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

# Contacts

> Manage your recipients with SendKit's contact system — automatic or manual.

## What are contacts?

Contacts are the people you send emails to. Every recipient in SendKit is stored as a contact with their email address and optional profile information.

You can create contacts manually, via the [API](/api-reference/endpoint/create-contact), or let SendKit do it automatically.

## Automatic contact creation

Every time you send an email through SendKit — via API, campaign, or automation — the recipients (to, cc, bcc) are **automatically saved as contacts**. You don't need to import or pre-register them.

This means your contact list is always up to date with everyone you've ever emailed.

<Note>
  If a contact with the same email already exists, SendKit skips creation. Emails are normalized to lowercase to prevent duplicates.
</Note>

## Contact fields

Every contact has the following built-in fields:

| Field          | Required | Description                                                         |
| -------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Email**      | Yes      | The contact's email address (unique per team)                       |
| **First name** | No       | First name                                                          |
| **Last name**  | No       | Last name                                                           |
| **User ID**    | No       | An external identifier to link the contact to a user in your system |
| **Subscribed** | Auto     | Whether the contact is subscribed to marketing emails               |

Need more fields? Use [Properties](/knowledge-base/properties) to add custom attributes like company name, plan type, or signup date.

## Subscription status

Each contact has a subscription toggle. Unsubscribed contacts are excluded from marketing campaigns but can still receive transactional emails via the API.

You can toggle subscription status from the contact detail page or via the [API](/api-reference/endpoint/update-contact).

## Organizing contacts

SendKit gives you two ways to group contacts:

* **[Lists](/knowledge-base/lists-and-segments)** — Static groups you manage manually. Add or remove contacts explicitly.
* **[Segments](/knowledge-base/lists-and-segments)** — Dynamic groups based on filters. Contacts are included automatically when they match your conditions.

Learn more in [Lists & Segments](/knowledge-base/lists-and-segments).

## Deleting contacts

Contacts are soft-deleted — they're removed from your active contact list but the data is preserved. This ensures email delivery history and analytics remain intact.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I need to create contacts before sending emails?">
    No. SendKit automatically creates contacts from your email recipients. You can also create them manually or via the API if you want to set up contacts before sending.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are contacts shared across my team?">
    Yes. Contacts belong to the team, not individual users. All team members see the same contact list.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if I send to the same email twice?">
    SendKit uses the existing contact — it doesn't create a duplicate. Email addresses are unique per team.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I add custom fields to contacts?">
    Yes. Use [Properties](/knowledge-base/properties) to define custom attributes with different types (text, number, date) and optional fallback values.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>