User attributes object specification

An API request with any fields in the attributes object will create or update an attribute of that name with the given value on the specified user profile.

Use Braze user profile field names (listed as follows or any listed in the section for Braze user profile fields) to update those special values on the user profile in the dashboard or add your own custom attribute data to the user.

Object body

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{
  // One of "external_id" or "user_alias" or "braze_id" is required
  "external_id" : (optional, string) see External User ID,
  "user_alias" : (optional, User Alias Object),
  "braze_id" : (optional, string) Braze User Identifier,
  // Setting this flag to true will put the API in "Update Only" mode.
  // When using a "user_alias", "Update Only" defaults to true.
  "_update_existing_only" : (optional, boolean),
  // See note regarding anonymous push token imports
  "push_token_import" : (optional, boolean),
  // Braze User Profile Fields
  "first_name" : "Jon",
  "email" : "[email protected]",
  // Custom Attributes
  "my_custom_attribute" : value,
  "my_custom_attribute_2" : {"inc" : int_value},
  "my_array_custom_attribute":[ "Value1", "Value2" ],
  // Adding a new value to an array custom attribute
  "my_array_custom_attribute" : { "add" : ["Value3"] },
  // Removing a value from an array custom attribute
  "my_array_custom_attribute" : { "remove" : [ "Value1" ]},
}

• External User ID
• User Aliases

To remove a profile attribute, set it to null. Some fields, such as external_id and user_alias cannot be removed once added to a user profile.

Update existing profiles only

If you wish to update only existing user profiles in Braze, you should pass the _update_existing_only key with a value of true within the body of your request. If this value is omitted, Braze will create a new user profile if the external_id does not already exist.

Push token import

Before you import push tokens to Braze, double check if you need to. When the Braze SDKs are put in place, they handle push tokens automatically with no need to upload them via the API.

If you do find you need to upload them via the API, they can either be uploaded for identified users or anonymous users. This means that either an external_id needs to present, or the anonymous users must have the push_token_import flag set to true.

When specifying push_token_import as true:

• external_id and braze_id should not be specified
• The attribute object must contain a push token
• If the token already exists in Braze, the request is ignored; otherwise, Braze will create a temporary, anonymous user profile for each token to enable you to continue to message these individuals

After import, as each user launches the Braze-enabled version of your app, Braze will automatically move their imported push token to their Braze user profile and clean up the temporary profile.

Braze will check once a month to find any anonymous profile with the push_token_import flag that doesn’t have a push token. If the anonymous profile no longer has a push token, we will delete the profile. However, if the anonymous profile still has a push token, suggesting that the actual user has yet to login to the device with said push token, we will do nothing.

For more information, refer to Migrating push tokens.

Custom attribute data types

The following data types can be stored as a custom attribute:

For information regarding when you should use a custom event versus a custom attribute, see our respective documentation on custom events and custom attributes.

Braze user profile fields

Language values that are explicitly set via this API will take precedence over the locale information Braze automatically receives from the device.

User attribute example request

This example contains two user attribute objects with the allowed 75 requests per API call.

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POST https://YOUR_REST_API_URL/users/track
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer YOUR-REST-API-KEY
{
  "attributes" : [
    {
      "external_id" : "user1",
      "first_name" : "Jon",
      "has_profile_picture" : true,
      "dob": "1988-02-14",
      "music_videos_favorited" : { "add" : [ "calvinharris-summer" ], "remove" : ["nickiminaj-anaconda"] }
    },
    {
      "external_id" : "user2",
      "first_name" : "Jill",
      "has_profile_picture" : false,
      "push_tokens": [{"app_id": "Your App Identifier", "token": "abcd", "device_id": "optional_field_value"}]

    },
    {
      "user_alias" : { "alias_name" : "device123", "alias_label" : "my_device_identifier"},
      "first_name" : "Alice",
      "has_profile_picture" : false
    },
    {
      "external_id": "user3",
      "subscription_groups" : [{"subscription_group_id" : "subscription_group_identifier", "subscription_state" : "subscribed"}]
    }
  ]
}