home / skills / alinaqi / claude-bootstrap / klaviyo

klaviyo skill

/skills/klaviyo

This skill helps you integrate Klaviyo for email and SMS marketing by managing profiles, events, campaigns, and flows.

npx playbooks add skill alinaqi/claude-bootstrap --skill klaviyo

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (1)
SKILL.md
17.1 KB
---
name: klaviyo
description: Klaviyo email/SMS marketing - profiles, events, flows, segmentation
---

# Klaviyo E-Commerce Marketing Skill

*Load with: base.md + (typescript.md or python.md)*

For integrating Klaviyo email/SMS marketing - customer profiles, event tracking, campaigns, flows, and segmentation.

**Sources:** [Klaviyo API Docs](https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/docs) | [API Reference](https://developers.klaviyo.com/en/reference/api-overview)

---

## Why Klaviyo

| Feature | Benefit |
|---------|---------|
| **E-commerce Native** | Built for online stores, deep integrations |
| **Event-Based** | Trigger flows from any customer action |
| **Segmentation** | Advanced filtering on behavior + properties |
| **Email + SMS** | Unified platform for both channels |
| **Analytics** | Revenue attribution per campaign |

---

## API Basics

### Base URLs

| Type | URL |
|------|-----|
| Server-side (Private) | `https://a.klaviyo.com/api` |
| Client-side (Public) | `https://a.klaviyo.com/client` |

### Authentication

```typescript
// Server-side: Private API Key
const headers = {
  "Authorization": "Klaviyo-API-Key pk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
  "Content-Type": "application/json",
  "revision": "2024-10-15",  // API version
};

// Client-side: Public API Key (6 characters)
const publicKey = "XXXXXX";  // Company ID
// Use as query param: ?company_id=XXXXXX
```

### API Key Scopes

| Scope | Access |
|-------|--------|
| Read-only | View data only |
| Full | Read + write (default) |
| Custom | Specific permissions |

---

## Installation

### Node.js

```bash
npm install klaviyo-api
```

```typescript
// lib/klaviyo.ts
import { ApiClient, EventsApi, ProfilesApi, ListsApi } from "klaviyo-api";

const client = new ApiClient();
client.setApiKey(process.env.KLAVIYO_PRIVATE_KEY!);

export const eventsApi = new EventsApi(client);
export const profilesApi = new ProfilesApi(client);
export const listsApi = new ListsApi(client);
```

### Python

```bash
pip install klaviyo-api
```

```python
# lib/klaviyo.py
from klaviyo_api import KlaviyoAPI

klaviyo = KlaviyoAPI(
    api_key=os.environ["KLAVIYO_PRIVATE_KEY"],
    max_delay=60,
    max_retries=3
)
```

### Direct HTTP (Any Language)

```typescript
// lib/klaviyo.ts
const KLAVIYO_BASE_URL = "https://a.klaviyo.com/api";

async function klaviyoRequest(
  endpoint: string,
  method: "GET" | "POST" | "PATCH" | "DELETE" = "GET",
  body?: object
) {
  const response = await fetch(`${KLAVIYO_BASE_URL}${endpoint}`, {
    method,
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Klaviyo-API-Key ${process.env.KLAVIYO_PRIVATE_KEY}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      revision: "2024-10-15",
    },
    body: body ? JSON.stringify(body) : undefined,
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    const error = await response.json();
    throw new Error(`Klaviyo API error: ${JSON.stringify(error)}`);
  }

  return response.json();
}
```

---

## Profiles (Customers)

### Create/Update Profile

```typescript
// Upsert profile (create or update)
async function upsertProfile(data: ProfileInput) {
  return klaviyoRequest("/profiles", "POST", {
    data: {
      type: "profile",
      attributes: {
        email: data.email,
        phone_number: data.phone, // E.164 format: +1234567890
        first_name: data.firstName,
        last_name: data.lastName,
        properties: {
          // Custom properties
          lifetime_value: data.ltv,
          plan: data.plan,
          signup_source: data.source,
        },
        location: {
          city: data.city,
          region: data.state,
          country: data.country,
          zip: data.zip,
        },
      },
    },
  });
}
```

```python
# Python
def upsert_profile(data):
    return klaviyo.Profiles.create_or_update_profile({
        "data": {
            "type": "profile",
            "attributes": {
                "email": data["email"],
                "first_name": data["first_name"],
                "last_name": data["last_name"],
                "properties": {
                    "plan": data.get("plan"),
                }
            }
        }
    })
```

### Get Profile

```typescript
async function getProfileByEmail(email: string) {
  const response = await klaviyoRequest(
    `/profiles?filter=equals(email,"${email}")`
  );
  return response.data[0];
}

async function getProfileById(profileId: string) {
  return klaviyoRequest(`/profiles/${profileId}`);
}
```

### Update Profile Properties

```typescript
async function updateProfileProperties(
  profileId: string,
  properties: Record<string, any>
) {
  return klaviyoRequest(`/profiles/${profileId}`, "PATCH", {
    data: {
      type: "profile",
      id: profileId,
      attributes: {
        properties,
      },
    },
  });
}

// Usage
await updateProfileProperties("profile_id", {
  last_purchase_date: new Date().toISOString(),
  total_orders: 5,
  vip_status: true,
});
```

---

## Events (Tracking)

### Track Event (Server-Side)

```typescript
async function trackEvent(data: EventInput) {
  return klaviyoRequest("/events", "POST", {
    data: {
      type: "event",
      attributes: {
        profile: {
          data: {
            type: "profile",
            attributes: {
              email: data.email,
              // or phone_number, or external_id
            },
          },
        },
        metric: {
          data: {
            type: "metric",
            attributes: {
              name: data.eventName,
            },
          },
        },
        properties: data.properties,
        value: data.value, // For revenue tracking
        unique_id: data.uniqueId, // Deduplication
        time: data.timestamp || new Date().toISOString(),
      },
    },
  });
}
```

### Common E-Commerce Events

```typescript
// Viewed Product
await trackEvent({
  email: customer.email,
  eventName: "Viewed Product",
  properties: {
    ProductID: product.id,
    ProductName: product.name,
    ProductURL: product.url,
    ImageURL: product.image,
    Price: product.price,
    Categories: product.categories,
  },
});

// Added to Cart
await trackEvent({
  email: customer.email,
  eventName: "Added to Cart",
  properties: {
    ProductID: product.id,
    ProductName: product.name,
    Quantity: quantity,
    Price: product.price,
    CartTotal: cart.total,
    ItemNames: cart.items.map(i => i.name),
  },
  value: product.price * quantity,
});

// Started Checkout
await trackEvent({
  email: customer.email,
  eventName: "Started Checkout",
  properties: {
    CheckoutURL: checkout.url,
    ItemCount: cart.itemCount,
    Categories: cart.categories,
    ItemNames: cart.items.map(i => i.name),
  },
  value: cart.total,
});

// Placed Order
await trackEvent({
  email: customer.email,
  eventName: "Placed Order",
  properties: {
    OrderId: order.id,
    ItemCount: order.itemCount,
    Categories: order.categories,
    ItemNames: order.items.map(i => i.name),
    Items: order.items.map(i => ({
      ProductID: i.productId,
      ProductName: i.name,
      Quantity: i.quantity,
      Price: i.price,
      ImageURL: i.image,
      ProductURL: i.url,
    })),
    BillingAddress: order.billingAddress,
    ShippingAddress: order.shippingAddress,
  },
  value: order.total,
  uniqueId: order.id, // Prevent duplicate orders
});

// Fulfilled Order
await trackEvent({
  email: customer.email,
  eventName: "Fulfilled Order",
  properties: {
    OrderId: order.id,
    TrackingNumber: fulfillment.trackingNumber,
    TrackingURL: fulfillment.trackingUrl,
    Carrier: fulfillment.carrier,
  },
});

// Cancelled Order
await trackEvent({
  email: customer.email,
  eventName: "Cancelled Order",
  properties: {
    OrderId: order.id,
    Reason: cancellation.reason,
  },
  value: -order.total, // Negative value for refunds
});
```

### Client-Side Tracking (JavaScript)

```html
<!-- Add to your site -->
<script async src="https://static.klaviyo.com/onsite/js/klaviyo.js?company_id=XXXXXX"></script>

<script>
  // Identify user
  klaviyo.identify({
    email: "[email protected]",
    first_name: "John",
    last_name: "Doe",
  });

  // Track event
  klaviyo.track("Viewed Product", {
    ProductID: "prod_123",
    ProductName: "Blue T-Shirt",
    Price: 29.99,
  });

  // Track with value
  klaviyo.track("Added to Cart", {
    ProductID: "prod_123",
    ProductName: "Blue T-Shirt",
    Price: 29.99,
    $value: 29.99,  // Revenue tracking
  });
</script>
```

---

## Lists & Segments

### Add Profile to List

```typescript
async function addToList(listId: string, emails: string[]) {
  return klaviyoRequest(`/lists/${listId}/relationships/profiles`, "POST", {
    data: emails.map(email => ({
      type: "profile",
      attributes: { email },
    })),
  });
}

// By profile ID
async function addProfileToList(listId: string, profileId: string) {
  return klaviyoRequest(`/lists/${listId}/relationships/profiles`, "POST", {
    data: [{ type: "profile", id: profileId }],
  });
}
```

### Remove from List

```typescript
async function removeFromList(listId: string, profileId: string) {
  return klaviyoRequest(
    `/lists/${listId}/relationships/profiles`,
    "DELETE",
    {
      data: [{ type: "profile", id: profileId }],
    }
  );
}
```

### Get List Members

```typescript
async function getListMembers(listId: string, cursor?: string) {
  const params = new URLSearchParams({
    "page[size]": "100",
  });
  if (cursor) {
    params.set("page[cursor]", cursor);
  }

  return klaviyoRequest(`/lists/${listId}/profiles?${params}`);
}
```

### Create List

```typescript
async function createList(name: string) {
  return klaviyoRequest("/lists", "POST", {
    data: {
      type: "list",
      attributes: { name },
    },
  });
}
```

---

## Campaigns

### Get Campaigns

```typescript
async function getCampaigns(status?: "draft" | "scheduled" | "sent") {
  const params = new URLSearchParams();
  if (status) {
    params.set("filter", `equals(status,"${status}")`);
  }

  return klaviyoRequest(`/campaigns?${params}`);
}
```

### Get Campaign Performance

```typescript
async function getCampaignMetrics(campaignId: string) {
  return klaviyoRequest(
    `/campaign-recipient-estimations/${campaignId}`,
    "GET"
  );
}
```

---

## Flows (Automations)

### Get Flows

```typescript
async function getFlows() {
  return klaviyoRequest("/flows");
}

async function getFlowById(flowId: string) {
  return klaviyoRequest(`/flows/${flowId}`);
}
```

### Common Flow Triggers

| Flow Type | Trigger Event |
|-----------|---------------|
| Welcome Series | Added to List |
| Abandoned Cart | Added to Cart + No Purchase |
| Browse Abandon | Viewed Product + No Cart |
| Post-Purchase | Placed Order |
| Winback | No Order in X Days |
| Review Request | Fulfilled Order |

---

## Webhooks

### Create Webhook

```typescript
async function createWebhook(data: WebhookInput) {
  return klaviyoRequest("/webhooks", "POST", {
    data: {
      type: "webhook",
      attributes: {
        name: data.name,
        endpoint_url: data.url,
        secret_key: data.secret,
        topics: data.topics, // e.g., ["profile.created", "event.created"]
      },
    },
  });
}
```

### Webhook Topics

| Topic | Trigger |
|-------|---------|
| `profile.created` | New profile created |
| `profile.updated` | Profile properties changed |
| `profile.merged` | Profiles merged |
| `event.created` | New event tracked |
| `list.member.added` | Profile added to list |
| `list.member.removed` | Profile removed from list |

### Verify Webhook Signature

```typescript
import crypto from "crypto";

function verifyKlaviyoWebhook(
  payload: string,
  signature: string,
  secret: string
): boolean {
  const expectedSignature = crypto
    .createHmac("sha256", secret)
    .update(payload)
    .digest("base64");

  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(
    Buffer.from(signature),
    Buffer.from(expectedSignature)
  );
}

// Express handler
app.post("/webhooks/klaviyo", (req, res) => {
  const signature = req.headers["klaviyo-webhook-signature"] as string;

  if (!verifyKlaviyoWebhook(JSON.stringify(req.body), signature, WEBHOOK_SECRET)) {
    return res.status(401).json({ error: "Invalid signature" });
  }

  const { type, data } = req.body;

  switch (type) {
    case "profile.created":
      handleNewProfile(data);
      break;
    case "event.created":
      handleNewEvent(data);
      break;
  }

  res.status(200).json({ received: true });
});
```

---

## Rate Limits

| Window | Limit |
|--------|-------|
| Burst | 75 requests/second |
| Steady | 700 requests/minute |

### Handle Rate Limiting

```typescript
async function klaviyoRequestWithRetry(
  endpoint: string,
  method: "GET" | "POST" | "PATCH" | "DELETE" = "GET",
  body?: object,
  retries = 3
): Promise<any> {
  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < retries; attempt++) {
    const response = await fetch(`${KLAVIYO_BASE_URL}${endpoint}`, {
      method,
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Klaviyo-API-Key ${process.env.KLAVIYO_PRIVATE_KEY}`,
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        revision: "2024-10-15",
      },
      body: body ? JSON.stringify(body) : undefined,
    });

    if (response.status === 429) {
      const retryAfter = parseInt(response.headers.get("Retry-After") || "5");
      await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, retryAfter * 1000));
      continue;
    }

    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`Klaviyo error: ${response.status}`);
    }

    return response.json();
  }

  throw new Error("Max retries exceeded");
}
```

---

## Pagination

```typescript
async function getAllProfiles() {
  const profiles = [];
  let cursor: string | undefined;

  do {
    const params = new URLSearchParams({ "page[size]": "100" });
    if (cursor) {
      params.set("page[cursor]", cursor);
    }

    const response = await klaviyoRequest(`/profiles?${params}`);
    profiles.push(...response.data);

    cursor = response.links?.next
      ? new URL(response.links.next).searchParams.get("page[cursor]")
      : undefined;
  } while (cursor);

  return profiles;
}
```

---

## Filtering & Sorting

```typescript
// Filter by date
const recentEvents = await klaviyoRequest(
  `/events?filter=greater-than(datetime,2024-01-01T00:00:00Z)`
);

// Filter by property
const vipProfiles = await klaviyoRequest(
  `/profiles?filter=equals(properties.vip_status,true)`
);

// Multiple filters (AND)
const filtered = await klaviyoRequest(
  `/profiles?filter=and(equals(properties.plan,"pro"),greater-than(properties.ltv,1000))`
);

// Sorting
const sorted = await klaviyoRequest(
  `/profiles?sort=-created`  // Descending by created date
);

// Sparse fieldsets (only return specific fields)
const sparse = await klaviyoRequest(
  `/profiles?fields[profile]=email,first_name,properties`
);
```

---

## Integration Patterns

### E-Commerce Order Sync

```typescript
// After order is placed
async function syncOrderToKlaviyo(order: Order) {
  // 1. Upsert customer profile
  await upsertProfile({
    email: order.customerEmail,
    firstName: order.customerFirstName,
    lastName: order.customerLastName,
    phone: order.customerPhone,
  });

  // 2. Update lifetime metrics
  await updateProfileProperties(
    await getProfileIdByEmail(order.customerEmail),
    {
      last_order_date: new Date().toISOString(),
      total_orders: order.customerOrderCount,
      lifetime_value: order.customerLifetimeValue,
    }
  );

  // 3. Track order event
  await trackEvent({
    email: order.customerEmail,
    eventName: "Placed Order",
    properties: {
      OrderId: order.id,
      Items: order.items,
      // ... other properties
    },
    value: order.total,
    uniqueId: order.id,
  });
}
```

### Subscription Status Sync

```typescript
// When subscription changes
async function syncSubscriptionStatus(user: User, status: string) {
  await updateProfileProperties(user.klaviyoProfileId, {
    subscription_status: status,
    subscription_plan: user.plan,
    subscription_updated_at: new Date().toISOString(),
  });

  await trackEvent({
    email: user.email,
    eventName: `Subscription ${status}`,
    properties: {
      plan: user.plan,
      mrr: user.mrr,
    },
    value: status === "cancelled" ? -user.mrr : user.mrr,
  });
}
```

---

## Environment Variables

```bash
# .env
KLAVIYO_PRIVATE_KEY=pk_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
KLAVIYO_PUBLIC_KEY=XXXXXX
KLAVIYO_WEBHOOK_SECRET=your_webhook_secret
```

Add to `credentials.md`:
```python
'KLAVIYO_PRIVATE_KEY': r'pk_[a-f0-9]{32}',
'KLAVIYO_PUBLIC_KEY': r'[A-Z0-9]{6}',
```

---

## Checklist

### Setup

- [ ] Klaviyo account created
- [ ] Private API key generated
- [ ] Public API key noted (company ID)
- [ ] API revision set in headers

### Integration

- [ ] Profile sync on signup/update
- [ ] Key events tracked (view, cart, order)
- [ ] Order events include Items array
- [ ] Revenue tracked with $value
- [ ] Unique IDs for deduplication

### Testing

- [ ] Test profile creation
- [ ] Test event tracking
- [ ] Verify events in Klaviyo dashboard
- [ ] Test webhook delivery
- [ ] Test rate limit handling

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **Missing email/phone** - Every profile needs at least one identifier
- **Duplicate events** - Use unique_id for orders/transactions
- **Missing Items array** - Required for product recommendations
- **Client-side only** - Server-side tracking is more reliable
- **Ignoring rate limits** - Implement exponential backoff
- **Hardcoded API keys** - Use environment variables
- **Missing revenue tracking** - Include $value for ROI attribution

Overview

This skill integrates Klaviyo for email and SMS marketing focused on profiles, events, flows, segmentation, lists, campaigns, and webhooks. It provides opinionated, security-first patterns and examples for server-side and client-side usage to get reliable tracking, profile management, and automation triggers. Use it to standardize event schemas, handle rate limits, and safely manage private versus public keys.

How this skill works

The skill wraps Klaviyo REST API calls and SDK usage for common workflows: upserting profiles, tracking events, managing lists and segments, querying campaigns and flows, and creating/validating webhooks. It shows server-side patterns using private API keys, client-side snippets with the public company_id, and robust error handling including retries and 429 backoff. Included helpers demonstrate pagination, rate-limit retries, and webhook signature verification.

When to use it

  • You need consistent server-side tracking of e-commerce events (placed order, added to cart, viewed product).
  • You want to upsert and enrich customer profiles with custom properties and location data.
  • You must manage lists, segments, and campaign queries programmatically.
  • You need secure webhook handling and signature verification for realtime sync.
  • You want reliable rate-limit handling and pagination when importing/exporting large datasets.

Best practices

  • Keep private API keys only on the server and use public company_id for client-side scripts.
  • Standardize event names and properties (e.g., ProductID, Price, OrderId) to simplify segmentation and flows.
  • Use unique_id for order events to prevent duplicate revenue attribution.
  • Implement exponential backoff and respect Retry-After for 429 responses.
  • Verify webhook signatures with timing-safe comparison to prevent tampering.

Example use cases

  • Track product views, add-to-cart, checkout started, and placed order events to power abandoned cart and browse-abandon flows.
  • Create or update user profiles after signup or purchase and enrich with LTV, plan, and geographic properties.
  • Add newly signed-up customers to a welcome list and trigger a welcome series flow.
  • Build a background job to export all profiles with pagination for analytics or migration.
  • Create webhooks to react to profile.created and event.created for realtime downstream processing.

FAQ

Which key goes in the browser vs server?

Use the six-character company_id (public key) in client-side scripts; keep the private Klaviyo API key on the server only.

How do I avoid duplicate order events?

Include a unique_id (order ID) when tracking orders so Klaviyo can deduplicate based on that value.