# Error Tracking React

> PostHog error tracking for React

- Skill: `posthog-skills/error-tracking-react` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 7 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add posthog-skills/error-tracking-react`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/posthog-skills/error-tracking-react/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Web & Frontend
- Author: posthog (https://skillmd.com/u/posthog-skills)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/posthog-skills/error-tracking-react

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# PostHog error tracking for React

This skill helps you add PostHog error tracking to React applications.

## Reference files

- `references/react.md` - React 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

- For feature flags, use useFeatureFlagEnabled() or useFeatureFlagPayload() hooks - they handle loading states and external sync automatically
- Add analytics capture in event handlers where user actions occur, NOT in useEffect reacting to state changes
- Do NOT use useEffect for data transformation - calculate derived values during render instead
- Do NOT use useEffect to respond to user events - put that logic in the event handler itself
- Do NOT use useEffect to chain state updates - calculate all related updates together in the event handler
- Do NOT use useEffect to notify parent components - call the parent callback alongside setState in the event handler
- To reset component state when a prop changes, pass the prop as the component's key instead of using useEffect
- useEffect is ONLY for synchronizing with external systems (non-React widgets, browser APIs, network subscriptions)