generated: '2026-08-13'
method: searched
source: https://help.chatfuel.com/create-contacts-in-chatfuel-via-api-23134b06ecf8800683b6efacab24b68d
summary: >-
  Cross-cutting request/response semantics for Chatfuel's HTTP surface. Chatfuel
  publishes no machine-readable contract of any kind, so these conventions are
  drawn entirely from prose docs and live probes. As of 2026-08-13 the entire
  public API reference is a single help-center article covering one endpoint;
  the older Broadcasting and Dashboard API documentation has been withdrawn.
authentication:
  style: token
  detail: >-
    Bearer API token in the Authorization header for the current
    panel.chatfuel.com surface. See authentication/chatfuel-authentication.yml
    for the two withdrawn legacy schemes.
base_urls:
- api: Contacts API
  url: https://panel.chatfuel.com/api
  status: documented
- api: GraphQL gateway
  url: https://panel.chatfuel.com/graphql
  status: undocumented
  note: Live endpoint, introspection disabled at the Cosmo Router gateway.
- api: Broadcasting API
  url: https://api.chatfuel.com
  status: undocumented
  note: Route still answers (405 on GET to the send path); documentation withdrawn.
- api: Dashboard API
  url: https://dashboard.chatfuel.com/api
  status: undocumented
  note: Host returns a JSON 404 at /api; documentation withdrawn.
transport:
  protocol: https
  encoding: JSON
  methods:
  - POST
  - GET
  content_type: application/json
resource_identifiers:
  automation_id:
    detail: >-
      Path parameter on the contacts endpoint. Documented as being read out of
      the browser address bar while an automation is open — there is no
      published API operation that lists or resolves automation IDs, so the
      identifier a caller needs cannot be obtained programmatically.
    example_shape: 24-character hex string
batching:
  supported: true
  detail: >-
    The contacts endpoint takes a `phones` array. "Maximum 1,000 numbers per
    request." All contacts in one request receive the same
    `contact_data.properties` map — there is no per-contact property payload.
idempotency:
  supported: false
  detail: >-
    No idempotency key header or parameter is documented on any Chatfuel
    endpoint. A repeated contact-import POST is not documented as deduplicated,
    and repeated broadcast POSTs were never deduplicated either. No Idempotency
    pointer is wired in apis.yml.
pagination:
  supported: unknown
  detail: >-
    No read/list operation is published, so no pagination scheme exists to
    document.
rate_limit_signaling:
  detail: >-
    No standard rate-limit response headers (RateLimit-*, X-RateLimit-*,
    Retry-After) are documented, and none could be observed because every
    endpoint requires a credential. The only published numeric limits are the
    1,000-phones-per-request batch cap and the legacy 25 RPS per-bot
    broadcasting cap. See rate-limits/chatfuel-rate-limits.yml.
versioning:
  scheme: none
  detail: >-
    No version segment, version header or dated release train appears on any
    Chatfuel endpoint. Change is communicated by editing the help center, which
    is why the withdrawal of the Broadcasting and Dashboard API docs left no
    deprecation notice behind. See lifecycle/chatfuel-lifecycle.yml.
error_envelope:
  detail: >-
    No formal error schema (RFC 9457 application/problem+json or otherwise) is
    documented. Two envelopes were observed live: api.chatfuel.com returns
    {"code":404,"message":"HTTP 404 Not Found"} and 405 in the same shape, and
    panel.chatfuel.com/graphql returns the GraphQL standard
    {"errors":[{"message":"..."}]}. The contacts endpoint returns a bare 401
    with no body when the Authorization header is absent.
webhooks:
  supported: unknown
  detail: >-
    No inbound webhook or event-subscription surface is documented. The docs
    describe triggering a broadcast by setting a contact property and using an
    "After property is changed" trigger inside the visual flow builder — an
    in-product automation trigger, not an HTTP callback to a customer endpoint.
    No AsyncAPI or Webhooks pointer is wired.
machine_readable_contract:
  openapi: false
  asyncapi: false
  graphql_sdl: false
  postman: false
  detail: >-
    Probed on api, panel, dashboard, app, docs, help and chatfuel.com hosts.
    /openapi.json, /openapi.yaml, /swagger.json, /v1/openapi.json, /api-docs,
    /redoc all miss. api.chatfuel.com/swagger.json exists but 302s to Google
    SSO. panel.chatfuel.com/graphql is live with introspection disabled.
cross_references:
  authentication: authentication/chatfuel-authentication.yml
  rate_limits: rate-limits/chatfuel-rate-limits.yml
  lifecycle: lifecycle/chatfuel-lifecycle.yml
  plans: plans/chatfuel-plans-pricing.yml
  well_known: well-known/chatfuel-well-known.yml