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

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: "user@example.com", first_name: "Jane" },
  ],
};

// v2: Add leads individually (POST /api/v2/leads)
const v2AddLead = {
  campaign: "campaign-uuid",          // "campaign_id" -> "campaign"
  email: "user@example.com",
  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

Resources

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

Next Steps

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