.
Notes:
This will overwrite previous people property values. Generally operates similar to capture, with distinct_id being an optional argument, defaulting to the current context's distinct ID. If there is no context-level distinct ID, and no override distinct_id is passed, this function will do nothing. Context tags are folded into $set properties, so tagging the current context and then calling set will cause those tags to be set on the user (unlike capture, which causes them to just be set on the event).
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
kwargs? | typing_extensions.Unpack[OptionalSetArgs] |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[str] |
set_oncepublic
Set properties on a user record, only if they do not yet exist.
Notes:
This will not overwrite previous people property values, unlike set. Otherwise, operates in an identical manner to set.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
kwargs? | typing_extensions.Unpack[OptionalSetArgs] |
Examples
Returns
| Type |
|---|
Optional[str] |
Other methods
get_feature_flag_resultpublic
Get a FeatureFlagResult object which contains the flag result and payload. This method evaluates a feature flag and returns a FeatureFlagResult object containing: - enabled: Whether the flag is enabled - variant: The variant value if the flag has variants - payload: The payload associated with the flag (automatically deserialized from JSON) - key: The flag key - reason: Why the flag was enabled/disabled Example: python result = posthog.get_feature_flag_result('beta-feature', 'distinct_id') if result and result.enabled: # Use the variant and payload print(f"Variant: {result.variant}") print(f"Payload: {result.payload}")
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
key? | any |
distinct_id? | any |
groups | any |
person_properties | any |
group_properties | any |
only_evaluate_locally | bool |
send_feature_flag_events | bool |
disable_geoip | any |
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |
get_remote_config_payloadpublic
Get the payload for a remote config feature flag.
Parameters
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
key? | any |
The key of the feature flag | |
Returns
| Type |
|---|
None |