diff --git a/openapi/capture.yaml b/openapi/capture.yaml
index 85d7d6e595d..8525825f7d2 100644
--- a/openapi/capture.yaml
+++ b/openapi/capture.yaml
@@ -245,10 +245,42 @@ components:
                     format: uuid
                 type:
                     type: string
+                $set:
+                    $ref: '#/components/schemas/SetPersonProperties'
+                $set_once:
+                    $ref: '#/components/schemas/SetOncePersonProperties'
                 properties:
                     type: object
+                    properties:
+                        $set:
+                            $ref: '#/components/schemas/SetPersonProperties'
+                        $set_once:
+                            $ref: '#/components/schemas/SetOncePersonProperties'
                     additionalProperties: true
 
+        SetPersonProperties:
+            type: object
+            description: |
+                Set person property to a given values. If the property does not 
+                exist, it will be set. If the property already exists, it
+                will be updated to the new value. The type of the property
+                will be inferred from the value.
+            additionalProperties: true
+            example:
+                $set:
+                    country: UK
+                    city: Cambridge
+
+        SetOncePersonProperties:
+            type: object
+            description: |
+                Set person property to a given value, but only if it is not
+                currently set. It will not override existing values. The type
+                of the property will be inferred from the value.
+            example:
+                $set_once:
+                    initial_referrer: https://google.com
+
         EventCaptureRequest:
             $ref: '#/components/schemas/Event'
 
diff --git a/plugin-server/functional_tests/api.ts b/plugin-server/functional_tests/api.ts
index b87af62c4ec..50c21f60879 100644
--- a/plugin-server/functional_tests/api.ts
+++ b/plugin-server/functional_tests/api.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ export const capture = async ({
     sentAt = new Date(),
     eventTime = new Date(),
     now = new Date(),
+    $set = undefined,
+    $set_once = undefined,
     topic = ['$performance_event', '$snapshot'].includes(event)
         ? 'session_recording_events'
         : 'events_plugin_ingestion',
@@ -71,6 +73,8 @@ export const capture = async ({
     eventTime?: Date
     now?: Date
     topic?: string
+    $set?: object
+    $set_once?: object
 }) => {
     // WARNING: this capture method is meant to simulate the ingestion of events
     // from the capture endpoint, but there is no guarantee that is is 100%
@@ -92,6 +96,8 @@ export const capture = async ({
                     properties: { ...properties, uuid },
                     team_id: teamId,
                     timestamp: eventTime,
+                    $set,
+                    $set_once,
                 }),
             })
         ),
diff --git a/plugin-server/functional_tests/ingestion.test.ts b/plugin-server/functional_tests/ingestion.test.ts
index 25c90d60ccd..185f4e06d25 100644
--- a/plugin-server/functional_tests/ingestion.test.ts
+++ b/plugin-server/functional_tests/ingestion.test.ts
@@ -202,6 +202,37 @@ test.concurrent(`event ingestion: can $set and update person properties`, async
     })
 })
 
+test.concurrent(`event ingestion: can $set and update person properties with top level $set`, async () => {
+    // We support $set at the top level. This is as the time of writing how the
+    // posthog-js library works.
+    const teamId = await createTeam(organizationId)
+    const distinctId = new UUIDT().toString()
+
+    await capture({
+        teamId,
+        distinctId,
+        uuid: new UUIDT().toString(),
+        event: '$identify',
+        properties: {
+            distinct_id: distinctId,
+        },
+        $set: { prop: 'value' },
+    })
+
+    const firstUuid = new UUIDT().toString()
+    await capture({ teamId, distinctId, uuid: firstUuid, event: 'custom event', properties: {} })
+    await waitForExpect(async () => {
+        const [event] = await fetchEvents(teamId, firstUuid)
+        expect(event).toEqual(
+            expect.objectContaining({
+                person_properties: expect.objectContaining({
+                    prop: 'value',
+                }),
+            })
+        )
+    })
+})
+
 test.concurrent(`event ingestion: person properties are point in event time`, async () => {
     const teamId = await createTeam(organizationId)
     const distinctId = new UUIDT().toString()
@@ -301,6 +332,42 @@ test.concurrent(`event ingestion: can $set_once person properties but not update
     })
 })
 
+test.concurrent(
+    `event ingestion: can $set_once person properties but not update, with top level $set_once`,
+    async () => {
+        // We support $set_once at the top level. This is as the time of writing
+        // how the posthog-js library works.
+        const teamId = await createTeam(organizationId)
+        const distinctId = new UUIDT().toString()
+
+        const personEventUuid = new UUIDT().toString()
+        await capture({
+            teamId,
+            distinctId,
+            uuid: personEventUuid,
+            event: '$identify',
+            properties: {
+                distinct_id: distinctId,
+            },
+            $set_once: { prop: 'value' },
+        })
+
+        const firstUuid = new UUIDT().toString()
+        await capture({ teamId, distinctId, uuid: firstUuid, event: 'custom event', properties: {} })
+        await waitForExpect(async () => {
+            const [event] = await fetchEvents(teamId, firstUuid)
+            expect(event).toEqual(
+                expect.objectContaining({
+                    person_properties: {
+                        $creator_event_uuid: personEventUuid,
+                        prop: 'value',
+                    },
+                })
+            )
+        })
+    }
+)
+
 test.concurrent(`event ingestion: events without a team_id get processed correctly`, async () => {
     const token = new UUIDT().toString()
     const teamId = await createTeam(organizationId, '', token)