---
title: "Create a sequence email"
method: POST
path: "/v4/sequences/{sequence_id}/emails"
tags: ["Sequence Emails"]
---

# Create a sequence email

`POST /v4/sequences/{sequence_id}/emails`

Adds a single email to a sequence. Each sequence email represents one step subscribers receive on their journey through the sequence — its `position` determines order, and `delay_value` / `delay_unit` / `send_days` determine when it fires relative to either the previous email or the subscriber's entry.

`subject`, `delay_value`, and `delay_unit` are required. **Day-based** emails (`delay_unit: "days"`) follow the parent sequence's `send_days` and `send_hour`; their per-email `send_days` (e.g. `["monday", "wednesday"]`) overrides the sequence schedule for that one email. **Hour-based** emails (`delay_unit: "hours"`) ignore the sequence schedule and fire once the delay elapses — Kit checks for hour-delayed sends every 15 minutes — and always return `send_days` as `null`.

New emails are created in draft (`published: false`) so they don't go out until you flip the flag. `position` is auto-assigned to the end of the sequence if omitted. `content` accepts HTML and can embed snippets with `{{ snippet.<key> }}` — see [Create a snippet](/api-reference/snippets/create-a-snippet) — which Kit resolves at send time, so editing a snippet later updates every email referencing it without a re-publish.

**Note:** only the first email in a sequence can be an immediate send (`delay_value: 0` with `delay_unit: "days"`). Subsequent emails need a positive delay.

**Warning:** publishing an immediate first email, or inserting a new email at a `position` earlier than where existing subscribers sit, processes those subscribers and triggers a send right away. Plan around active sequences carefully.

For end-user context on how creators build sequences in the Kit UI, see the help article on [creating and sending a sequence](https://help.kit.com/en/articles/2502629-creating-and-sending-a-sequence-in-kit).

## Path parameters

- `sequence_id` integer, required

## Request body

- object
  - `subject` string, required — Subject line of the email
  - `preview_text` string, nullable — Preview text shown in email clients before the email is opened
  - `content` string, nullable — HTML body content of the email
  - `delay_value` integer, required — Number of days or hours to wait before sending this email after the previous one
  - `delay_unit` 'days' | 'hours', required — Unit for the send delay. Use `days` for schedule-aware delivery, `hours` for a fixed hourly delay
  - `email_template_id` integer, nullable — ID of the email template to use for layout and styling
  - `published` boolean — Whether the email is active and will be sent to subscribers. Defaults to `false` (draft)
  - `send_days` string[], nullable — Days of the week this email may be sent. Defaults to all 7 days (inherits the sequence schedule). Pass a subset to restrict delivery, or `null` to reset to all days
  - `position` integer, nullable — Zero-based position of the email in the sequence. Assigned automatically after the last email if omitted

## Response `201`

Creates a new sequence email

- object
  - `email` object, required
    - `id` integer, required
    - `sequence_id` integer, required
    - `subject` string, required
    - `preview_text` unknown, required
    - `email_address` string, required
    - `email_template_id` unknown, required
    - `published` boolean, required
    - `position` integer, nullable, required
    - `delay_value` integer, required
    - `delay_unit` string, required
    - `send_days` string[], required
    - `content` unknown, required

## Other responses

- `401` — Returns a 401 if the token and/or account cannot be authenticated
- `404` — Returns a 404 when the provided id does not exist
- `422` — Returns a 422 with an error message when one or more of the parameters were invalid

---

[API](https://skmtc.net/kit/apis/kit-api.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.net/kit/apis/kit-api/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc-service-staging.skmtc.workers.dev/v1/apis/kit/kit-api/revisions/0df0c90d12da/schema)