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Automations are currently in private alpha and only available to a limited number of users. APIs might change before GA.To use the methods on this page, you must upgrade your Resend SDK:
npm install resend@6.10.0-preview-workflows.3
Contact us if you’re interested in testing this feature.
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.

Setting up a contact update

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

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