Instantly Campaign Builder

Build and manage Instantly.ai cold email campaigns via API v2.

Auth

All requests require:

Authorization: Bearer {INSTANTLY_API_KEY}
Content-Type: application/json
Base URL: https://api.instantly.ai

Workflow — Follow this order

Step 1: Create the campaign

POST /api/v2/campaigns

Required fields:

• name — campaign name
• email_list — array of sender email addresses
• sequences — message steps (see Step 2)

Optional but recommended:

• daily_limit — max emails per day
• daily_max_leads — max new leads contacted per day
• email_gap — seconds between sends
• open_tracking, link_tracking — boolean
• stop_on_reply, stop_on_auto_reply, stop_for_company — boolean
• text_only, first_email_text_only — boolean
• campaign_schedule — object with start_date, end_date, schedules (times/days/timezone)

Step 2: Configure sequences (messages)

The sequences field is an array but only the first element is used. Put all steps in one item.

Each step has:

• type: always "email"
• delay: number (wait before this step)
• delay_unit: "minutes", "hours", or "days"
• variants: array of message variants (A/B testing)

Each variant has:

• subject: email subject line
• body: email body (HTML or plain text)
• v_disabled: boolean (set true to disable a variant)

Variable syntax in subject and body: {{variableName}}

Core variables: {{firstName}}, {{lastName}}, {{companyName}}, {{email}}, {{phone}}, {{website}}

Custom variables: any name, e.g. {{city}}, {{offer}}, {{icebreaker}}

Example 3-step ARA sequence:

{
  "sequences": [
    {
      "steps": [
        {
          "type": "email",
          "delay": 0,
          "delay_unit": "days",
          "variants": [
            {
              "subject": "{{firstName}}, {{offer}}",
              "body": "Bonjour {{firstName}},\
\
{{icebreaker}}\
\
Nous proposons {{offer}} pour les entreprises à {{city}}.\
\
Cordialement"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type": "email",
          "delay": 3,
          "delay_unit": "days",
          "variants": [
            {
              "subject": "Re: {{firstName}}, suite à mon message",
              "body": "{{firstName}},\
\
Je me permets de relancer..."
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "type": "email",
          "delay": 5,
          "delay_unit": "days",
          "variants": [
            {
              "subject": "Dernière relance {{firstName}}",
              "body": "{{firstName}},\
\
Dernier message de ma part..."
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Step 3: Declare campaign variables

POST /api/v2/campaigns/{campaign_id}/variables

{
  "variables": ["firstName", "companyName", "city", "offer", "icebreaker"]
}

Declare every custom variable name used in your sequences here.

Step 4: Add leads

Single lead: POST /api/v2/leads

{
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "first_name": "Jean",
  "last_name": "Dupont",
  "company_name": "Acme SAS",
  "campaign": "campaign-uuid",
  "custom_variables": {
    "city": "Paris",
    "offer": "audit IA gratuit",
    "icebreaker": "J'ai vu votre post LinkedIn sur la transformation digitale"
  }
}

Bulk (max 1000 per request): POST /api/v2/leads/add

{
  "campaign_id": "campaign-uuid",
  "leads": [
    {
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "first_name": "Jean",
      "last_name": "Dupont",
      "company_name": "Acme SAS",
      "custom_variables": { "city": "Paris", "offer": "audit IA gratuit" }
    },
    {
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "first_name": "Marie",
      "last_name": "Martin",
      "company_name": "Beta Corp",
      "custom_variables": { "city": "Lyon", "offer": "démo chatbot" }
    }
  ]
}

Notes:

• Use campaign_id OR list_id, not both
• If campaign is provided on single lead, email is required
• Deduplication flags: skip_if_in_campaign, skip_if_in_workspace, skip_if_in_list

Step 5: Activate the campaign

POST /api/v2/campaigns/{campaign_id}/activate

Only activate after leads are added and sequences are configured.

Modifying an existing campaign

PATCH /api/v2/campaigns/{campaign_id}

Same sequences structure as creation. Use this to update messages after campaign is created.

A/B Testing

Add multiple variants per step:

{
  "type": "email",
  "delay": 0,
  "delay_unit": "days",
  "variants": [
    {
      "subject": "Version A — {{firstName}}",
      "body": "Approche directe...",
      "v_disabled": false
    },
    {
      "subject": "Version B — {{firstName}}",
      "body": "Approche soft...",
      "v_disabled": false
    }
  ]
}

Required API Scopes

• Leads: leads:create, leads:all, all:create, or all:all
• Campaigns: campaigns:create, campaigns:all, all:create, or all:all
• Campaign update: campaigns:update, campaigns:all, all:update, or all:all

Checklist before activation

1. Campaign created with sequences and variables in subject/body
2. Variables declared via /campaigns/{id}/variables
3. Leads added with matching custom_variables
4. Sender emails configured and warmed up
5. Schedule set if needed
6. Campaign activated via /campaigns/{id}/activate