PostHog Error Tracking for Python

---
name: error-tracking-python
description: PostHog error tracking for Python
metadata:
  author: PostHog
  version: 1.9.4
---

# PostHog error tracking for Python

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

## Reference files

- `references/python.md` - Python 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

- Remember that source code is available in the venv/site-packages directory
- posthog is the Python SDK package name
- Install dependencies with `pip install posthog` or `pip install -r requirements.txt` and do NOT use unquoted version specifiers like `>=` directly in shell commands
- In CLIs and scripts: MUST call posthog.shutdown() before exit or all events are lost
- Always use the Posthog() class constructor (instance-based API) instead of module-level posthog.api_key config
- Always include enable_exception_autocapture=True in the Posthog() constructor to automatically track exceptions
- NEVER send PII in capture() event properties — no emails, full names, phone numbers, physical addresses, IP addresses, or user-generated content
- PII belongs in identify() person properties, NOT in capture() event properties. Safe event properties are metadata like message_length, form_type, boolean flags.
- Register posthog_client.shutdown with atexit.register() to ensure all events are flushed on exit
- The Python SDK has NO identify() method — use posthog_client.set(distinct_id=user_id, properties={...}) to set person properties, or use identify_context(user_id) within a context