Labsco
PostHog logo

error-tracking-ruby

โ˜… 49

by posthog ยท part of posthog/skills

PostHog error tracking for Ruby

๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿ”ฅFreeQuick setup
๐Ÿงฉ One of 7 skills in the posthog/skills package โ€” works on its own, and pairs well with its siblings.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates โ€” you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

PostHog error tracking for Ruby

This skill helps you add PostHog error tracking to Ruby applications.

Reference files

  • references/ruby.md - Ruby error tracking installation - docs
  • references/fingerprints.md - Fingerprints - docs
  • references/alerts.md - Send error tracking alerts - docs
  • references/monitoring.md - Monitor and search issues - docs
  • references/assigning-issues.md - Assign issues to teammates - docs
  • references/upload-source-maps.md - Upload source maps - docs

Consult the documentation for API details and framework-specific patterns.

Key principles

  • Environment variables: Always use environment variables for PostHog keys and host URLs. Never hardcode them.
  • Minimal changes: Add error tracking alongside existing error handling. Don't replace or restructure existing error handling code.
  • Autocapture first: Enable exception autocapture in the SDK initialization before adding manual captures.
  • Source maps: Upload source maps so stack traces resolve to original source code, not minified bundles.
  • Manual capture for boundaries: Use captureException() at error boundaries and catch blocks for errors that don't propagate to the global handler.

Framework guidelines

  • posthog-ruby is the Ruby SDK gem name (add gem 'posthog-ruby' to Gemfile) but require it with require 'posthog' (NOT require 'posthog-ruby')
  • Use PostHog::Client.new(api_key: key, host: host) for instance-based initialization in scripts and CLIs
  • In CLIs and scripts: MUST call client.shutdown before exit or all events are lost
  • Use begin/rescue/ensure with shutdown in the ensure block for proper cleanup
  • capture and identify take a single hash argument: client.capture(distinct_id: 'user_123', event: 'my_event', properties: { key: 'value' })
  • capture_exception takes POSITIONAL args (not keyword): client.capture_exception(exception, distinct_id, additional_properties) โ€” do NOT use distinct_id: keyword syntax