SDK releases

This guide documents our semi-automated release process for PostHog SDKs. Each SDK repository uses a GitHub App with restricted permissions to handle releases securely, requiring team approval before any release is published.

How it works

Our SDK release process uses a dedicated GitHub App per repository that can push directly to the main branch (bypassing branch protections) while still requiring human approval through GitHub Environments. This gives us:

• Security: The app only has access to the specific repository it needs
• Auditability: All releases require approval from the Client Libraries team
• Automation: Changelog generation, version bumping, and publishing are handled automatically

Setting up releases for a new SDK

When creating a new SDK, or migrating an existing one to the new workflow, follow these steps to set up the release infrastructure.

1. Create a GitHub App

Create a new GitHub App:

1. Name: Releaser (<sdk_name>) (e.g., Releaser (posthog-go))
2. Description: Should be "Used to release new versions of posthog-<sdk_name> (e.g. "Used to release new versions of posthog-go.")
3. Homepage URL: Point to the SDK's docs page on posthog.com (e.g., https://posthog.com/docs/libraries/go)
4. Webhook: Disable (uncheck "Active")
5. Permissions: Under "Repository permissions", set only:
   • Contents: Read and write
6. Where can this GitHub App be installed? Keep it restricted to "Only on this account"
7. Click Create GitHub App

After creating the app:

1. Download this image and upload it as the app icon

2. Set the background color to #D97148
3. Click the big "Generate a private key" button to generate a private key and save it locally — you'll need it later
4. Also save the "App ID" number - you'll need it later
5. Go to Install App in the sidebar
6. Install the app in the PostHog organization, restricting it to only the SDK repository

2. Expose proper access to client libraries teams

In your SDK repository settings:

1. Verify that both @PostHog/client-libraries-approvers and @PostHog/team-client-libraries teams have at least read access to the repository. This is required for them to be able to approve release workflows.
2. Access "Collaborators and teams"
3. Make sure both teams are added as collaborators with at least write access

3. Create a release environment

In your SDK repository settings:

1. Go to Environments and create a new environment named Release
2. Configure protection rules:
   • Required reviewers: Add PostHog/client-libraries-approvers and PostHog/team-client-libraries as the only teams allowed to approve this release
   • Allow administrators to bypass: Uncheck this box

3. Remember to click "Save protection rules" to enforce them

4. Add environment secrets:

   • GH_APP_POSTHOG_<SDK_NAME>_RELEASER_APP_ID — Copy the App ID from your GitHub App settings
   • GH_APP_POSTHOG_<SDK_NAME>_RELEASER_PRIVATE_KEY — Paste the private key you downloaded, include the trailing newline
     • Easiest way to get the private key value with the correct formatting is via cat ~/Downloads/release-posthog-<sdk_name>-private-key.pem | pbcopy on Mac or type release-posthog-<sdk_name>-private-key.pem | pbcopy

   Replace <SDK_NAME> with your SDK name in uppercase with underscores (e.g., GH_APP_POSTHOG_GO_RELEASER_APP_ID, GH_APP_POSTHOG_GO_RELEASER_PRIVATE_KEY)

4. Add app to bypass lists

The GitHub App needs to bypass certain protections to push release commits directly.

CodeQL bypass

1. Access the CodeQL ruleset
2. Under Bypass list, click Add bypass
3. Select your newly created GitHub App (Releaser (<sdk_name>))
4. Click the three-dot menu and choose Exempt
5. Save the ruleset

Repository PR bypass

1. Go back to your SDK repository settings
2. Navigate to Rules → Rulesets
3. Open the ruleset that requires PRs (may have various names)
   1. If this ruleset doesn't exist, create one requiring PRs and reviews from codeowners which should be @PostHog/client-libraries-approvers for all files
4. Under Bypass list, click Add bypass
5. Select your GitHub App (Releaser (<sdk_name>))
6. Click the three-dot menu and choose Exempt
7. Save the ruleset

5. Grant access to organization secrets

The release workflow needs access to shared organization secrets. Grant your SDK repository access to the below organization secrets in the organization settings:

Secrets:

• SLACK_CLIENT_LIBRARIES_BOT_TOKEN
• POSTHOG_PROJECT_API_KEY

Variables:

• GROUP_CLIENT_LIBRARIES_SLACK_GROUP_ID
• SLACK_APPROVALS_CLIENT_LIBRARIES_CHANNEL_ID

6. Add the release workflow

Important: Our release workflows use GitHub Actions OIDC tokens for secure authentication with package registries. Make sure your workflow uses a version that supports OIDC for your registry:

• npm: Node.js v22+

Copy the release workflow from an existing SDK (e.g., posthog-rs) and adapt it:

1. Update the environment variable prefix to match your SDK name
2. Modify the changelog generation logic if needed for your language's conventions
3. Update the version bumping logic for your package manager (npm, pip, etc.)
4. Update the publishing steps for your package registry

npm packages: set up trusted publishing before enabling the workflow

This applies only to npm publishing (not other package registries).

If your SDK publishes to npm using OIDC trusted publishing and the package has never been published before, run this initial setup once before allowing your GitHub Actions workflow to publish:

npx setup-npm-trusted-publish @posthog/<package-name>

If the package has already been published, you can configure trusted publishing directly in npm package settings instead.

This bootstraps npm trusted publishing for the package so future automated releases can publish successfully.

7. Update the README

Add a section to your SDK's README explaining that releases are semi-automatic and link to the #approvals-client-libraries Slack channel where approval requests are posted.

8. Create required labels

Make sure the repository includes the release label, it's used to trigger new releases.

If you're not using something like changesets or sampo that automatically generates version bump labels, create the following labels as well to indicate the type of release:

• bump-patch
• bump-minor
• bump-major

9. Open a PR

Create a PR with the new release.yml workflow and request a review from @PostHog/client-libraries-approvers. There is now a small, dedicated SDK team at PostHog (@PostHog/team-client-libraries) that helps drive direction and coordination. However, SDK development and maintenance remains a collaborative effort across the engineering organization.

Triggering a release

Once set up, releases are triggered by having a release label added to the PR alongside a changesets(or matching bump-* tag). Once a PR is merged, the environment workflow will kick up and someone from the @PostHog/client-libraries-approvers team will have to approve it on #approval-support-libraries.