Instantly upgrade migration

Instantly Upgrade Migration: API v1 to v2

Overview

Migrate from Instantly API v1 (deprecated January 2026) to API v2. Key changes: Bearer token auth replaces query-string API keys, REST-standard endpoints replace legacy paths, scoped API keys replace single global key, and cursor-based pagination replaces offset pagination. Existing v1 integrations via Zapier/Make continue working, but new integrations must use v2.

Prerequisites

• Existing Instantly API v1 integration
• Access to Instantly dashboard to generate v2 API keys
• Understanding of Bearer token authentication

Migration Map

Authentication Change

// v1: API key as query parameter
// DEPRECATED — do not use
const v1Url = `https://api.instantly.ai/api/v1/campaign/list?api_key=${API_KEY}`;

// v2: Bearer token in Authorization header
const v2Response = await fetch("https://api.instantly.ai/api/v2/campaigns", {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${API_KEY}` },
});

Endpoint Migration Table

Operation	v1 Endpoint	v2 Endpoint	Method Change
List campaigns	GET /api/v1/campaign/list	GET /api/v2/campaigns	Same
Get campaign	GET /api/v1/campaign/get	GET /api/v2/campaigns/{id}	Query -> Path param
Create campaign	POST /api/v1/campaign/create	POST /api/v2/campaigns	REST standard
Launch campaign	POST /api/v1/campaign/launch	POST /api/v2/campaigns/{id}/activate	New path
Pause campaign	POST /api/v1/campaign/pause	POST /api/v2/campaigns/{id}/pause	New path
Add leads	POST /api/v1/lead/add	POST /api/v2/leads	Simplified
List leads	GET /api/v1/lead/list	POST /api/v2/leads/list	GET -> POST
Delete leads	POST /api/v1/lead/delete	DELETE /api/v2/leads/{id}	REST standard
Get analytics	GET /api/v1/analytics/campaign	GET /api/v2/campaigns/analytics	New path
List accounts	GET /api/v1/account/list	GET /api/v2/accounts	Simplified

Request Body Changes

// v1: Campaign creation
const v1Body = {
  api_key: "your-key",
  name: "Campaign Name",
  // Flat structure
};

// v2: Campaign creation — structured schedule and sequences
const v2Body = {
  name: "Campaign Name",
  campaign_schedule: {
    start_date: "2026-04-01",
    schedules: [{
      name: "Business Hours",
      timing: { from: "09:00", to: "17:00" },
      days: { "1": true, "2": true, "3": true, "4": true, "5": true, "0": false, "6": false },
      timezone: "America/New_York",
    }],
  },
  sequences: [{
    steps: [{
      type: "email",
      delay: 0,
      variants: [{ subject: "Hello {{firstName}}", body: "Hi {{firstName}}..." }],
    }],
  }],
};

Lead Operation Changes

// v1: Add leads to campaign
const v1AddLeads = {
  api_key: "your-key",
  campaign_id: "campaign-uuid",
  leads: [
    { email: "[email protected]", first_name: "Jane" },
  ],
};

// v2: Add leads individually (POST /api/v2/leads)
const v2AddLead = {
  campaign: "campaign-uuid",          // "campaign_id" -> "campaign"
  email: "[email protected]",
  first_name: "Jane",
  skip_if_in_workspace: true,         // New: deduplication control
  verify_leads_on_import: true,       // New: auto-verification
  custom_variables: { role: "CTO" },  // New: custom fields
};

// v2: Bulk operations use POST /api/v2/leads/move for batch moves

Instructions

Step 1: Audit Existing v1 Calls

set -euo pipefail
# Find all v1 API calls in your codebase
grep -rn "api/v1/" src/ --include="*.ts" --include="*.js" --include="*.py" || echo "No v1 calls found"
grep -rn "api_key=" src/ --include="*.ts" --include="*.js" --include="*.py" || echo "No query-string keys found"

Step 2: Create Migration Adapter

// src/instantly-migration.ts
// Drop-in adapter that maps v1 calls to v2 endpoints

export class InstantlyV1ToV2Adapter {
  private apiKey: string;
  private baseUrl = "https://api.instantly.ai/api/v2";

  constructor(apiKey: string) {
    this.apiKey = apiKey;
  }

  private async request<T>(path: string, options: RequestInit = {}): Promise<T> {
    const res = await fetch(`${this.baseUrl}${path}`, {
      ...options,
      headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        Authorization: `Bearer ${this.apiKey}`,
        ...options.headers,
      },
    });
    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Instantly ${res.status}: ${await res.text()}`);
    return res.json() as Promise<T>;
  }

  // v1: campaign/list -> v2: GET /campaigns
  async listCampaigns() {
    return this.request("/campaigns?limit=100");
  }

  // v1: campaign/get?campaign_id=X -> v2: GET /campaigns/{id}
  async getCampaign(campaignId: string) {
    return this.request(`/campaigns/${campaignId}`);
  }

  // v1: campaign/launch -> v2: POST /campaigns/{id}/activate
  async launchCampaign(campaignId: string) {
    return this.request(`/campaigns/${campaignId}/activate`, { method: "POST" });
  }

  // v1: campaign/pause -> v2: POST /campaigns/{id}/pause
  async pauseCampaign(campaignId: string) {
    return this.request(`/campaigns/${campaignId}/pause`, { method: "POST" });
  }

  // v1: lead/add (bulk) -> v2: POST /leads (one at a time)
  async addLeads(campaignId: string, leads: Array<{ email: string; first_name?: string }>) {
    const results = [];
    for (const lead of leads) {
      const result = await this.request("/leads", {
        method: "POST",
        body: JSON.stringify({
          campaign: campaignId,
          email: lead.email,
          first_name: lead.first_name,
          skip_if_in_workspace: true,
        }),
      });
      results.push(result);
    }
    return results;
  }

  // v1: analytics/campaign -> v2: GET /campaigns/analytics
  async getCampaignAnalytics(campaignId: string) {
    return this.request(`/campaigns/analytics?id=${campaignId}`);
  }
}

Step 3: Pagination Migration

// v1: Offset-based (skip/limit)
// const v1 = await fetch(`/api/v1/lead/list?api_key=${key}&campaign_id=${id}&skip=100&limit=50`);

// v2: Cursor-based (starting_after)
async function* paginateV2<T extends { id: string }>(
  path: string,
  pageSize = 100
): AsyncGenerator<T[]> {
  let startingAfter: string | undefined;
  while (true) {
    const qs = new URLSearchParams({ limit: String(pageSize) });
    if (startingAfter) qs.set("starting_after", startingAfter);
    const page = await instantly<T[]>(`${path}?${qs}`);
    if (page.length === 0) break;
    yield page;
    startingAfter = page[page.length - 1].id;
    if (page.length < pageSize) break;
  }
}

Step 4: New v2 Features to Adopt

// These features are v2-only — no v1 equivalent

// Scoped API keys
// POST /api/v2/api-keys — create keys with specific scopes
await instantly("/api-keys", {
  method: "POST",
  body: JSON.stringify({ name: "analytics-only", scopes: ["campaigns:read"] }),
});

// Subsequences (conditional follow-ups)
// POST /api/v2/subsequences
await instantly("/subsequences", {
  method: "POST",
  body: JSON.stringify({
    parent_campaign: campaignId,
    name: "Re-engage interested leads",
    conditions: { crm_status: [1] }, // triggered when lead is "Interested"
  }),
});

// Inbox placement testing
// POST /api/v2/inbox-placement-tests
await instantly("/inbox-placement-tests", {
  method: "POST",
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: "Pre-launch deliverability test",
    email_subject: "Test Subject",
    email_body: "Test body content",
    type: 1,
  }),
});

// Block list management (bulk)
// POST /api/v2/block-lists-entries/bulk-create
await instantly("/block-lists-entries/bulk-create", {
  method: "POST",
  body: JSON.stringify({
    entries: ["competitor.com", "internal.com"],
  }),
});

Migration Checklist

• Generate v2 API key with appropriate scopes
• Replace api_key query params with Authorization: Bearer header
• Update all endpoint paths per migration table above
• Convert offset pagination to cursor-based pagination
• Update request bodies (e.g., campaign_id -> campaign)
• Add error handling for new HTTP status codes (422, 429)
• Test all migrated endpoints against v2 mock server
• Remove old v1 API key from environment

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
401 on v2	Using v1 key format	Generate new v2 Bearer token
404 on v2 path	Using v1 endpoint path	Check migration table above
422 on lead add	New validation rules in v2	Add required fields per v2 schema
Missing pagination data	Using skip instead of starting_after	Convert to cursor pagination

Resources

• API v1 to v2 Migration Guide
• API v2 Documentation
• API v2 Schemas

Next Steps

For CI/CD integration, see instantly-ci-integration.