posthog-multi-env-setup

name	posthog-multi-env-setup
description	Configure PostHog across development, staging, and production environments. Separate PostHog projects per environment, environment-specific SDK config, feature flag rollout per env, and session recording controls. Trigger: "posthog environments", "posthog staging", "posthog dev prod", "posthog environment setup", "posthog project per env".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash(aws:*), Bash(gcloud:*), Bash(vault:*)
version	1.12.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["saas","posthog","posthog-multi"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw

PostHog Multi-Environment Setup

Overview

Use separate PostHog projects for each environment (dev, staging, production). This prevents dev/test events from polluting production analytics, allows different feature flag rollout percentages per environment, and lets you disable session recordings in non-production.

Prerequisites

• PostHog Cloud account or self-hosted instance
• Admin access to create multiple projects
• Deployment platform with environment variable support

Environment Strategy

Environment	PostHog Project	Session Recording	Autocapture	Feature Flags
Development	myapp-dev	Disabled	Enabled	100% rollout (test all)
Staging	myapp-staging	Disabled	Enabled	100% rollout (QA all)
Production	myapp-prod	10% sampled	Tuned	Gradual rollout

Instructions

Step 1: Create Separate PostHog Projects

In PostHog Cloud (app.posthog.com), create three projects:

1. myapp-development — copy the phc_... project API key
2. myapp-staging — copy the phc_... project API key
3. myapp-production — copy the phc_... project API key

Step 2: Environment Variables

# .env.local (development — git-ignored)
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY=phc_dev_key_here
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST=https://us.i.posthog.com
POSTHOG_PERSONAL_API_KEY=phx_your_key
POSTHOG_PROJECT_ID=11111

# .env.staging (CI/CD secrets or secret manager)
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY=phc_staging_key_here
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST=https://us.i.posthog.com
POSTHOG_PERSONAL_API_KEY=phx_your_key
POSTHOG_PROJECT_ID=22222

# Production (secret manager — never in files)
# NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY=phc_prod_key_here
# POSTHOG_PROJECT_ID=33333

Step 3: Environment-Aware SDK Configuration

// config/posthog.ts
  =  |  | ;

  {
  : ;
  : ;
  : ;
  : ;
  :  | ;
  : ;
}

 ():  {
   env = (process.. || )  ;
   key = process..;
   host = process.. || ;

   (!key) {
    .();
  }

   : <, <,  | >> = {
    : {
      : ,
      : ,
      : ,
      : ,
    },
    : {
      : ,
      : ,
      : ,
      : ,
    },
    : {
      : ,
      : ,  
      : {
        : [, ],
        : [, , ],
        : [],
      },
      : ,
    },
  };

   { : key || , host, ...configs[env] };
}

  posthogConfig = ();