> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mailerpath.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contacts

> Manage contact data, lifecycle state, and segmentation inputs.

Contacts are the foundation for campaigns, workflows, and event attribution.

Treat contacts as the source of truth for who someone is, what state they are in, and whether they can receive a send. Clean contact data makes every downstream audience, trigger, and report easier to trust.

## What You Can Do

* Import and update contacts in bulk
* Maintain subscription and consent state
* Enrich profiles with custom fields
* Review activity via contact journey

## CSV Import Basics

Use imports to create new records, refresh existing profiles, and repair contact history when data arrives from another system.

Required:

* email column

Common supported fields:

* first\_name, last\_name, phone, company
* client\_contact\_id
* timezone
* signup\_source
* is\_subscribed
* unsubscribed\_at
* unsubscribe\_reason
* last\_purchase\_at

Import behavior:

* Existing contacts are updated by email.
* New emails create new contacts.
* Soft-deleted contacts are restored.
* Invalid rows are skipped while valid rows continue.

## Subscription Rules You Should Expect

* is\_subscribed=false should include unsubscribed\_at and unsubscribe\_reason.
* Unsubscribed contacts are skipped by workflow email actions.
* Subscription state directly impacts send eligibility.

## Data Quality Best Practices

1. Normalize timezone and date formats before import.
2. Keep external identifiers stable over time.
3. Avoid frequent schema churn in custom fields.
4. Run a small test import before full uploads.

## Contact Journey Visibility

Contact journey combines multiple timeline entry types, including:

* event
* tag\_assigned and tag\_removed
* workflow\_execution
* campaign\_recipient
* profile
* subscription
* direct\_email

Use this timeline to debug lifecycle behavior for a single contact.