Linking NewsAPI as a source
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Contents
This source is currently in alpha. The interface and available tables may change.
The NewsAPI connector syncs everything, top headlines, sources, and more into the PostHog data warehouse, so you can analyze them alongside your product data.
Prerequisites
Credentials that can read the data you want to sync. PostHog only reads data, so read access is enough.
Adding a data source
- In PostHog, go to the Sources tab of the data pipeline section.
- Click + New source and click Link next to this source.
- Enter your credentials (see Configuration below) and click Next.
- Select the tables you want to sync, choose a sync method and frequency, then click Import.
Once the syncs are complete, you can start querying this data in PostHog.
Enter your NewsAPI key to pull live and historical news articles.
Create a free API key at newsapi.org. The search query drives the everything and top_headlines tables; the sources table lists available publishers.
Note: NewsAPI's free Developer plan is limited to articles from the last month and is for development/testing only - a paid plan is required for production use and older articles.
You'll be asked for:
- API key
- Search query: for example
e.g. bitcoin OR ethereum.
Sync modes
Each table can be synced in one of several modes, depending on what the source supports:
- Webhook (when available) – the source pushes changes to PostHog in real time. Fastest freshness, lowest ongoing cost, and the only mode that reliably captures updates and deletes.
- Incremental – only new or updated rows are synced on each run, using a cursor field (such as an
updated_attimestamp). Cheaper than a full refresh, but deletes aren't captured. - Append only – new rows are appended using a cursor field; existing rows are never updated. Ideal for immutable, append-only tables like event logs.
- Full refresh – the whole table is reloaded on every sync. Use it when a table has no reliable cursor or when you need deletions reflected.
See sync methods for a full explanation of how each mode works and how to choose between them.
Some NewsAPI tables sync incrementally, so later runs only fetch new or updated rows. The rest are full refresh.
Configuration
| Option | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|
API key | password | Yes |
Search query | text | Yes |
Language (optional, 2-letter code) | text | No |
Supported tables
| Table | Description | Sync method | Incremental field | Primary key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
everything | Full article search. Incremental sync windows on publishedAt; NewsAPI caps reachable results per window at 100 | Incremental, Full refresh | publishedAt | url |
top_headlines | Curated breaking-news headlines. Full refresh only (no date filter) | Full refresh | — | url |
sources | The publisher catalog behind top-headlines. Full refresh only | Full refresh | — | id |
Troubleshooting
- If the connection fails with an authorization error, the API key is wrong, expired, or has been revoked. Create a new one, then reconnect the source.
- If a table syncs no rows, the credential may not have access to that data. Check its permissions, then reconnect the source.
If your sync is failing or data looks wrong, see the Data warehouse troubleshooting guide. If that doesn't help, contact support – we're happy to help.