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Error Tracking Ruby

PostHogOfficialCreated by PostHog

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Data and AI
  • MIT
  • No issues found
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From the author

PostHog error tracking for Ruby
— the description by PostHog

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides guidance on integrating the PostHog Ruby SDK to capture and track application exceptions. It covers initialization, manual error capturing, and best practices for managing error data, including environment variable usage and proper SDK lifecycle management in scripts and CLI tools.

What it does

  • Provides instructions for installing and initializing the posthog-ruby gem
  • Explains how to capture exceptions manually using capture_exception
  • Defines best practices for environment variable usage and SDK shutdown
  • Outlines how to integrate error tracking with existing Ruby error handling
  • Details how to manage and assign issues within the PostHog platform

When to use it

  • When you need to monitor Ruby application health and track runtime exceptions
  • When implementing error boundaries in Ruby scripts or CLI applications
  • When you want to centralize error reporting and team-based issue assignment
  • When you need to resolve stack traces using source maps

Advantages

  • Enables proactive monitoring through automated exception capture
  • Supports team collaboration via issue assignment and alerting
  • Maintains clean code by integrating with existing error handling patterns
  • Provides detailed context for debugging through stack trace resolution

Usage examples

“How do I initialize the PostHog client in a Ruby script?”
You should use PostHog::Client.new(api_key: ENV['POSTHOG_KEY'], host: ENV['POSTHOG_HOST']) and ensure you call client.shutdown in an ensure block.
“How do I manually capture an exception in Ruby?”
Use the client.capture_exception(exception, distinct_id, additional_properties) method, ensuring you pass arguments positionally.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/posthog/error-tracking-ruby/download

  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip error-tracking-ruby.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by PostHog

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) — do NOT use distinct_id: keyword syntax

Files

references/alerts.md

Send error tracking alerts - Docs

To stay on top of issues, you can set up alerts. These enable you to post to Slack, Discord, Teams, or an HTTP Webhook when an issue is created or reopened.

Issue created or reopened

To alert when an issue is created or reopened, go to error tracking's configuration page and click Alerting. This shows you a list of existing alerts. Clicking New notification brings you to a page to create a new one.

Image: Error tracking alertingImage: Error tracking alerting

Choosing an option brings you to a page to configure the alert. This may require setting up the Slack integration or pasting in a webhook URL. Once done, you can test the alert by clicking Test function and then finalize by clicking Create & enable.

This will then send alerts to your chosen destination when an issue is created or reopened like this:

Issue properties and assignments

You can filter an alert based on the properties of an issue. This is useful for notifying a specific team when they have been auto assigned an issue using auto assignment rules.

Image: Error tracking alert assignee filteringImage: Error tracking alert assignee filtering

Spike alerts

PostHog can also alert you when an existing issue suddenly spikes in volume - for example, after a bad deploy. This works differently from issue-created alerts. Instead of triggering when a new issue is first seen, spike alerts fire when an issue's error rate significantly exceeds its historical baseline.

See the spike detection guide to learn how it works and how to configure it.

Other alerting options

Since error tracking works by capturing $exception events, PostHog features that trigger by events can play a role in alerts too.

Real time destinations

The first way is using real time destinations. This enables you to send events (like $exception) to other tools as soon as they are ingested.

To create a real time destination, go to the data pipelines tab in PostHog, click + New, and then select Destination. Choose your destination and press + Create.

On the destination creation screen, make sure to add an event matcher for the $exception event, filter for the properties you want, and set the trigger options.

Image: Real time destinationImage: Real time destination

Check out our real time destinations docs for more information.

Trend alerts

You can also visualize your $exception events using trends. Once you create a trend insight, click the Alerts button at the top of the insight and then New alert.

Here you can set alerts for event volume value, increase, or decrease.

Image: Insight alertImage: Insight alert

This sends an email notification to the user you choose. Check out our alerts docs for more information.

Can't find your alert?

If you'd like a destination to be added that we don't yet support, let us know in-app.

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Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs an API key

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

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Attribution and licence

Created by
PostHog
Publisher
PostHog (Official)
Source
PostHog/skills · skills/posthog/error-tracking/skills/ruby · commit a5d30e7
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced
Also distributed in
PostHog/skills

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by PostHog or PostHog.

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download error-tracking-ruby.zip