Contact Update

Update contact fields during an Automation.

The contact update step modifies a contact's fields as part of an Automation. You can update a contact's name, subscription status, or custom properties.

Common use cases:

Enrich profiles: Copy event data into the contact record.
Set flags: Mark contacts as VIP, or churned based on their activity.
Sync properties: Keep custom properties up to date as events flow in.

How it works

Add an Update contact step and update the fields you want to change.

Automation Contact Update

Add a contact_update step to your Automation's steps array.

Node.js

import { Resend } from 'resend';const resend = new Resend('re_xxxxxxxxx');const { data, error } = await resend.automations.create({  name: 'Enrich contact on signup',  steps: [    {      key: 'start',      type: 'trigger',      config: { eventName: 'user.created' },    },    {      key: 'update',      type: 'contact_update',      config: {        firstName: { var: 'event.firstName' },        lastName: { var: 'event.lastName' },        properties: {          company: { var: 'event.company' },          vip: true,        },      },    },  ],  connections: [{ from: 'start', to: 'update', type: 'default' }],});

PHP

$resend = Resend::client('re_xxxxxxxxx');$resend->automations->create([  'name' => 'Enrich contact on signup',  'steps' => [    [      'key' => 'start',      'type' => 'trigger',      'config' => ['event_name' => 'user.created'],    ],    [      'key' => 'update',      'type' => 'contact_update',      'config' => [        'first_name' => ['var' => 'event.firstName'],        'last_name' => ['var' => 'event.lastName'],        'properties' => [          'company' => ['var' => 'event.company'],          'vip' => true,        ],      ],    ],  ],  'connections' => [['from' => 'start', 'to' => 'update', 'type' => 'default']],]);

Python

import resendresend.api_key = "re_xxxxxxxxx"params: resend.Automations.CreateParams = {  "name": "Enrich contact on signup",  "steps": [    {      "key": "start",      "type": "trigger",      "config": {"event_name": "user.created"},    },    {      "key": "update",      "type": "contact_update",      "config": {        "first_name": {"var": "event.firstName"},        "last_name": {"var": "event.lastName"},        "properties": {          "company": {"var": "event.company"},          "vip": True,        },      },    },  ],  "connections": [{"from": "start", "to": "update", "type": "default"}],}resend.Automations.create(params)

Ruby

require "resend"Resend.api_key = "re_xxxxxxxxx"params = {  name: "Enrich contact on signup",  steps: [    {      key: "start",      type: "trigger",      config: { event_name: "user.created" },    },    {      key: "update",      type: "contact_update",      config: {        first_name: { var: "event.firstName" },        last_name: { var: "event.lastName" },        properties: {          company: { var: "event.company" },          vip: true,        },      },    },  ],  connections: [{ from: "start", to: "update", type: "default" }],}Resend::Automations.create(params)

package mainimport "github.com/resend/resend-go/v4"func main() {	client := resend.NewClient("re_xxxxxxxxx")	params := &resend.CreateAutomationRequest{		Name: "Enrich contact on signup",		Steps: []resend.AutomationStep{			{				Key:  "start",				Type: resend.AutomationStepTypeTrigger,				Config: map[string]any{					"event_name": "user.created",				},			},			{				Key:  "update",				Type: resend.AutomationStepTypeContactUpdate,				Config: map[string]any{					"first_name": map[string]any{"var": "event.firstName"},					"last_name":  map[string]any{"var": "event.lastName"},					"properties": map[string]any{						"company": map[string]any{"var": "event.company"},						"vip":     true,					},				},			},		},		Connections: []resend.AutomationConnection{			{From: "start", To: "update", Type: resend.AutomationConnectionTypeDefault},		},	}	client.Automations.Create(params)}

Rust

use resend_rs::{  json,  types::{    AutomationStatus, Connection, ConnectionType, CreateAutomationOptions, Step, TriggerStepConfig,  },  Resend, Result,};#[tokio::main]async fn main() -> Result<()> {  let resend = Resend::new("re_xxxxxxxxx");  let opts = CreateAutomationOptions {    name: "Enrich contact on signup".to_owned(),    steps: vec![      Step::Trigger {        key: "start".to_owned(),        config: TriggerStepConfig {          event_name: "user.created".to_owned(),        },      },      Step::ContactUpdate {        key: "update".to_owned(),        config: json!({          "firstName": {"var": "event.firstName"},          "lastName": {"var": "event.lastName"},          "properties": {            "company": {"var": "event.company"},            "vip": true          }        }),      },    ],    connections: vec![Connection::new("start", "update").with_type(ConnectionType::Default)],    status: AutomationStatus::Disabled,  };  let _automation = resend.automations.create(opts).await?;  Ok(())}

Java

import com.resend.*;import com.resend.core.exception.ResendException;import com.resend.services.automations.model.AutomationConnection;import com.resend.services.automations.model.AutomationStep;import com.resend.services.automations.model.ConnectionType;import com.resend.services.automations.model.CreateAutomationOptions;import com.resend.services.automations.model.CreateAutomationResponseSuccess;import java.util.Map;public class Main {    public static void main(String[] args) throws ResendException {        Resend resend = new Resend("re_xxxxxxxxx");        CreateAutomationOptions options = CreateAutomationOptions.builder()                .name("Enrich contact on signup")                .steps(                    AutomationStep.trigger("start")                        .eventName("user.created")                        .build(),                    AutomationStep.contactUpdate("update")                        .firstName(Map.of("var", "event.firstName"))                        .lastName(Map.of("var", "event.lastName"))                        .properties(Map.of(                                "company", Map.of("var", "event.company"),                                "vip", true))                        .build()                )                .connections(                    AutomationConnection.builder()                        .from("start")                        .to("update")                        .type(ConnectionType.DEFAULT)                        .build()                )                .build();        CreateAutomationResponseSuccess data = resend.automations().create(options);    }}

.NET

using Resend;using System.Text.Json;IResend resend = ResendClient.Create( "re_xxxxxxxxx" );var startConfig = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement( new { event_name = "user.created" } );var updateConfig = JsonSerializer.SerializeToElement( new{    first_name = new { @var = "event.firstName" },    last_name = new { @var = "event.lastName" },    properties = new    {        company = new { @var = "event.company" },        vip = true,    },} );var resp = await resend.AutomationCreateAsync( new AutomationCreateData(){    Name = "Enrich contact on signup",    Steps = new List<AutomationStepData>    {        new AutomationStepData { Ref = "start", Type = "trigger", Config = startConfig },        new AutomationStepData { Ref = "update", Type = "contact_update", Config = updateConfig },    },    Connections = new List<AutomationEdge>    {        new AutomationEdge { From = "start", To = "update", EdgeType = "default" },    },} );

cURL

curl -X POST 'https://api.resend.com/automations' \     -H 'Authorization: Bearer re_xxxxxxxxx' \     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \     -d '{  "name": "Enrich contact on signup",  "steps": [{    "key": "start",    "type": "trigger",    "config": { "event_name": "user.created" }  }, {    "key": "update",    "type": "contact_update",    "config": {      "first_name": { "var": "event.firstName" },      "last_name": { "var": "event.lastName" },      "properties": {        "company": { "var": "event.company" },        "vip": true      }    }  }],  "connections": [    { "from": "start", "to": "update", "type": "default" }  ]}'

CLI

resend automations create --name "Enrich contact on signup" --file ./automation.json

Dynamic variables

Each field value is a fixed value (string, number, or boolean), or a reference with { "var": "<path>" }:

event.* is a field from the event that triggered the Automation, such as event.firstName.
contact.* is a field from the contact, such as contact.properties.company.
wait_events.<event_name>.* is a field from an event a previous wait for event step received. If the Automation waited for that event more than once, this is the most recent one before this step.

For more help working with variables in templates, see the Send Email step documentation.

JSON

{  "key": "update",  "type": "contact_update",  "config": {    "first_name": { "var": "event.firstName" },    "last_name": { "var": "event.lastName" },    "properties": {      "company": { "var": "event.company" },      "vip": true    }  }}

Configuration

config.first_name (string | object) — The contact's first name. Accepts a hardcoded string or a variable reference.
config.last_name (string | object) — The contact's last name. Accepts a hardcoded string or a variable reference.
config.unsubscribed (boolean | object) — The contact's unsubscribed status. Accepts a boolean or a variable reference.
config.properties (object) — A map of custom contact properties to update. Keys correspond to your Contact Custom Properties. Each value can be a hardcoded value (string, number, boolean) or a variable reference.

Example

{
  "key": "update_contact",
  "type": "contact_update",
  "config": {
    "properties": {
      "company": { "var": "event.company" },
      "vip": true
    }
  }
}

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