Ruby On Rails

2

Generate the initializer

Required

Run the install generator to create the PostHog initializer:

Terminal

PostHog AI

rails generate posthog:install

This will create config/initializers/posthog.rb with sensible defaults and documentation.

3

Configure PostHog

Required

Update config/initializers/posthog.rb with your project token and host:

config/initializers/posthog.rb

PostHog AI

PostHog.init do |config|
  config.api_key = '<ph_project_token>'
  config.host = 'https://us.i.posthog.com'
end

4

Send events

Recommended

Once installed, you can manually send events to test your integration:

Ruby

PostHog AI

PostHog.capture({
    distinct_id: 'user_123',
    event: 'button_clicked',
    properties: {
        button_name: 'signup'
    }
})

5

Configure error tracking

Required

Update config/initializers/posthog.rb to enable automatic exception capture:

config/initializers/posthog.rb

PostHog AI

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
end

6

Automatic exception capture

Recommended

With auto_capture_exceptions enabled, exceptions are automatically captured from your controllers:

app/controllers/posts_controller.rb

PostHog AI

class PostsController < ApplicationController
  def show
    @post = Post.find(params[:id])
    # Any exception here is automatically captured
  end
end

7

Background jobs

Optional

When auto_instrument_active_job is enabled, ActiveJob exceptions are automatically captured:

app/jobs/email_job.rb

PostHog AI

class EmailJob < ApplicationJob
  def perform(user_id)
    user = User.find(user_id)
    UserMailer.welcome(user).deliver_now
    # Exceptions are automatically captured with job context
  end
end

8

Manually capture exceptions

Optional

You can also manually capture exceptions that you handle in your application:

Ruby

PostHog AI

PostHog.capture_exception(
  exception,
  current_user.id,
  { custom_property: 'value' }
)

Verify error tracking

Recommended

Confirm events are being sent to PostHog

Before proceeding, let’s make sure exception events are being captured and sent to PostHog. You should see events appear in the activity feed.

Check for exceptions in PostHog (opens in a new tab)