instrument-feature-flags

Puts a new feature behind a switch you control from outside the code, so it can go live for five percent of people before it goes live for everyone.

WHEN TO USE

SCOPE

USE FOR

Wrap a new feature so it can go to a small share of users first.
Create the switch in PostHog itself, or reuse one that already exists.
Check that a risky change in a pull request is behind a switch.
Decide who gets the new version: a percentage, named users, or a whole group.

This is a saved copy of the skill's SKILL.md instructions. It may differ from the upstream file or the version you install.

In this document (6)

Add PostHog feature flags

Use this skill to add PostHog feature flags that gate new or changed functionality. Use it after implementing features or reviewing PRs to ensure safe rollouts with feature flag controls. If PostHog is not yet installed, this skill also covers initial SDK setup. Supports any platform or language.

Supported platforms: React, Next.js, React Native, Web (JavaScript), Node.js, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, Java, Rust, .NET, Elixir, Android, iOS, Flutter, and the REST API.

Instructions

Follow these steps IN ORDER:

STEP 1: Analyze the codebase and detect the platform.

Look for dependency files (package.json, pubspec.yaml, Podfile, Package.swift, requirements.txt, go.mod, Gemfile, composer.json, mix.exs, etc.) to determine the language and framework.

Look for lockfiles (pnpm-lock.yaml, package-lock.json, yarn.lock, bun.lockb, go.sum, pubspec.lock, Podfile.lock, Package.resolved, mix.lock) to determine the package manager.

Check for existing PostHog setup (SDK initialization, env vars, etc.). If PostHog is already installed and initialized, skip to STEP 3.

STEP 2: Research instrumentation. (Skip if PostHog is already set up.) 2.1. Find the reference file below that matches the detected platform — it is the source of truth for SDK initialization, flag evaluation methods, and framework-specific patterns. Read it now. 2.2. If no reference matches, fall back to your general knowledge and web search. Use posthog.com/docs as the primary search source.

STEP 3: Create or find the feature flag.

Check if a PostHog MCP server is connected. If available, use its tools to search for an existing feature flag the user wants to instrument, or create a new one.
If no MCP server is available, instruct the user to create the flag in the PostHog dashboard.

STEP 4: Plan release conditions.

Determine the rollout strategy (percentage rollout, user targeting, group targeting, etc.).
Plan how the feature flag will gate the new functionality in code.

STEP 5: Instrument the feature.

Add the feature flag code following the platform-specific reference patterns.
Use server-side evaluation when possible to avoid UI flicker.
Do not alter the fundamental architecture of existing files. Make additions minimal and targeted.
You must read a file immediately before attempting to write it.

STEP 6: Set up environment variables.

Check if the project already has PostHog environment variables configured (e.g. in .env, .env.local, or framework-specific env files). If valid values already exist, skip this step.
If the PostHog project token is missing, use the PostHog MCP server's projects-get tool to retrieve the project's api_token. If multiple projects are returned, ask the user which project to use. If the MCP server is not connected or not authenticated, ask the user for their PostHog project token instead.
For the PostHog host URL: check the projects-get MCP response for a region field — US maps to https://us.i.posthog.com, EU maps to https://eu.i.posthog.com. If the region is not available from the MCP response or from existing project configuration, ask the user: "Are you on PostHog US Cloud or EU Cloud?" Do not assume US Cloud.
Write these values to the appropriate env file using the framework's naming convention.
Reference these environment variables in code instead of hardcoding them.

Reference files

references/react.md - React feature flags installation - docs
references/react-native.md - React native feature flags installation - docs
references/web.md - Web feature flags installation - docs
references/nodejs.md - Node.js feature flags installation - docs
references/python.md - Python feature flags installation - docs
references/django.md - Django - docs
references/flask.md - Flask - docs
references/php.md - Php feature flags installation - docs
references/laravel.md - Laravel - docs
references/ruby.md - Ruby feature flags installation - docs
references/ruby-on-rails.md - Ruby on rails - docs
references/go.md - Go feature flags installation - docs
references/java.md - Java feature flags installation - docs
references/rust.md - Rust feature flags installation - docs
references/dotnet.md - .net feature flags installation - docs
references/dotnet.md - .net - docs
references/elixir.md - Elixir feature flags installation - docs
references/android.md - Android feature flags installation - docs
references/ios.md - Ios feature flags installation - docs
references/usage.md - Ios SDK usage - docs
references/flutter.md - Flutter feature flags installation - docs
references/api.md - API feature flags installation - docs
references/next-js.md - Next.js - docs
references/adding-feature-flag-code.md - Adding feature flag code - docs
references/best-practices.md - Best practices for production-ready flags - docs
references/COMMANDMENTS.md - Framework-specific rules the integration must follow

Each platform reference contains SDK-specific installation, flag evaluation, and code examples. Find the one matching the user's stack. If unlisted, use the API reference as a fallback.

Key principles

Environment variables: Always use environment variables for PostHog keys. Never hardcode them.
Minimal changes: Add feature flag code alongside existing logic. Don't replace or restructure existing code.
Boolean flags first: Default to boolean flag checks unless the user specifically asks for multivariate flags.
Server-side when possible: Prefer server-side flag evaluation to avoid UI flicker.

This skill ships inside the PostHog AI Plugin. Listed package contents include 3 slash commands, 1 agent, hooks and an MCP server. Installed components and skill versions may vary by AI tool.

Install just this skill

Run this outside your AI tool, using Node.js 22.20.0 or newer. Skills CLI 1.7.2 skips skill selection; prompts cancel installation without an interactive terminal. If choosing Project when asked about installation scope, open your project's folder before running this.

Install checklist

Check selected tools if a picker appears; Claude Code may be unchecked under Additional agents. ↑/↓ moves, Space toggles selections, Enter confirms.
Without a tool picker, check Installing to: for your intended tool. Stop if it names a different tool.
If asked, choose Symlink (Recommended) for shared files or Copy to all agents for separate copies; review the summary before confirming installation.
Install the find-skills skill? defaults to Yes, adding another skill for all projects. Choose No if you don't want that extra installation.

Skills CLI 1.7.2 sends install data to skills.sh by default, including the source, skill names, target tools and file details; GitHub sources are reported only when GitHub confirms the repository is public, while other remote sources can also be reported. Confirmed-public GitHub sources also trigger a security-audit request. Before installing, set the environment variable DO_NOT_TRACK=1 or DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1 to disable both.

npx skills add posthog/ai-plugin --skill "instrument-feature-flags" --full-depth

After installing for Claude Code, open it in the installation project if you chose Project; Global makes the skill available across projects on this computer. Once Claude Code loads the skill, its description helps Claude decide when to use it.

If installation created a top-level skills folder that did not exist when your Claude Code session started, run /reload-skills in that session. Run it again after later changes in that folder.

Install the whole plugin

This route installs the posthog plugin package selected for your AI tool.

Claude Code

Add PostHog's marketplace, then install the plugin

Run both lines in a terminal. They install PostHog's posthog plugin: this skill, PostHog's other skills, and a connection to PostHog's hosted MCP server.

claude plugin marketplace add PostHog/ai-plugin

02
```
claude plugin install posthog@posthog
```

Installation and loading

The plugin installs for you in every project and loads the next time you start Claude Code, or after /reload-plugins in an open session.
To connect your PostHog account, start claude, type /mcp, select plugin:posthog:posthog and follow the browser prompts.

Good to know

The plugin includes PostHog's session-capture hook; PostHog's README says it sends sessions to LLM Analytics only when POSTHOG_LLMA_CC_ENABLED=true and POSTHOG_API_KEY are both set.
If you use the separate posthog-telemetry plugin, PostHog says to keep only one of the two, because both register the same hook.
On a self-hosted PostHog, this route's MCP connection won't reach your instance: the plugin's config is fixed to https://mcp.posthog.com/mcp, which routes to PostHog's US or EU region. POSTHOG_MCP_URL works only for the Gemini CLI extension.

What's inside

Files included with this skill.

View on GitHub

Same repository

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analyzing-expensive-users
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analyzing-experiment-session-replays
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assessing-heatmaps
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auditing-endpoints
Audit every endpoint in a PostHog project for staleness, failed materialisations, and unused materialised versions. Use when the user asks "what endpoints can I clean up?", "are any of my endpoints broken?", "which materialised versions are still being called?", or wants a one-shot cleanup pass over the Endpoints product. Produces a prioritised report grouped by issue type, with recommended actions but does not modify anything without explicit confirmation.Read full description
auditing-experiments-flags
Audit PostHog experiments and feature flags for configuration issues, staleness, and best-practice violations. Read when the user asks to audit, health-check, or review experiments or feature flags, check flag hygiene, or verify experiment setup.Read full description

Add PostHog feature flags

Instructions

STEP 1: Analyze the codebase and detect the platform.

Look for dependency files (package.json, pubspec.yaml, Podfile, Package.swift, requirements.txt, go.mod, Gemfile, composer.json, mix.exs, etc.) to determine the language and framework.

Reference files

Key principles

Account or credentials required

Install just this skill

Install the whole plugin

Add PostHog's marketplace, then install the plugin

What's inside

More skills

adding-warehouse-person-properties

analyzing-expensive-users

analyzing-experiment-session-replays

assessing-heatmaps

auditing-endpoints

auditing-experiments-flags