---
title: "Create a contact"
method: POST
path: "/v1/contacts"
---

# Create a contact

`POST /v1/contacts`

Creates a new contact record.

After creation, Lightfield automatically enriches the contact in the background.

Supports idempotency via the `Idempotency-Key` header.

To avoid duplicates, we recommend a find-or-create pattern — use <u>[list filtering](/using-the-api/list-endpoints/#filtering)</u> to check if a record exists before creating.

**[Required scope](/using-the-api/scopes/):** `contacts:create`

**[Rate limit category](/using-the-api/rate-limits/):** Write

## Headers

- `Lightfield-Version` '2026-03-01', required

## Request body

- object
  - `fields` union, required — Field values for the new contact. System fields use a `$` prefix (e.g. `$email`, `$name`); custom attributes use their bare slug. Note: `$name` is an object `{ firstName, lastName }`, not a plain string. Call the <u>[definitions endpoint](/api/resources/contact/methods/definitions)</u> to discover available fields and their types. See <u>[Fields and relationships](/using-the-api/fields-and-relationships/)</u> for value type details.
    - object
      - `$email` string[], nullable — List of email addresses for the contact (`EMAIL`, multi-value).
      - `$name` FullName
        - `firstName` string, nullable — The contact's first name.
        - `lastName` string, nullable — The contact's last name.
      - `$profilePhotoUrl` string, nullable — URL of the contact's profile photo (`URL`).
    - object
  - `relationships` union — Relationships to set on the new contact. System relationships use a `$` prefix (e.g. `$account`); custom relationships use their bare slug. Each value is a single entity ID or an array of IDs. Call the <u>[definitions endpoint](/api/resources/contact/methods/definitions)</u> to list available relationship keys.
    - object
      - `$account` union — ID(s) of accounts to associate with this contact.
        - string
        - string[]
      - `$files` union — File ID(s) to attach to this contact. Files must be in `completed` status.
        - string
        - string[]
    - object

## Response `200`

OK

- ContactCreateResponse
  - `id` string, required — Unique identifier for the entity.
  - `createdAt` string, required — ISO 8601 timestamp of when the entity was created.
  - `updatedAt` string, nullable, required — ISO 8601 timestamp of when the entity was last updated, or null.
  - `httpLink` string, nullable, required — URL to view the entity in the Lightfield web app, or null.
  - `externalId` string, nullable — External identifier for the entity, or null if unset.
  - `fields` object, required — Map of field names to their typed values. System fields are prefixed with `$` (e.g. `$name`, `$email`); custom attributes use their bare slug.
  - `relationships` object, required — Map of relationship names to their associated entities. System relationships are prefixed with `$` (e.g. `$owner`, `$contact`).

## Other responses

- `400` — 400
- `401` — 401
- `403` — 403
- `404` — 404
- `409` — 409
- `415` — 415
- `422` — 422
- `429` — 429
- `500` — 500
- `501` — 501
- `503` — 503
- `504` — 504

---

[API](https://skmtc.net/lightfld/apis/api-reference.md) · [All operations](https://skmtc.net/lightfld/apis/api-reference/llms.txt) · [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc-service-staging.skmtc.workers.dev/v1/apis/lightfld/api-reference/revisions/93b6c5de5463/schema)