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Data Source

The Sailthru connector enables you to ingest user profile data, email campaign results, list memberships, and behavioral event data from your Sailthru (Engage by Marigold) account into Nexla data flows. Follow the instructions below to create a new data flow that ingests data from a Sailthru source in Nexla.
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Sailthru

Create a New Data Flow​

  1. To create a new data flow, navigate to the Integrate section, and click the New Data Flow button. Then, select the desired flow type from the list, and click the Create button.

  2. Select the Sailthru connector tile from the list of available connectors. Then, select the credential that will be used to connect to the Sailthru account, and click Next; or, create a new Sailthru credential for use in this flow.

  3. Sailthru sources can be configured to ingest data from any valid Sailthru API endpoint. The Sailthru REST API base URL is https://api.sailthru.com, and all requests must be made over HTTPS. Configuration options available for Sailthru sources allow them to be fully customized to suit any use case—including fetching user profiles, campaign blast results, list exports, and behavioral event data.

    First, select the method that will be used for calls to the Sailthru API from the Method pulldown menu. The most common methods for Sailthru data retrieval are:

    • GET: For retrieving data from the API, such as user profiles, campaign details, or list information
    • POST: For querying or exporting data via Sailthru's Job API, which supports bulk exports and complex queries

API Endpoint URL​

  1. Enter the URL of the Sailthru API endpoint from which this source will fetch data in the Set API URL field. This should be the complete URL, including the protocol (https://) and the endpoint path. Common Sailthru API endpoints include:

    • https://api.sailthru.com/user — Retrieve individual user profile data, including custom variables, device information, and engagement history
    • https://api.sailthru.com/list — Retrieve information about subscriber lists and list membership
    • https://api.sailthru.com/blast — Retrieve details and performance data for email campaign blasts
    • https://api.sailthru.com/job — Initiate or check the status of asynchronous export jobs, such as bulk user data exports or campaign recipient exports
    • https://api.sailthru.com/stats — Retrieve statistical data for lists, blasts, or sends

    For complete details on all available Sailthru API endpoints and their parameters, refer to the Sailthru API Documentation. Each endpoint may require specific query parameters to be appended to the URL or included in the request body.

Date/Time Macros (API URL)​

Optional

Optionally, the API URL can be customized using macros—all macros added to the API URL will be converted into values when Nexla executes the API call. Macros are dynamic placeholders that allow you to create flexible API endpoints that can adapt to different time periods or data requirements. This is particularly useful when ingesting time-windowed Sailthru data, such as campaign results for a specific date range.

Date/time macros are especially useful for Sailthru sources that retrieve campaign performance data or behavioral events for specific time ranges. For example, you can use macros in a Sailthru stats endpoint URL to automatically fetch data for the current day or a rolling time window.

  1. To add a macro, type { at the appropriate position in the API URL (within the Set API URL field), and select the desired macro from the dropdown list.

    • {now} – The current datetime
    • {now-1} – The datetime one time unit before the current datetime
    • {now+1} – The datetime one time unit after the current datetime
    • custom – Datetime macros can reference any number of time units before or after the current datetime—for example, enter (now-4) to indicate the datetime four time units before the current datetime

  2. Select the format that will be applied to datetime macros from the Date Format for Date/Time Macro pulldown menu. This format will be applied to the base datetime value of the macro—i.e., the value of {now} in {now-1}.

  3. Select the datetime unit that will be used to perform mathematical operations in the included macro(s) from the Time Unit for Operations pulldown menu—for example, for the macro {now-1}, when Day is selected, {now-1} will be converted to the datetime one day before the current datetime.

Lookup-Based Macros (API URL)​

Optional

Column values from existing lookups can also be included as macros in the API URL. Lookup-based macros allow you to reference data from previously configured data sources or lookups, enabling dynamic API endpoints that can adapt based on existing data. For Sailthru sources, this is useful when you need to dynamically specify campaign IDs, list names, or user identifiers based on values retrieved from another data source.

Lookup-based macros are useful when constructing Sailthru API URLs that reference specific blast IDs, list names, or user identifiers retrieved from another Nexla data source. For example, you can use a lookup to dynamically populate the blast ID in a https://api.sailthru.com/blast request URL.

  1. To include a lookup column value macro, select the relevant lookup from the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.

  2. Type { at the appropriate position in the API URL, and select the lookup column-based macro from the dropdown list. Lookup-based macros are automatically populated into the macro list when a lookup is selected in the Add Lookups to Supported Macros pulldown menu.

Path to Data​

Optional

If only a subset of the data returned by the Sailthru API endpoint is needed, you can designate which part(s) of the response should be included in the Nexset(s) produced from this source by specifying the path to the relevant data within the response. Sailthru API responses are typically JSON-formatted and may contain nested objects or arrays alongside metadata fields.

For example, when querying the Sailthru /list endpoint to retrieve list membership data, the API returns an object containing both the list details and associated metadata. By entering the path to the relevant data, you can configure Nexla to treat each element of the returned array as a record.

Path to Data is particularly important for Sailthru sources, as many Sailthru API responses nest the primary data under a key such as lists, blasts, or data. Without specifying the correct path, Nexla may not properly parse and organize the data into usable records.

  • To specify which data should be treated as relevant in responses from this source, enter the path to the relevant data in the Set Path to Data in Response field.

    • For responses in JSON format, enter the JSON path that points to the object or array that should be treated as relevant data. JSON paths use dot notation (e.g., $.data.items[*] to access an array of items within a data object).

    • For responses in XML format, enter the XPath that points to the object/array containing relevant data. XPath uses slash notation (e.g., /response/data/item to access item elements within a data element).

    Path to Data Example:

    If the Sailthru API response includes a top-level array named lists that contains the subscriber list data, the path to the response would be entered as $.lists[*]. For blast data nested under a blasts key, use $.blasts[*].

Autogenerate Path Suggestions​

Nexla can also autogenerate data path suggestions based on the response from the API endpoint. These suggested paths can be used as-is or modified to exactly suit your needs.

  • To use this feature, click the Test button next to the Set API URL field to fetch a sample response from the API endpoint. Suggested data paths generated based on the content & format of the response will be displayed in the Suggestions box below the Set Path to Data in Response field.

  • Click on a suggestion to automatically populate the Set Path to Data in Response field with the corresponding path. The populated path can be modified directly within the field if further customization is needed.

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Metadata​

If metadata is included in the Sailthru API response but is located outside of the defined path to relevant data, you can configure Nexla to include this data as common metadata in each record. Sailthru responses often include metadata such as total record counts, pagination details, or status information alongside the primary data. Preserving this metadata can be valuable for auditing, data lineage tracking, or enriching records with contextual information.

Sailthru API responses frequently include metadata fields such as total, status, or request identifiers alongside the primary data arrays. Use the metadata path to include these fields with each record in the generated Nexset.

  • To specify the location of metadata that should be included with each record, enter the path to the relevant metadata in the Path to Metadata in Response field.

    • For responses in JSON format, enter the JSON path to the object or array that contains the metadata, and for responses in XML format, enter the XPath.

Request Headers​

Optional

  • If Nexla should include any additional request headers in API calls to this source, enter the headers & corresponding values as comma-separated pairs in the Request Headers field (e.g., header1:value1,header2:value2). Additional headers may be required for API versioning or content type specifications.

    You do not need to include authentication headers in this field. Sailthru's API authentication (the API key, secret, and request signature) is handled automatically by Nexla based on your Sailthru credential configuration. Common headers like Content-Type and Accept are also managed automatically.

Endpoint Testing​

After configuring all settings for the selected endpoint, Nexla can retrieve a sample of the data that will be fetched according to the current configuration. This allows you to verify that the source is configured correctly before saving.

  • To test the current endpoint configuration, click the Test button to the right of the endpoint selection menu. Sample data will be fetched & displayed in the Endpoint Test Result panel on the right.

  • If the sample data is not as expected, review the selected endpoint and associated settings, and make any necessary adjustments. Then, click the Test button again, and check the sample data to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

Save & Activate the Source​

  1. Once all of the relevant steps in the above sections have been completed, click the Create button in the upper right corner of the screen to save and create the new Sailthru data source. Nexla will now begin ingesting data from the configured endpoint and will organize any data that it finds into one or more Nexsets.