Contact Update

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 can be a hardcoded value (string, number, boolean) or a dynamic variable reference using the { "var": "..." } syntax. Variable references use dot-notation with one of these scopes:

event.*: references a field from the triggering event payload.
contact.*: references a field from the current contact record.

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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