intercom-core-workflow-a

What this skill does

# Intercom Contacts & Contact Management

## Overview

Primary workflow for managing Intercom contacts. Covers creating users and leads, searching with filters, updating custom attributes, merging leads into users, and managing tags and segments.

## Prerequisites

- Completed `intercom-install-auth` setup
- Understanding of Intercom contact model (users vs leads)
- Valid API credentials with contacts read/write scope

## Instructions

### Step 1: Create Contacts

```typescript
import { IntercomClient } from "intercom-client";

const client = new IntercomClient({
  token: process.env.INTERCOM_ACCESS_TOKEN!,
});

// Create an identified user (has external_id)
const user = await client.contacts.create({
  role: "user",
  externalId: "customer-9001",
  email: "[email protected]",
  name: "Alice Johnson",
  phone: "+1-555-0100",
  customAttributes: {
    plan: "enterprise",
    company_size: 500,
    signed_up_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
  },
});
// Response: { type: "contact", id: "6657add46abd...", role: "user", ... }

// Create an anonymous lead (no external_id required)
const lead = await client.contacts.create({
  role: "lead",
  email: "[email protected]",
  name: "Website Visitor",
  customAttributes: {
    landing_page: "/pricing",
    utm_source: "google",
  },
});
```

### Step 2: Search Contacts

POST to `https://api.intercom.io/contacts/search` with query filters.

```typescript
// Simple search by email
const byEmail = await client.contacts.search({
  query: {
    field: "email",
    operator: "=",
    value: "[email protected]",
  },
});

// Compound search: users on enterprise plan who signed up recently
const filtered = await client.contacts.search({
  query: {
    operator: "AND",
    value: [
      { field: "role", operator: "=", value: "user" },
      { field: "custom_attributes.plan", operator: "=", value: "enterprise" },
      { field: "signed_up_at", operator: ">", value: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 86400 * 30 },
    ],
  },
  pagination: { per_page: 50 },
  sort: { field: "created_at", order: "descending" },
});

console.log(`Found ${filtered.totalCount} contacts`);
for (const contact of filtered.data) {
  console.log(`  ${contact.name} (${contact.email}) - plan: ${contact.customAttributes?.plan}`);
}
```

### Step 3: Update a Contact

```typescript
const updated = await client.contacts.update({
  contactId: user.id,
  name: "Alice Johnson-Smith",
  customAttributes: {
    plan: "enterprise_plus",
    upgraded_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
  },
});
```

### Step 4: Merge a Lead into a User

When an anonymous lead is identified, merge them into a user contact. The lead's conversation history transfers to the user.

```typescript
// Lead must have role "lead", user must have role "user"
const merged = await client.contacts.merge({
  from: lead.id,  // Lead ID (will be deleted)
  into: user.id,  // User ID (will absorb lead data)
});

console.log(`Merged lead into user: ${merged.id}`);
// The lead's conversations, events, and tags are now on the user
```

### Step 5: List Segments for a Contact

```typescript
const segments = await client.contacts.listSegments({
  contactId: user.id,
});

for (const segment of segments.data) {
  console.log(`Segment: ${segment.name} (${segment.id})`);
}
```

### Step 6: Paginate All Contacts

```typescript
async function* allContacts(client: IntercomClient) {
  let startingAfter: string | undefined;

  do {
    const page = await client.contacts.list({
      perPage: 50,
      startingAfter,
    });

    for (const contact of page.data) {
      yield contact;
    }

    startingAfter = page.pages?.next?.startingAfter ?? undefined;
  } while (startingAfter);
}

// Stream all contacts
let count = 0;
for await (const contact of allContacts(client)) {
  count++;
  if (count % 100 === 0) console.log(`Processed ${count} contacts`);
}
```

## Contact Data Model

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `id` | string | Intercom-generated unique ID |
| `external_id` | string | Your system's user ID |
| `role` | `"user"` or `"lead"` | Contact type |
| `email` | string | Email address |
| `name` | string | Full name |
| `phone` | string | Phone number |
| `custom_attributes` | object | Custom key-value data |
| `created_at` | number | Unix timestamp |
| `last_seen_at` | number | Last activity timestamp |
| `signed_up_at` | number | Signup timestamp |
| `tags` | object | Applied tags list |
| `companies` | object | Associated companies |
| `location` | object | GeoIP location data |

## Error Handling

| Error | HTTP Code | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-----------|-------|----------|
| `not_found` | 404 | Contact ID doesn't exist | Verify with search first |
| `conflict` | 409 | Duplicate `external_id` or `email` | Search before creating |
| `parameter_invalid` | 422 | Bad field value or missing required field | Check field types and names |
| `rate_limit_exceeded` | 429 | Over 10,000 req/min (private apps) | Add backoff, batch operations |
| `merge_not_possible` | 400 | Merging user into lead (reversed) | `from` must be lead, `into` must be user |

## Resources

- [Contacts API](https://developers.intercom.com/docs/references/rest-api/api.intercom.io/contacts)
- [Search Contacts](https://developers.intercom.com/docs/references/rest-api/api.intercom.io/contacts/searchcontacts)
- [Merge Contacts](https://developers.intercom.com/docs/references/rest-api/api.intercom.io/contacts/mergecontact)
- [Contact Guides](https://developers.intercom.com/docs/guides/contacts)

## Next Steps

For conversation management, see `intercom-core-workflow-b`.