feat: Add gzip compression turned on by default (#84)

This is *technically* a breaking change because we're now always sending data gzip compressed and people might not want that, but this will not break anyone's code so we'll release it as a minor knowing that it's an improvement. It's always been possible to swap the client off, but we weren't documenting how to do that exactly - this is now solved too.

Author: rafaeelaudibert

.sampo/changesets/sullen-princess-ukko.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+hex/posthog: minor
+---
+
+This is *technically* a breaking change because we're now always sending data gzip compressed and people might not want that, but this will not break anyone's code so we'll release it as a minor knowing that it's an improvement. It's always been possible to swap the client off, but we weren't documenting how to do that exactly - this is now solved too.

README.md

@@ -210,6 +210,44 @@ You can always disable it by setting `enable_error_tracking` to false:
 config :posthog, enable_error_tracking: false
 ```
 
+## Custom HTTP Client
+
+The SDK uses [Req](https://hexdocs.pm/req) under the hood with gzip compression and
+transient retry enabled by default. You can swap in your own HTTP client module to
+change any of this behaviour — disable compression, add custom headers, attach
+telemetry, or use a completely different HTTP library.
+
+Set the `api_client_module` config option to a module that implements the
+`PostHog.API.Client` behaviour:
+
+```elixir
+config :posthog, api_client_module: MyApp.PostHogClient
+```
+
+The simplest approach is to wrap the default client and override only what you need:
+
+```elixir
+defmodule MyApp.PostHogClient do
+  @behaviour PostHog.API.Client
+
+  @impl true
+  def client(api_key, api_host) do
+    default = PostHog.API.Client.client(api_key, api_host)
+
+    # Disable gzip compression
+    custom = Req.merge(default.client, compress_body: false)
+
+    %{default | client: custom}
+  end
+
+  @impl true
+  defdelegate request(client, method, url, opts), to: PostHog.API.Client
+end
+```
+
+See `PostHog.API.Client` docs for more examples, including adding custom headers
+and using a different HTTP library entirely.
+
 ## Multiple PostHog Projects
 
 If your app works with multiple PostHog projects, PostHog can accommodate you. For
@@ -276,6 +314,7 @@ sampo add
 ```
 
 Follow the prompts to specify:
+
 - The type of change (`patch`, `minor`, or `major`)
 - A description of the change for the changelog
 
@@ -293,6 +332,7 @@ the [PostHog SDK releases process](https://posthog.com/handbook/engineering/sdks
 3. **Merge the PR** into `master`
 
 Once merged, the release workflow will automatically:
+
 - Consume all pending changesets
 - Update the version in `mix.exs`
 - Update `CHANGELOG.md` with the new entries

lib/posthog/api/client.ex

@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@ defmodule PostHog.API.Client do
   @moduledoc """
   Behaviour and the default implementation of a PostHog API client. Uses `Req`.
 
-  Users are unlikely to interact with this module directly, but here's an
-  example just in case:
+  The default client sends request bodies gzip-compressed and retries on transient
+  failures. If you need different behaviour — for example, to disable compression,
+  add custom headers, attach telemetry, or use a different HTTP library — you can
+  implement this behaviour in your own module and configure it via `api_client_module`.
 
-  ## Example
+  ## Using the default client directly
 
       > client = PostHog.API.Client.client("phc_abcdedfgh", "https://us.i.posthog.com")
       %PostHog.API.Client{
@@ -15,6 +17,82 @@ defmodule PostHog.API.Client do
 
       > client.module.request(client.client, :post, "/flags", json: %{distinct_id: "user123"}, params: %{v: 2, config: true})
       {:ok, %Req.Response{status: 200, body: %{...}}}
+
+  ## Writing a custom client
+
+  Implement the `client/2` and `request/4` callbacks, then set the config:
+
+      config :posthog, api_client_module: MyApp.PostHogClient
+
+  ### Wrapping the default client
+
+  The easiest approach is to delegate to the default client and override only what
+  you need. For example, to disable gzip compression:
+
+      defmodule MyApp.PostHogClient do
+        @behaviour PostHog.API.Client
+
+        @impl true
+        def client(api_key, api_host) do
+          default = PostHog.API.Client.client(api_key, api_host)
+          # Remove the compress_body step added by the default client
+          custom = Req.merge(default.client, compress_body: false)
+          %{default | client: custom}
+        end
+
+        @impl true
+        defdelegate request(client, method, url, opts), to: PostHog.API.Client
+      end
+
+  ### Adding custom request headers
+
+      defmodule MyApp.PostHogClient do
+        @behaviour PostHog.API.Client
+
+        @impl true
+        def client(api_key, api_host) do
+          default = PostHog.API.Client.client(api_key, api_host)
+          custom = Req.merge(default.client, headers: [{"x-custom-header", "value"}])
+          %{default | client: custom}
+        end
+
+        @impl true
+        defdelegate request(client, method, url, opts), to: PostHog.API.Client
+      end
+
+  ### Using a different HTTP library
+
+  You can skip `Req` entirely and use any HTTP client. The `client` term you return
+  is opaque — it's passed back to your `request/4` callback as-is.
+
+  NOTE: The code below is not guaranteed to be correct or complete — it's just illustrative of the general approach.
+
+      defmodule MyApp.FinchPostHogClient do
+        @behaviour PostHog.API.Client
+
+        @impl true
+        def client(api_key, api_host) do
+          %PostHog.API.Client{
+            client: %{api_key: api_key, api_host: api_host},
+            module: __MODULE__
+          }
+        end
+
+        @impl true
+        def request(client, method, url, opts) do
+          body = opts[:json] |> Map.put_new(:api_key, client.api_key) |> Jason.encode!()
+
+          Finch.build(method, client.api_host <> url, [{"content-type", "application/json"}], body)
+          |> Finch.request(MyApp.Finch)
+          |> case do
+            {:ok, %Finch.Response{status: status, body: body}} ->
+              {:ok, %{status: status, body: Jason.decode!(body)}}
+
+            {:error, exception} ->
+              {:error, exception}
+          end
+        end
+      end
   """
   @behaviour __MODULE__
 
@@ -48,7 +126,7 @@ defmodule PostHog.API.Client do
   @impl __MODULE__
   def client(api_key, api_host) do
     client =
-      Req.new(base_url: api_host, retry: :transient)
+      Req.new(base_url: api_host, retry: :transient, compress_body: true)
       |> Req.Request.put_private(:api_key, api_key)
 
     %__MODULE__{client: client, module: __MODULE__}

sdk_compliance_adapter/lib/sdk_compliance_adapter/tracked_client.ex

@@ -22,11 +22,12 @@ defmodule SdkComplianceAdapter.TrackedClient do
   defdelegate request(client, method, url, opts), to: PostHog.API.Client 
 
   def track({request, response}) do
-    req_body = 
+    req_body =
       request.body
       |> to_string()
+      |> decompress(request)
       |> JSON.decode!()
-    
+
     uuid_list = extract_uuids(req_body)
     event_count = count_events(req_body)
 
@@ -40,6 +41,13 @@ defmodule SdkComplianceAdapter.TrackedClient do
     {request, exception}
   end
 
+  defp decompress(body, request) do
+    case Req.Request.get_header(request, "content-encoding") do
+      ["gzip"] -> :zlib.gunzip(body)
+      _ -> body
+    end
+  end
+
   defp extract_uuids(request) do
     request
     |> get_in([Access.key("batch", []), Access.all(), "uuid"])