Need to import or update user profile data in Appcues but don't want to wait for your development team? You can use Postman—a free, user-friendly tool—to bulk import user profiles directly through the Appcues Public API. This guide will walk you through the process step by step, no coding experience required.

What you'll accomplish: Import or update hundreds (or thousands) of user profiles with their properties in one go.

What you'll need:

• A free Postman account (sign up here)
• Your user data in CSV format
• Access to generate an API Key in Appcues (only admins can create them)

Step 1: Generate Your Appcues API Key

Before you can use the API, you need authentication credentials. Please note that only Admins can perform this action.

1. Log into your Appcues account and navigate to Settings > API Keys: https://studio.appcues.com/settings/keys
2. Click "Create Key"
3. Give your key a descriptive name (e.g., "Postman Bulk Import")
4. Set the permission level to "Publisher" (this allows you to import data)
5. Click "Create"
6. Important: Copy both your API Key and API Secret immediately and save them somewhere secure (like a password manager). You won't be able to see the secret again after you close this window.

Step 2: Set Up Postman

Go to postman.com and create a free account. Once that's done, import the Appcues' pre-built Postman collection. You can access it by selecting ‘Run in Postman’ on this page. 

Step 3: Configure Your API Credentials in Postman

Now you need to tell Postman to use your API credentials:

1. In Postman, find and select the Appcues API V2 collection in your sidebar
2. Go to the "Authorization" tab
3. Set Type to "Basic Auth" if it's not set by default
4. Enter your API Key in the Username field
5. Enter your API Secret in the Password field
6. Click “Save”

Step 4: Prepare Your User Data File

The bulk import endpoint accepts two formats: CSV or NDJSON. For most non-technical users, CSV is easier.

CSV Format Requirements:

• First column must be userId (this is how Appcues identifies users)
• Additional columns represent user properties
• No empty rows
• Save as .csv format

Example CSV:

userId,email,first_name,plan_type,company
user123,john@example.com,John,premium,Acme Corp
user456,jane@example.com,Jane,free,Tech Inc
user789,bob@example.com,Bob,premium,Design Co

Tips:

• The userId must match the user IDs you're using in your Appcues installation
• Property names should match existing properties in Appcues (or new ones will be created). If needed, verify them on this page: https://studio.appcues.com/settings/properties/user.
• You can update existing users or create new ones with the same file

Step 5: Find Your Appcues Account ID

You'll need your Account ID for the API request:

1. In Appcues Studio, go to the settings page: https://studio.appcues.com/settings/account
2. Your Account ID will can be found there
3. Copy this number—you'll need it in the next step

Step 6: Make Your First Bulk Import Request

Now for the main event!

1. In Postman, expand the Appcues API V2 collection
2. Navigate to "Importing Data in Bulk" → “Import Bulk User Profile Data”
3. Update the Request URL.

In the request URL, you'll see: baseUrl/v2/accounts/account_id/import/profiles

Replace account_id with your actual Account ID from Step 5.

Attach Your CSV File

1. Click on the "Body" tab
2. Select "form-data"
3. In the key field, type: file
4. Hover over the right side of the row and change the dropdown from "Text" to "File"
5. Click "Select Files" and choose your CSV file

Send the Request

1. Click the blue "Send" button
2. Wait for the response (this may take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on file size)

Step 7: Check the Results

Successful Response

If everything worked, you'll see a response with status 200 OK and a JSON response containing a job_id:

{
  "job_id": "abc123xyz"
}

This means your import has been queued! The actual import happens asynchronously (in the background).

Verify in Appcues Studio

1. In Studio, go to Audiences > Users
2. Search for one of the users you just imported, for example user123
3. Check that their properties were updated correctly, for example first_name = John