Python logs installation

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  1. Install OpenTelemetry packages

    Required
    Terminal
    pip install opentelemetry-api opentelemetry-sdk opentelemetry-exporter-otlp

  2. Get your project token

    Required

    You'll need your PostHog project token to authenticate log requests. This is the same token you use for capturing events and exceptions.

    You can find your project token in Project Settings.

  3. Configure the SDK

    Required

    Set up the OpenTelemetry SDK to send logs to PostHog.

    Python
    from opentelemetry import logs
    from opentelemetry.sdk.logs import LoggerProvider, LoggingHandler
    from opentelemetry.sdk.logs.export import BatchLogRecordProcessor
    from opentelemetry.exporter.otlp.proto.http._log_exporter import OTLPLogExporter
    

    # Configure the logger provider
    logger_provider = LoggerProvider()
    logs.set_logger_provider(logger_provider)
    

    # Create OTLP exporter with token in header
    otlp_exporter = OTLPLogExporter(
        endpoint="https://us.i.posthog.com/i/v1/logs",
        headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {YOUR_PROJECT_TOKEN}"}
    )
    

    # Add processor
    logger_provider.add_log_record_processor(
        BatchLogRecordProcessor(otlp_exporter)
    )
    

    # Get logger
    logger = logs.get_logger("my-app")

    Alternatively, you can pass the token as a query parameter:

    Python
    otlp_exporter = OTLPLogExporter(
        endpoint=f"https://us.i.posthog.com/i/v1/logs?token={YOUR_PROJECT_TOKEN}"
    )

  4. Use OpenTelemetry logging

    Required

    Now you can start logging with OpenTelemetry:

    Python
    import logging
    

    # Configure logging to use OpenTelemetry
    logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
    logging.getLogger().addHandler(LoggingHandler())
    

    # Use standard Python logging
    logger = logging.getLogger("my-app")
    logger.info("User action", extra={"userId": "123", "action": "login"})
    logger.warning("Deprecated API used", extra={"endpoint": "/old-api"})
    logger.error("Database connection failed", extra={"error": "Connection timeout"})

  5. Test your setup

    Recommended

    Once everything is configured, test that logs are flowing into PostHog:

    1. Send a test log from your application
    2. Check the PostHog logs interface for your log entries
    3. Verify the logs appear in your project
    View your logs in PostHog

  6. Next steps

    Checkpoint
    What you can do with your logs
    ActionDescription
    Search logsUse the search interface to find specific log entries
    Filter by levelFilter by INFO, WARN, ERROR, etc.
    Set up alertsGet notified when specific log patterns occur
    Correlate with eventsConnect log data with your PostHog analytics
    Troubleshoot common issues

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