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name: managing-contacts description: >- Use when using Mailtrap Contacts API or UI to add, update, bulk import, list, segment marketing contacts, custom fields, or custom events. Use when syncing contacts from a CRM or warehouse, or building audiences for campaigns.

Managing Mailtrap contacts

Overview

Before generating API request bodies: check the Contacts OpenAPI spec for current field names, required parameters, and nested structures.

Contacts are the marketing database: lists, segments, custom fields, and imports for campaign audiences and related workflows. The Contacts API automates create/update and can feed CRM or CDP sync (your code, or tools like Zapier, Make, n8n — see Import contacts).

Suppressions (hard bounces, spam complaints, unsubscribes on the sending side) live in the sending product and block delivery for those addresses on your streams. That is applied separately from marketing filters (segments, list membership, consent flags) that decide who is eligible for campaigns. For sending-side blocks, see Suppressions and skill sending-emails.

Related skills: authorizing-api-requests (tokens, env vars, account_id resolution), sending-emails (live send paths).

When to use

• Programmatic contact management (create, update, bulk import)
• Sync with CRMs or data warehouses
• Contact list cleanup and CSV import
• Updating contacts with custom fields or firing custom events for automations
• Segments and custom fields for audience building

Authorization

All endpoints below need Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN and an $MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID in the path. See skill authorizing-api-requests for token scope, storage, and the one-liner that resolves $MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID from GET https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts.

Endpoints (replace placeholders)

Action	Method	URL	Reference
Create / get / update / delete contact	various	https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts	Contacts
Bulk import (async job)	POST	https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts/imports	Bulk import
Contact lists	various	https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts/lists	Contact lists
Custom fields	various	https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts/fields	Contact fields
Custom events	POST	https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts/{contact_identifier}/events	Contact events
Export contacts	various	https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts/exports	Export contacts

• Rate limit (typical): 200 requests per 60 seconds per account — prefer bulk import for large loads.
• Bulk import limit: up to 50,000 contacts per import request (async job); poll import status with GET .../contacts/imports/{import_id}. See Bulk import.

Examples (curl)

Single contact create (with custom fields)

curl -X POST "https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "contact": {
      "email": "john.smith@example.com",
      "fields": {"first_name": "John", "last_name": "Smith", "company": "Example Inc"},
      "list_ids": [1, 2, 3]
    }
  }'

Bulk import (array of contacts)

curl -X POST "https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts/imports" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "contacts": [
      {"email": "user1@example.com", "fields": {"first_name": "John"}, "list_ids_included": [1, 2]},
      {"email": "user2@example.com", "fields": {"first_name": "Jane"}, "list_ids_included": [1]}
    ]
  }'

Custom event (event name + payload)

curl -X POST "https://mailtrap.io/api/accounts/$MAILTRAP_ACCOUNT_ID/contacts/{contact_identifier}/events" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MAILTRAP_API_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name": "UserLogin", "params": {"user_id": 101, "is_active": true}}'

Concepts

• Lists — explicitly defined list of contacts.
• Segments — dynamic groups; see Segments.
• Custom fields — properties like first and last name or membership level; see Custom fields.
• Custom events — POST .../events with an event name and params object for automations.

CRM and sync

• API: suitable for real-time or scheduled sync from your CRM or database.
• No-code: Zapier, Make.com, n8n per Import contacts – third-party tools.

Campaigns use case

Contacts power marketing campaigns: you maintain clean lists, consent, and attributes here; campaign authoring and scheduling are product features documented in Campaigns.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Hitting rate limits with one-by-one creates	Use /contacts/imports for bulk loads (respect 50k per request) and backoff
Treating marketing contacts as sending suppressions	Use Suppressions for blocked recipients on send streams