PostHog/posthog - Detailed Review#

1. Overview & GitHub Stats#

• URL: https://github.com/PostHog/posthog
• Stars: 28566

2. Project Description#

PostHog is an all-in-one, open-source platform designed to help businesses understand user behavior, optimize product features, and run experiments without relying on third-party services. It combines web and product analytics, session recording, feature flagging, and A/B testing into a single, self-hostable solution. Built with a modern tech stack including Python, Django, and React, PostHog empowers teams to maintain full control over their data while leveraging powerful insights to drive growth.

3. What Software Does It Replace?#

PostHog serves as a comprehensive alternative to several popular commercial and open-source tools, including:

• Mixpanel and Amplitude for product analytics.
• Hotjar or FullStory for session recording.
• LaunchDarkly or Split for feature flagging.
• Optimizely or Google Optimize for A/B testing. By consolidating these functionalities, PostHog reduces tool sprawl and offers a unified, cost-effective solution for data-driven teams.

4. Core Functionality#

PostHog’s feature set is robust and multifaceted:

• Product Analytics: Track events, funnels, retention, and user paths to understand how people interact with your product.
• Session Recording: Capture and replay user sessions to identify UX issues and opportunities.
• Feature Flags: Safely roll out new features with targeted releases and kill switches.
• A/B Testing: Run experiments to test hypotheses and optimize conversion rates.
• Self-Hosting: Deploy on your own infrastructure for data privacy, security, and compliance.
• Integrations: Connect with tools like Slack, Salesforce, and data warehouses for extended functionality.

5. Pros and Cons#

Pros:

• Open Source: Free to use, modify, and extend; transparent development.
• All-in-One Platform: Reduces dependency on multiple SaaS tools.
• Data Ownership: Self-hosting ensures data never leaves your environment.
• Active Community: Strong GitHub presence with regular updates and contributions.
• Scalable: Handles high volumes of events and users efficiently.

Cons:

• Self-Hosting Complexity: Requires technical expertise to deploy and maintain.
• Resource Intensive: Can demand significant server resources for large-scale deployments.
• Learning Curve: New users may need time to fully leverage all features.
• Limited Managed Option: While a cloud version exists, the core value is in self-hosting, which isn’t for everyone.

6. Detailed Installation Guide (Self-host)#

Follow these steps to deploy PostHog on an Ubuntu server (20.04 or later). This guide assumes you have basic familiarity with Linux commands and Docker.

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sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
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sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common -y
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curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg
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echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
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sudo apt update
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sudo apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io -y
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sudo systemctl enable docker && sudo systemctl start docker

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sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.23.0/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
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sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

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git clone https://github.com/PostHog/posthog.git
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cd posthog
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cp .env.template .env

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docker-compose up -d

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sudo apt install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

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server {
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    listen 80;
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    server_name posthog.yourdomain.com;
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    location / {
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        proxy_pass http://localhost:8000;
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        proxy_set_header Host $host;
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        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
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    }
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}

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sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/posthog /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
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sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
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sudo certbot --nginx -d posthog.yourdomain.com