feat: send $release_id from POSTHOG_RELEASE_ID on every event by ablaszkiewicz · Pull Request #247 · PostHog/posthog-php

ablaszkiewicz · 2026-09-23T08:33:53Z

💡 Motivation and Context

A PHP app cannot link its error tracking issues to a release. posthog-cli injects the release id into JavaScript bundles, and PHP has no bundle. This is the PHP counterpart of posthog-python#975; PostHog/posthog#104420 shows the deploy side.

The SDK now reads POSTHOG_RELEASE_ID (the id that posthog-cli release resolve prints) and sends it as $release_id on every event.
On $exception events the server resolves the release by a direct id lookup.
The client reads the variable once, in its constructor, with getenv(), like POSTHOG_API_KEY and POSTHOG_HOST. The value is trimmed, and a blank value counts as unset.
The property is set in Client::message(), which capture(), captureException(), identify(), alias() and groupIdentify() all pass through. raw() skips message() and stays untouched.
An explicit $release_id in the event properties or in the request context wins over the env var. before_send still sees and can remove it.
$release_id is added to the minimal $feature_flag_called allowlist, so minimized flag events carry it too. This differs from Python, which leaves minimal flag events without it.
No public API change: the constant and the field are private.

Note

PHP-FPM clears the environment of its workers by default (clear_env = yes). A deployment must pass the variable through, with clear_env = no or an env[POSTHOG_RELEASE_ID] = $POSTHOG_RELEASE_ID pool entry. The changeset says this.

💚 How did you test it?

14 new tests in test/ReleaseIdTest.php, parameterized over every event path (capture, $exception, $identify, $create_alias, $groupidentify, full and minimal $feature_flag_called), over the env values (set, padded, empty, whitespace only, unset), and over the explicit-value sources (event property, request context).
Without the change, 9 of the 14 fail. Without the allowlist entry, the minimal $feature_flag_called case fails.
Full suite on PHP 8.5: 696 tests pass. The warning and deprecation counts match main.
phpcs with phpcs.xml: the new test file is clean, and the warnings on the changed library files are the same as on main. composer api:check reports the snapshot is up to date.
End to end against a local PostHog stack: a Composer install built from this branch, a release from a locally built posthog-cli release resolve, one handled exception, and one plain event. Both events carried $release_id, and the server resolved php-release-env@1.0.0 from it. Not tested against production.

The issue page resolves the release that the CLI created:

The event JSON, filtered to release, shows the $release_id that the SDK sent and the $exception_release that the server resolved from it (same id):

📝 Checklist

I reviewed the submitted code.
I added tests to verify the changes.
I updated the docs if needed.
No breaking change or entry added to the changelog.

If releasing new changes

Ran pnpm change to generate a change intent file

🤖 Agent context

Autonomy: Human-driven (agent-assisted)

Written with Claude Code (Claude Opus 5.5), directed by the PR assignee.

The behavior follows posthog-python#975: env var over a CLI-written file, read once per client, explicit value wins.
The assignee asked for the id on all events, so the minimal $feature_flag_called allowlist was widened instead of copying Python's exclusion. Reviewers may prefer Python's behavior; the fix is dropping one allowlist entry and one test case.
The changeset file was written by hand in the .changeset format, not with pnpm change.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

greptile-apps · 2026-09-23T08:36:16Z

The PR appears safe to merge; the previous test-isolation issue is resolved and no new actionable failures remain.

_{Reviews (2) · Last reviewed commit: "test: clear the facade client after each..."}

github-actions · 2026-09-23T08:36:40Z

posthog-php-fork_curl Compliance Report

Date: 2026-09-23T10:36:29.371196+00:00
Duration: 112222ms

⚠️ Some Tests Failed

36/47 tests passed, 11 failed

Capture Tests

⚠️ 19/30 tests passed, 11 failed

View Details

Test	Status	Duration
Format Validation.Event Has Required Fields	✅	29ms
Format Validation.Event Has Uuid	✅	524ms
Format Validation.Event Has Lib Properties	✅	525ms
Format Validation.Distinct Id Is String	✅	525ms
Format Validation.Token Is Present	✅	526ms
Format Validation.Custom Properties Preserved	✅	526ms
Format Validation.Event Has Timestamp	✅	525ms
Format Validation.Non Utc Event Timestamp Is Converted To Utc	✅	525ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 503	❌	5528ms
Retry Behavior.Does Not Retry On 400	✅	2529ms
Retry Behavior.Does Not Retry On 401	✅	2529ms
Retry Behavior.Respects Retry After Header	❌	5528ms
Retry Behavior.Implements Backoff	❌	15544ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 500	❌	5531ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 502	❌	5531ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 504	❌	5531ms
Retry Behavior.Max Retries Respected	❌	15529ms
Deduplication.Generates Unique Uuids	✅	46ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid On Retry	❌	5532ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid And Timestamp On Retry	❌	10535ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid And Timestamp On Batch Retry	❌	5535ms
Deduplication.No Duplicate Events In Batch	✅	534ms
Deduplication.Different Events Have Different Uuids	✅	528ms
Compression.Sends Gzip When Enabled	✅	636ms
Batch Format.Uses Proper Batch Structure	✅	525ms
Batch Format.Flush With No Events Sends Nothing	✅	516ms
Batch Format.Multiple Events Batched Together	✅	518ms
Error Handling.Does Not Retry On 403	✅	2530ms
Error Handling.Does Not Retry On 413	✅	2528ms
Error Handling.Retries On 408	❌	5532ms

Failures

retry_behavior.retries_on_503

Expected at least 3 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.respects_retry_after_header

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.implements_backoff

Expected at least 3 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.retries_on_500

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.retries_on_502

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.retries_on_504

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.max_retries_respected

Expected 4 requests, got 1

deduplication.preserves_uuid_on_retry

Need at least 2 requests to check retry

deduplication.preserves_uuid_and_timestamp_on_retry

Expected at least 3 requests, got 1

deduplication.preserves_uuid_and_timestamp_on_batch_retry

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

error_handling.retries_on_408

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

Feature_Flags Tests

✅ 17/17 tests passed

View Details

Test	Status	Duration
Request Payload.Request With Person Properties Device Id	✅	521ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Uses V2 Query Param	✅	519ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Hits Flags Path Not Decide	✅	519ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Omits Authorization Header	✅	519ms
Request Payload.Token In Flags Body Matches Init	✅	519ms
Request Payload.Groups Round Trip	✅	518ms
Request Payload.Groups Default To Empty Object	✅	519ms
Request Payload.Disable Geoip False Propagates As Geoip Disable False	✅	518ms
Request Payload.Disable Geoip Omitted Defaults To False	✅	519ms
Request Payload.Flag Keys To Evaluate Contains Only Requested Key	✅	519ms
Request Lifecycle.No Flags Request On Init Alone	✅	515ms
Request Lifecycle.No Flags Request On Normal Capture	✅	513ms
Request Lifecycle.Two Flag Calls Produce Two Remote Requests	✅	522ms
Request Lifecycle.Mock Response Value Is Returned To Caller	✅	520ms
Retry Behavior.Retries Flags On 502	✅	622ms
Retry Behavior.Retries Flags On 504	✅	621ms
Side Effect Events.Get Feature Flag Captures Feature Flag Called Event	✅	527ms

github-actions · 2026-09-23T08:36:46Z

posthog-php-lib_curl Compliance Report

Date: 2026-09-23T10:36:37.499377+00:00
Duration: 118467ms

✅ All Tests Passed!

47/47 tests passed

Capture Tests

✅ 30/30 tests passed

View Details

Test	Status	Duration
Format Validation.Event Has Required Fields	✅	21ms
Format Validation.Event Has Uuid	✅	520ms
Format Validation.Event Has Lib Properties	✅	518ms
Format Validation.Distinct Id Is String	✅	519ms
Format Validation.Token Is Present	✅	517ms
Format Validation.Custom Properties Preserved	✅	517ms
Format Validation.Event Has Timestamp	✅	519ms
Format Validation.Non Utc Event Timestamp Is Converted To Utc	✅	518ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 503	✅	5824ms
Retry Behavior.Does Not Retry On 400	✅	2523ms
Retry Behavior.Does Not Retry On 401	✅	2521ms
Retry Behavior.Respects Retry After Header	✅	8528ms
Retry Behavior.Implements Backoff	✅	16242ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 500	✅	5628ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 502	✅	5628ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 504	✅	5627ms
Retry Behavior.Max Retries Respected	✅	17030ms
Deduplication.Generates Unique Uuids	✅	238ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid On Retry	✅	5625ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid And Timestamp On Retry	✅	10832ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid And Timestamp On Batch Retry	✅	5633ms
Deduplication.No Duplicate Events In Batch	✅	523ms
Deduplication.Different Events Have Different Uuids	✅	520ms
Compression.Sends Gzip When Enabled	✅	519ms
Batch Format.Uses Proper Batch Structure	✅	519ms
Batch Format.Flush With No Events Sends Nothing	✅	515ms
Batch Format.Multiple Events Batched Together	✅	511ms
Error Handling.Does Not Retry On 403	✅	2520ms
Error Handling.Does Not Retry On 413	✅	2523ms
Error Handling.Retries On 408	✅	5623ms

Feature_Flags Tests

✅ 17/17 tests passed

View Details

Test	Status	Duration
Request Payload.Request With Person Properties Device Id	✅	523ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Uses V2 Query Param	✅	515ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Hits Flags Path Not Decide	✅	517ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Omits Authorization Header	✅	516ms
Request Payload.Token In Flags Body Matches Init	✅	517ms
Request Payload.Groups Round Trip	✅	517ms
Request Payload.Groups Default To Empty Object	✅	517ms
Request Payload.Disable Geoip False Propagates As Geoip Disable False	✅	517ms
Request Payload.Disable Geoip Omitted Defaults To False	✅	516ms
Request Payload.Flag Keys To Evaluate Contains Only Requested Key	✅	516ms
Request Lifecycle.No Flags Request On Init Alone	✅	513ms
Request Lifecycle.No Flags Request On Normal Capture	✅	509ms
Request Lifecycle.Two Flag Calls Produce Two Remote Requests	✅	519ms
Request Lifecycle.Mock Response Value Is Returned To Caller	✅	518ms
Retry Behavior.Retries Flags On 502	✅	620ms
Retry Behavior.Retries Flags On 504	✅	619ms
Side Effect Events.Get Feature Flag Captures Feature Flag Called Event	✅	520ms

github-actions · 2026-09-23T08:37:34Z

posthog-php-socket Compliance Report

Date: 2026-09-23T10:36:34.522210+00:00
Duration: 147376ms

⚠️ Some Tests Failed

36/47 tests passed, 11 failed

Capture Tests

⚠️ 19/30 tests passed, 11 failed

View Details

Test	Status	Duration
Format Validation.Event Has Required Fields	✅	22ms
Format Validation.Event Has Uuid	✅	517ms
Format Validation.Event Has Lib Properties	✅	517ms
Format Validation.Distinct Id Is String	✅	519ms
Format Validation.Token Is Present	✅	517ms
Format Validation.Custom Properties Preserved	✅	518ms
Format Validation.Event Has Timestamp	✅	517ms
Format Validation.Non Utc Event Timestamp Is Converted To Utc	✅	518ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 503	❌	9225ms
Retry Behavior.Does Not Retry On 400	✅	2522ms
Retry Behavior.Does Not Retry On 401	✅	2519ms
Retry Behavior.Respects Retry After Header	❌	9229ms
Retry Behavior.Implements Backoff	❌	19226ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 500	❌	8745ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 502	❌	9231ms
Retry Behavior.Retries On 504	❌	9230ms
Retry Behavior.Max Retries Respected	❌	19237ms
Deduplication.Generates Unique Uuids	✅	31ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid On Retry	❌	9227ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid And Timestamp On Retry	❌	14228ms
Deduplication.Preserves Uuid And Timestamp On Batch Retry	❌	8737ms
Deduplication.No Duplicate Events In Batch	✅	30ms
Deduplication.Different Events Have Different Uuids	✅	519ms
Compression.Sends Gzip When Enabled	✅	518ms
Batch Format.Uses Proper Batch Structure	✅	519ms
Batch Format.Flush With No Events Sends Nothing	✅	514ms
Batch Format.Multiple Events Batched Together	✅	510ms
Error Handling.Does Not Retry On 403	✅	2519ms
Error Handling.Does Not Retry On 413	✅	2521ms
Error Handling.Retries On 408	❌	5523ms

Failures

retry_behavior.retries_on_503

Expected at least 3 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.respects_retry_after_header

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.implements_backoff

Expected at least 3 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.retries_on_500

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.retries_on_502

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.retries_on_504

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

retry_behavior.max_retries_respected

Expected 4 requests, got 1

deduplication.preserves_uuid_on_retry

Need at least 2 requests to check retry

deduplication.preserves_uuid_and_timestamp_on_retry

Expected at least 3 requests, got 1

deduplication.preserves_uuid_and_timestamp_on_batch_retry

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

error_handling.retries_on_408

Expected at least 2 requests, got 1

Feature_Flags Tests

✅ 17/17 tests passed

View Details

Test	Status	Duration
Request Payload.Request With Person Properties Device Id	✅	518ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Uses V2 Query Param	✅	516ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Hits Flags Path Not Decide	✅	516ms
Request Payload.Flags Request Omits Authorization Header	✅	517ms
Request Payload.Token In Flags Body Matches Init	✅	515ms
Request Payload.Groups Round Trip	✅	516ms
Request Payload.Groups Default To Empty Object	✅	516ms
Request Payload.Disable Geoip False Propagates As Geoip Disable False	✅	516ms
Request Payload.Disable Geoip Omitted Defaults To False	✅	516ms
Request Payload.Flag Keys To Evaluate Contains Only Requested Key	✅	515ms
Request Lifecycle.No Flags Request On Init Alone	✅	511ms
Request Lifecycle.No Flags Request On Normal Capture	✅	508ms
Request Lifecycle.Two Flag Calls Produce Two Remote Requests	✅	518ms
Request Lifecycle.Mock Response Value Is Returned To Caller	✅	516ms
Retry Behavior.Retries Flags On 502	✅	617ms
Retry Behavior.Retries Flags On 504	✅	617ms
Side Effect Events.Get Feature Flag Captures Feature Flag Called Event	✅	519ms

posthog · 2026-09-23T09:50:09Z

🦔 PostHog Review reviewed this pull request

Nothing worth raising this time, so here's a calming picture instead:

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

feat: send $release_id from POSTHOG_RELEASE_ID on every event

740580e

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

ablaszkiewicz self-assigned this Sep 23, 2026

greptile-apps Bot reviewed Sep 23, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread test/ReleaseIdTest.php

test: clear the facade client after each release id test

0c62123

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

ablaszkiewicz marked this pull request as ready for review September 23, 2026 10:53

ablaszkiewicz requested a review from a team as a code owner September 23, 2026 10:53

ablaszkiewicz requested a review from hpouillot September 23, 2026 10:53

ablaszkiewicz mentioned this pull request Sep 23, 2026

docs(error-tracking): link releases for python, ruby, and php PostHog/posthog.com#20390

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5 tasks

hpouillot approved these changes Sep 24, 2026

View reviewed changes

ablaszkiewicz merged commit 11c9b0d into main Sep 24, 2026
30 checks passed

ablaszkiewicz deleted the feat/release-id-env branch September 24, 2026 10:27

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feat: send $release_id from POSTHOG_RELEASE_ID on every event - #247

feat: send $release_id from POSTHOG_RELEASE_ID on every event#247
ablaszkiewicz merged 2 commits into
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feat/release-id-env

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💡 Motivation and Context

💚 How did you test it?

📝 Checklist

If releasing new changes

🤖 Agent context

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posthog-php-fork_curl Compliance Report

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posthog-php-lib_curl Compliance Report

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posthog-php-socket Compliance Report

⚠️ Some Tests Failed

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Feature_Flags Tests

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