Bulk create or update contacts

POST /v1/contacts/import

Up to 500 per request, keyed on phone number, with the same merge rule as POST /contacts. Rows that cannot be imported come back in skipped; the rest still land. dry_run: true returns the summary (found, valid, malformed, duplicates, landlines, already opted out, will create / update, eligible) and writes nothing. A row with opt_in.status: true (or a date or source) stores opt-in evidence in the consent ledger; opt_in.status: false records the number as opted out. An import never opts anyone back in.

Send your API key as a bearer token: Authorization: Bearer ssms_sk_.... Test keys run this endpoint against the sandbox; see Authentication for key modes and scopes.

Request body

JSON (Content-Type: application/json).

Field	Type	Required	Description
`contacts`	array of ContactInput	Yes	At most 500 items.
`dry_run`	boolean	No
`check_line_types`	boolean	No	dry_run only. Looks up line types to count landlines; live lookups are paid, so only the first 500 numbers are checked.
`import_id`	string	No	From a previous response, to group several requests as one import.
`name`	string	No	A label for the import (first request only).

Responses

Status	Meaning	Body
200	Import result, or the dry-run preview	JSON object
400	Invalid request	`Error`
401	Missing, malformed, or revoked API key	`Error`
402	Billable live calls only: the prepaid credit balance cannot cover the call (insufficient_credits); nothing was done or charged	`Error`
429	Rate limit or quota exceeded	`Error`

200: response fields

Field	Type	Description
`object`	`contact_import`, `contact_import_preview`
`created`	integer
`updated`	integer
`skipped`	array of object
`skipped[].index`	integer	Position of the row in the request
`skipped[].value`	string
`skipped[].reason`	string
`import_id`	string	Example: `imp_a1B2c3D4e5`.
`opted_out`	integer	Rows recorded as opted out because they were marked unsubscribed.
`summary`	object	dry_run only.
`summary.found`	integer
`summary.valid`	integer
`summary.malformed`	integer
`summary.duplicates`	integer
`summary.landlines`	integer	null unless check_line_types was set Nullable.
`summary.already_opted_out`	integer
`summary.marked_unsubscribed`	integer
`summary.will_create`	integer
`summary.will_update`	integer
`summary.eligible`	integer	Would receive a broadcast today
`rejected`	array of object	dry_run only.
`rejected[].index`	integer
`rejected[].phone_number`	string
`rejected[].reason`	`malformed`, `duplicate`, `landline`
`rejected[].detail`	string

Errors

Status	When
400	Invalid request
401	Missing, malformed, or revoked API key
402	Billable live calls only: the prepaid credit balance cannot cover the call (insufficient_credits); nothing was done or charged
429	Rate limit or quota exceeded

Every error has the same JSON shape, and request_id matches the X-Request-Id response header. Errors lists every code and what to do about it.

json

{
  "error": {
    "code": "invalid_request",
    "message": "What went wrong, in plain words.",
    "param": "the_field",
    "request_id": "req_a1B2c3D4e5F6g7H8"
  }
}

Examples

curl

bash

curl -X POST "https://api.joinsimplesms.com/v1/contacts/import" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SIMPLESMS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "contacts": [
    {
      "phone_number": "+14155550132"
    }
  ]
}'

Node.js

javascript

import { SimpleSMS } from 'joinsimplesms'; // npm install joinsimplesms

const sms = new SimpleSMS(process.env.SIMPLESMS_API_KEY);

const result = await sms.contacts.import([
  { phoneNumber: '+14155550132', name: 'Jane Doe', tags: ['customers'] },
  { phoneNumber: '+14155550133', name: 'Sam Lee' },
]);

Python

python

import os
from joinsimplesms import SimpleSMS  # pip install joinsimplesms

client = SimpleSMS(os.environ["SIMPLESMS_API_KEY"])

result = client.contacts.import_([
    {"phone_number": "+14155550132", "name": "Jane Doe", "tags": ["customers"]},
    {"phone_number": "+14155550133", "name": "Sam Lee"},
])