Step 1 of 70% complete
Account
Install
Verify
Track
1

🏠Create Your PostHog Account

~2 min

First things first! Let's get you set up with a PostHog account. You can choose between their free Cloud version or self-host.

Checklist

Sign up at posthog.com↗
Verify your email address
Create your first project
💡PostHog Cloud is free up to 1M events/month - perfect for getting started!
2

🔑Get Your Project API Key

~1 min

Every PostHog project has a unique API key. You'll need this to connect your app to PostHog.

Checklist

Go to Project Settings
Find your Project API Key
Copy it somewhere safe
💡Your API key looks something like: phc_xxxx... Keep it handy!
3

📦Install PostHog

~1 min

Time to add PostHog to your project! Pick your framework below and run the install command.

javascript
npm install posthog-js

Checklist

Select your framework above
Run the install command
Verify it was added to dependencies
4

⚡Initialize PostHog

~2 min

Add the initialization code to your app. Replace <YOUR_API_KEY> with your actual key from Step 2.

javascript
import posthog from 'posthog-js'

posthog.init('<YOUR_API_KEY>', {
  api_host: 'https://app.posthog.com',
  person_profiles: 'identified_only'
})

Checklist

Add initialization code
Replace <YOUR_API_KEY> with your key
Save and restart your app
⚠️Make sure to initialize PostHog before your app renders!
5

✅Verify Installation

~1 min

Let's make sure everything is working! Open your app and check for events in PostHog.

Checklist

Open your app in the browser
Click around a bit
Check PostHog Activity tab
💡Events might take a few seconds to appear. Refresh the Activity page!
✅If you see a "$pageview" event, you're golden! 🎉
6

📊Track Custom Events

~3 min

Now for the fun part! Track specific actions that matter to your product.

javascript
// Track a custom event
posthog.capture('button_clicked', {
  button_name: 'signup',
  page: 'homepage'
})

// Identify a user
posthog.identify('user_123', {
  email: 'user@example.com',
  plan: 'premium'
})

Checklist

Identify key user actions
Add tracking code
Test your custom events
💡Common events: signup_clicked, purchase_completed, feature_used
7

🚀Explore Your Dashboard

~5 min

You did it! Now let's take a quick tour of what PostHog can do for you.

Checklist

Create your first Insight
Watch a Session Recording
Check out Feature Flags
🦔PostHog can also do A/B testing, surveys, and has a built-in data warehouse!