feat(server): send telemetry through ingest.t3.codes

[t3dotgg]

Problem

The server sends analytics straight to PostHog, so we keep no copy of the raw events and cannot choose what PostHog gets. Events also do not say which release channel sent them. The existing build channel cannot do this job: it calls stable "latest", calls preview "nightly", and labels local builds "latest".

Change

• The default T3CODE_POSTHOG_HOST is now https://ingest.t3.codes. That endpoint takes the same /batch/ body, archives every event, and forwards a filtered set to PostHog. The env override still works.
• The background flush runs every 10s instead of every 1s. The shutdown flush is kept. The backoff from #14986 still applies; a retry delay shorter than 10s waits for the next check.
• In the retry logic from #14986, a 400, 401, or 413 answer drops the batch at once with one warning. 408, 429, 5xx, timeouts, and network errors still retry up to 5 times with the same uuids. The next batch still waits for the backoff, so a wrong api_key does not send batch after batch.
• New build-time constant __T3CODE_TELEMETRY_CHANNEL__, sent on every event as telemetryChannel next to t3CodeVersion. It defaults to dev, and a value other than stable, nightly, preview, or dev fails the build. The sign-in page constant __T3CODE_BUILD_CHANNEL__ is unchanged.
• Release workflows set T3CODE_TELEMETRY_CHANNEL only when github.repository == 'pingdotgg/t3code'. Other repositories get dev.

Build	Source of the value	Value
release.yml build_bundle (server bundle that desktop reuses)	needs.preflight.outputs.release_channel	stable, nightly, or preview
release-desktop.yml CLI single-executable (bundles the server again)	inputs.release_channel	same as above
desktop-macos-preview.yml (PR mac previews)	fixed, since the publish half passes release_channel: preview	preview

The preflight step already writes exactly stable (tag pushes and manual stable), nightly (schedule and manual nightly), or preview (manual preview) as release_channel, so the value passes through as is. Nothing else bundles the server: desktop packaging runs with --skip-build on the js-bundle artifact, the Windows app embeds the Linux CLI archive, npm repacks the CLI archives, and AUR repacks the released AppImage.

• Docs: docs/user/telemetry.md says where data goes. The Delivery section of docs/internals/product-analytics.md names the endpoint and notes that it rejects events without a uuid.

ingest.t3.codes is live. It forwards every T3 Code event to PostHog (MODE=full, no filters), so PostHog keeps getting the same events after this ships.

Scope and approval

Theo asked for this as part of moving T3 Code analytics to a T3-owned store, with PostHog fed from it. The client change is limited to the existing telemetry service: where batches go, which failures retry, and one new property. Theo reviews before merge.

Verification

Rebased onto main again on Oct 10. The only conflicts came from the HostProcess refactor (#17628, #17641): HostProcessPlatform and HostProcessArchitecture are now HostProcess.Platform and HostProcess.Architecture. The PR logic is unchanged.

• vp test run src/telemetry/AnalyticsService.test.ts in apps/server: 6 passed. New cases: 400, 401, and 413 send the batch once; a connection reset, 408, 429, and 503 send it 5 times with the same uuids; telemetryChannel is dev by default and is the build-time value when one is set.
• The tests catch regressions. Without the early drop, the reject test fails (400 sent 5 times). With 429 in the reject list, the retry test fails.
• T3CODE_TELEMETRY_CHANNEL=nightly vp pack in apps/server: the bundle contains const telemetryChannel = "nightly"; and the https://ingest.t3.codes default. T3CODE_TELEMETRY_CHANNEL=latest vp pack stops with the validation error.
• tsc --noEmit in apps/server: passes.
• vp lint on the changed TS files: one warning, unused layerTest in AnalyticsService.ts, which is already on main.
• vp fmt --check on the changed files: clean.
• actionlint on the three workflows: no findings on the changed lines. The existing findings (custom runner labels, concurrency.queue, shellcheck style) are unchanged.

Not checked: a real release run, and a live send from a T3 Code build to ingest.t3.codes.

Made by Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[macroscopeapp]

Approvability

Verdict: Needs Human Approval

Macroscope's review found this PR requires human approval — This changes the default destination and delivery behavior for production telemetry, routing existing events through a new external ingest service and adding release-channel metadata. The product-wide default change and resulting data-flow impact warrant human review.

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[github-actions]

Thread transfer impact

✅ Thread transfer remains within every enforced ceiling.

Provider	Metric	Main baseline	This PR	Impact	PR ceiling
Codex	Total thread wire	5.0 KiB	5.0 KiB	0 B (0.0%)	6.8 KiB	✅
Codex	Thread snapshot wire	3.8 KiB	3.8 KiB	0 B (0.0%)	4.9 KiB	✅
Codex	Live turn WebSocket wire	1.2 KiB	1.2 KiB	0 B (0.0%)	2.0 KiB	✅
Codex	Live turn WebSocket decoded	20.9 KiB	20.9 KiB	0 B (0.0%)	29.3 KiB	✅
Codex	Live turn messages	2	2	0 (0.0%)	8	✅
Claude	Total thread wire	5.0 KiB	5.0 KiB	+7 B (+0.1%)	6.8 KiB	✅
Claude	Thread snapshot wire	3.8 KiB	3.8 KiB	0 B (0.0%)	4.9 KiB	✅
Claude	Live turn WebSocket wire	1.2 KiB	1.2 KiB	+7 B (+0.6%)	2.0 KiB	✅
Claude	Live turn WebSocket decoded	21.2 KiB	21.2 KiB	0 B (0.0%)	29.3 KiB	✅
Claude	Live turn messages	2	2	0 (0.0%)	8	✅

Baseline: d8e9fd2 · PR result: a065d29 · Source CI: success

Scenario and decoded snapshot size

10 historical turns, 5 command tools per turn, 878.9 KiB retained MCP result per historical turn, and a 1.05 MiB retained result in the measured turn.

• Codex decoded thread snapshot: 108.5 KiB
• Claude decoded thread snapshot: 108.8 KiB

Updated in place by a trusted workflow. PR artifacts are strictly validated and never executed.

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 9333509 and a4916a4.

📒 Files selected for processing (8)

• .github/workflows/desktop-macos-preview.yml
• .github/workflows/release-desktop.yml
• .github/workflows/release.yml
• apps/server/src/telemetry/AnalyticsService.test.ts
• apps/server/src/telemetry/AnalyticsService.ts
• apps/server/vite.config.ts
• docs/internals/product-analytics.md
• docs/user/telemetry.md

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📝 Walkthrough

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Builds now stamp telemetry events with a release channel. The analytics service sends batches to the T3 Code ingest endpoint, applies updated retry and rejection handling, and includes the channel in event properties.

Changes

Telemetry delivery and channel stamping

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Configure and stamp telemetry channels apps/server/vite.config.ts, .github/workflows/desktop-macos-preview.yml, .github/workflows/release-desktop.yml, .github/workflows/release.yml	Vite validates and injects T3CODE_TELEMETRY_CHANNEL. Release workflows set it to the relevant release channel for pingdotgg/t3code builds and to dev for other repositories.
Send events and handle delivery outcomes apps/server/src/telemetry/AnalyticsService.ts, apps/server/src/telemetry/AnalyticsService.test.ts, docs/internals/product-analytics.md, docs/user/telemetry.md	The service sends events to ingest.t3.codes, adds the channel to event properties, and drops batches with HTTP 400, 401, or 413 responses without retry. Tests cover retry outcomes and channel values. Documentation describes the ingest endpoint and its forwarding behavior.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Feature

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant AnalyticsService
  participant T3IngestEndpoint
  participant PostHog
  AnalyticsService->>T3IngestEndpoint: Send event batch
  T3IngestEndpoint->>PostHog: Forward some events
  T3IngestEndpoint-->>AnalyticsService: Return send result
  AnalyticsService->>T3IngestEndpoint: Retry eligible failures

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Suggested reviewers: juliusmarminge

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to a4916

No actionable merge-blocking issue remains after normal checks.

Pre-merge checks | 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Docstring Coverage		No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 0 functions across 3…
Linked Issues check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Title check		The title clearly identifies the main change: routing server telemetry through ingest.t3.codes. It is concise and uses a conventional commit format.
Description check		The description covers the problem, implementation, scope, approval context, verification results, limitations, and agent attribution. It does not link to a triaged issue or approval discussion, but i…

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