Nuxt experiments installation

  1. Install the package

    Required

    Install the PostHog JavaScript library using your package manager:

    npm install posthog-js
    Nuxt version

    This guide is for Nuxt v3.0 and above. For Nuxt v2.16 and below, see our Nuxt docs.

  2. Add environment variables

    Required

    Add your PostHog API key and host to your nuxt.config.js file:

    nuxt.config.js
    export default defineNuxtConfig({
    runtimeConfig: {
    public: {
    posthogPublicKey: '<ph_project_api_key>',
    posthogHost: 'https://us.i.posthog.com',
    posthogDefaults: '2025-11-30'
    }
    }
    })
  3. Create a plugin

    Required

    Create a new plugin by creating a new file posthog.client.js in your plugins directory:

    plugins/posthog.client.js
    import { defineNuxtPlugin } from '#app'
    import posthog from 'posthog-js'
    export default defineNuxtPlugin(nuxtApp => {
    const runtimeConfig = useRuntimeConfig();
    const posthogClient = posthog.init(runtimeConfig.public.posthogPublicKey, {
    api_host: runtimeConfig.public.posthogHost,
    defaults: runtimeConfig.public.posthogDefaults,
    loaded: (posthog) => {
    if (import.meta.env.MODE === 'development') posthog.debug();
    }
    })
    return {
    provide: {
    posthog: () => posthogClient
    }
    }
    })
  4. Server-side setup

    Optional

    To capture events from server routes, install posthog-node and instantiate it directly. You can also use it to evaluate feature flags on the server:

    npm install posthog-node
    server/api/example.js
    import { PostHog } from 'posthog-node'
    export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
    const runtimeConfig = useRuntimeConfig()
    const posthog = new PostHog(
    runtimeConfig.public.posthogPublicKey,
    { host: runtimeConfig.public.posthogHost }
    )
    posthog.capture({
    distinctId: 'distinct_id_of_the_user',
    event: 'event_name'
    })
    await posthog.shutdown()
    })
  5. Implement your experiment

    Required

    Experiments run on top of our feature flags. You can define which version of your code runs based on the return value of the feature flag.

    For client-side experiments, use the JavaScript snippet. For server-side experiments, use the Node.js snippet:

    if (posthog.getFeatureFlag('your-experiment-feature-flag') === 'test') {
    // Do something differently for this user
    } else {
    // It's a good idea to let control variant always be the default behaviour,
    // so if something goes wrong with flag evaluation, you don't break your app.
    }
    // Test that it works
    posthog.featureFlags.overrideFeatureFlags({ flags: {'your-experiment-feature-flag': 'test'} })
  6. Run your experiment

    Required

    Once you've implemented the feature flag in your code, you'll enable it for a target audience by creating a new experiment in the PostHog dashboard.

  7. Next steps

    Recommended
    ResourceDescription
    Creating an experimentHow to create an experiment in PostHog
    Adding experiment codeHow to implement experiments for all platforms
    Statistical significanceUnderstanding when results are meaningful
    Experiment insightsHow to analyze your experiment data
    More tutorialsOther real-world examples and use cases

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