User track
Use this endpoint to record custom events, purchases, and update user profile attributes.
Braze processes the data passed via API at face value and customers should only pass deltas (changing data) to minimize unnecessary data point consumption. To read more, refer to Data points.
Rate limit
We apply a base speed limit of 50,000 requests per minute to this endpoint for all customers. Each request to the /users/track
endpoint can contain up to 75 events, 75 attribute updates, and 75 purchases. Each component (event, attribute, and purchase arrays), can update up to 75 users each for a max of 225 individual data points. Each update can also belong to the same user for a max of 225 updates to a single user in a request.
See our page on API rate limits for details, and reach out to your customer success manager if you need your limit increased.
Request body
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Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer YOUR-REST-API-KEY
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{
"attributes" : (optional, array of attributes object),
"events" : (optional, array of event object),
"purchases" : (optional, array of purchase object),
}
Customers using the API for server-to-server calls may need to whitelist rest.iad-01.braze.com
if they’re behind a firewall.
Request parameters
For each of the request components listed in the following table, one of external_id
, user_alias
, or braze_id
is required.
Parameter | Required | Data Type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
attributes |
Optional | Array of attributes objects | See user attributes object |
events |
Optional | Array of event objects | See events object |
purchases |
Optional | Array of purchase objects | See purchases object |
Keep the following nuances in mind when using the /users/track
endpoint:
- When creating alias-only users through this endpoint, you must explicitly set the
_update_existing_only
flag tofalse
. - Updating the subscription status with this endpoint will both update the user specified by their
external_id
(such as User1) and update the subscription status of any users with the same email as that user (User1).
Example request body for event tracking
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{
"events": [
{
"external_id": "string",
"name": "string",
"time": "string"
}
]
}
Example request
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curl --location --request POST 'https://rest.iad-01.braze.com/users/track' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR-API-KEY-HERE' \
--data-raw '{
"attributes": [
{
"external_id":"user_identifier",
"string_attribute": "fruit",
"boolean_attribute_1": true,
"integer_attribute": 25,
"array_attribute": ["banana", "apple"]
}
],
"events": [
{
"external_id": "user_identifier",
"app_id" : "app_identifier",
"name": "watched_trailer",
"time": "2013-07-16T19:20:30+1:00"
}
],
"purchases": [
{
"external_id": "user_identifier",
"app_id": "app_identifier",
"product_id": "product_name",
"currency": "USD",
"price": 12.12,
"quantity": 6,
"time": "2017-05-12T18:47:12Z",
"properties": {
"integer_property": 3,
"string_property": "Russell",
"date_property": "2014-02-02T00:00:00Z"
}
}
]
}'
Responses
When using any of the aforementioned API requests, you should receive one of the following three general responses:
Successful message
Successful messages will be met with the following response:
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{
"message" : "success",
"attributes_processed" : (optional, integer), if attributes are included in the request, this will return an integer of the number of external_ids with attributes that were queued to be processed,
"events_processed" : (optional, integer), if events are included in the request, this will return an integer of the number of events that were queued to be processed,
"purchases_processed" : (optional, integer), if purchases are included in the request, this will return an integer of the number of purchases that were queued to be processed,
}
Successful message with non-fatal errors
If your message is successful but has non-fatal errors, such as one invalid event object out of a long list of events, then you will receive the following response:
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{
"message" : "success",
"errors" : [
{
<minor error message>
}
]
}
For success messages, any data that was not affected by an error in the errors
array will still be processed.
Message with fatal errors
If your message has a fatal error, you will receive the following response:
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{
"message" : <fatal error message>,
"errors" : [
{
<fatal error message>
}
]
}
Fatal error response codes
The following status codes and associated error messages will be returned if your request encounters a fatal error. The following error codes indicate that no data will be processed.
Error Code | Reason / Cause |
---|---|
400 Bad Request |
Bad Syntax. |
401 Unauthorized |
Unknown or missing REST API Key. |
404 Not Found |
Unknown REST API Key (if provided). |
429 Rate Limited |
Over rate limit. |
5XX |
Internal server error, you should retry with exponential backoff. |
If you receive the error “provided external_id is blacklisted and disallowed”, your request may have included a “dummy user”. For more information, refer to Spam blocking.
Importing legacy user data
You may submit data through the Braze API for a user who has not yet used your mobile app in order to generate a user profile. If the user subsequently uses the application all information following their identification via the SDK will be merged with the existing user profile you created via the API call. Any user behavior that is recorded anonymously by the SDK prior to identification will be lost upon merging with the existing API-generated user profile.
The segmentation tool will include these users regardless of whether they have engaged with the app. If you want to exclude users uploaded via the User API who have not yet engaged with the app, simply add the filter: Session Count > 0
.
Making bulk updates
If you have a use case where you need to make batch updates to the users/track
endpoint, we recommend adding the bulk update header so that Braze can properly identify, observe, and route your request.
Refer to the following sample request with the X-Braze-Bulk
header:
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curl --location --request POST 'https://rest.iad-01.braze.com/users/track' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'X-Braze-Bulk: true' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR-API-KEY-HERE' \
--data-raw '{ "attributes": [ ], "events": [ ], "purchases": [ ] }'
When the X-Braze-Bulk
header is present with any value, Braze will consider the request a bulk request. Set the value to true
. Currently, setting the value to false
does not disable the header—it will still be treated as if it were true.
Use cases
Consider the following use cases where you may use the bulk update header:
- A daily job where multiple users’ custom attributes are updated via the
/users/track
endpoint. - An ad-hoc user data backfill script which updates user information via the
/users/track
endpoint.