Next.js session replay installation

Install the package

Required

Install the PostHog JavaScript library using your package manager:

npm install posthog-js
yarn add posthog-js
pnpm add posthog-js

Add environment variables

Required

Add your PostHog API key and host to your .env.local file and to your hosting provider (e.g. Vercel, Netlify). These values need to start with NEXT_PUBLIC_ to be accessible on the client-side.

.env.local
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY=<ph_project_token>
NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST=https://us.i.posthog.com

Initialize PostHog

Required

Choose the integration method based on your Next.js version and router type.

If you're using Next.js 15.3+, you can use instrumentation-client.ts for a lightweight, fast integration:

instrumentation-client.ts
import posthog from 'posthog-js'

posthog.init(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY!, {
    api_host: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST,
    defaults: '2026-01-30'
})

For the App router, create a providers.tsx file in your app folder. The posthog-js library needs to be initialized on the client-side using the 'use client' directive:

app/providers.tsx
'use client'

import { usePathname, useSearchParams } from "next/navigation"
import { useEffect } from "react"

import posthog from 'posthog-js'
import { PostHogProvider as PHProvider } from 'posthog-js/react'

export function PostHogProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  useEffect(() => {
    posthog.init(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY as string, {
      api_host: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST,
      defaults: '2026-01-30'
    })
  }, [])

  return (
    <PHProvider client={posthog}>
      {children}
    </PHProvider>
  )
}

Then import the PostHogProvider component in your app/layout.tsx and wrap your app with it:

app/layout.tsx
import './globals.css'
import { PostHogProvider } from './providers'

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>
        <PostHogProvider>
          {children}
        </PostHogProvider>
      </body>
    </html>
  )
}

For the Pages router, integrate PostHog at the root of your app in pages/_app.tsx:

pages/_app.tsx
import { useEffect } from 'react'
import { Router } from 'next/router'
import posthog from 'posthog-js'
import { PostHogProvider } from 'posthog-js/react'
import type { AppProps } from 'next/app'

export default function App({ Component, pageProps }: AppProps) {

  useEffect(() => {
    posthog.init(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY as string, {
      api_host: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_HOST,
      defaults: '2026-01-30',
      loaded: (posthog) => {
        if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') posthog.debug()
      }
    })
  }, [])

  return (
    <PostHogProvider client={posthog}>
      <Component {...pageProps} />
    </PostHogProvider>
  )
}

Defaults option

The defaults option automatically configures PostHog with recommended settings for new projects. See SDK defaults for details.

Accessing PostHog on the client

Recommended

Once initialized in instrumentation-client.ts, import posthog from posthog-js anywhere and call the methods you need:

app/checkout/page.tsx
'use client'

import posthog from 'posthog-js'

export default function CheckoutPage() {
    function handlePurchase() {
        posthog.capture('purchase_completed', { amount: 99 })
    }

    return <button onClick={handlePurchase}>Complete purchase</button>
}

Use the usePostHog hook to access PostHog in client components:

app/checkout/page.tsx
'use client'

import { usePostHog } from 'posthog-js/react'

export default function CheckoutPage() {
    const posthog = usePostHog()

    function handlePurchase() {
        posthog.capture('purchase_completed', { amount: 99 })
    }

    return <button onClick={handlePurchase}>Complete purchase</button>
}

5
Watch session recordings
Recommended
Visit your site or app and interact with it for at least 10 seconds to generate a recording. Navigate between pages, click buttons, and fill out forms to capture meaningful interactions.
Watch your first recording →

Next steps

Recommended

Now that you're recording sessions, continue with the resources below to learn what else Session Replay enables within the PostHog platform.

Resource	Description
Watching recordings	How to find and watch session recordings
Privacy controls	How to mask sensitive data in recordings
Network recording	How to capture network requests in recordings
Console log recording	How to capture console logs in recordings
More tutorials	Other real-world examples and use cases

Next.js session replay installation

Install the package

Add environment variables

Initialize PostHog

Accessing PostHog on the client

Watch session recordings

Next steps

Community questions

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