Migrate from SendGrid to AutoSend

Overview

AutoSend provides a set of public API endpoints to migrate your SendGrid assets into your AutoSend project:

Dynamic templates
Contacts and contact lists
Custom fields
Unsubscribe groups and their suppressed emails

All endpoints are authenticated with your AutoSend project API key sent as a Bearer token. The SendGrid API key required to read from your SendGrid account is passed in the request body for each call. It is never persisted in plaintext.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

An AutoSend project API key - create one on the API Keys page. Keys look like AS_xxxxxxxx_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
A SendGrid API key - generate one in SendGrid under Settings → API Keys. The key should have at least these scopes:
- template_engine.read - fetch templates
- marketing.read - fetch contacts, lists, and custom field definitions
- suppressions.read - fetch unsubscribe groups and suppressed emails
The base URL for all requests: https://api.autosend.com/v1

Authentication

Every request uses two headers:

Header	Value
`Authorization`	`Bearer <YOUR_AUTOSEND_API_KEY>`
`Content-Type`	`application/json`

Recommended Flow

Preview the migration

Call POST /migrations/sendgrid/plan to confirm the SendGrid key is valid and see what will be migrated.

Run the full migration

Call POST /migrations/sendgrid/migrate with migrateAll: true or with specific IDs you want to import.

Or run targeted migrations

Use POST /migrations/sendgrid/sg-template to migrate selected templates, or POST /migrations/sendgrid/sg-unsubscribe-group to migrate a single unsubscribe group.

Endpoints

Get migration plan

Fetches a preview of everything that can be migrated from your SendGrid account: templates, unsubscribe groups, custom fields, contact lists, and the total contact count. POST /v1/migrations/sendgrid/plan

Request body

Field	Type	Required	Description
`sendgridApiKey`	string	yes	Your SendGrid API key

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.autosend.com/v1/migrations/sendgrid/plan \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer AS_YOUR_AUTOSEND_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "sendgridApiKey": "SG.your_sendgrid_api_key"
  }'

Response `200`

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Migration plan fetched successfully",
  "data": {
    "contactsCount": 12453,
    "templatesCount": 24,
    "templates": [
      {
        "templateId": "d-abc123",
        "templateName": "Welcome email",
        "subject": "Welcome to Acme",
        "htmlContent": "<html>...</html>",
        "thumbnailUrl": "https://...",
        "updatedAt": "2025-08-12T10:24:11Z"
      }
    ],
    "unsubscribeGroups": [
      {
        "groupId": "12345",
        "name": "Product updates",
        "description": "Monthly product newsletter",
        "isActive": true,
        "unsubscribeCount": 42
      }
    ],
    "customFields": [
      {
        "sendgridFieldId": "e1_T",
        "sendgridFieldName": "company",
        "autosendFieldName": "company",
        "fieldType": "string"
      }
    ],
    "reservedFields": [
      {
        "sendgridFieldId": "_rf0_T",
        "sendgridFieldName": "first_name",
        "fieldType": "string"
      }
    ],
    "contactLists": [
      { "id": "list-uuid-1", "name": "Newsletter subscribers", "contactCount": 8123 }
    ],
    "contactListsCount": 5
  }
}

Run the full migration

Kicks off a background migration job that imports the selected SendGrid assets into your AutoSend project. Returns a bulkOperationId immediately; the work continues in the background. POST /v1/migrations/sendgrid/migrate

Request body

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
`sendgridApiKey`	string	yes	-	Your SendGrid API key
`migrateAll`	boolean	no	`false`	If `true`, migrate everything returned by `/plan`. Per-type ID arrays below are populated from the plan when empty.
`templateIds`	string[]	no	`[]`	Specific SendGrid template IDs to migrate
`unsubscribeGroupIds`	string[]	no	`[]`	Specific SendGrid unsubscribe group IDs
`contactListIds`	string[]	no	`[]`	Specific SendGrid contact list IDs
`customFieldMappings`	object[]	no	`[]`	SendGrid to AutoSend custom field mappings (see schema below)
`ignoreTemplates`	boolean	no	`false`	Skip templates phase
`ignoreUnsubscribeGroups`	boolean	no	`false`	Skip unsubscribe groups phase
`ignoreContactLists`	boolean	no	`false`	Skip contact lists phase
`ignoreCustomFields`	boolean	no	`false`	Skip custom fields phase
`ignoreContacts`	boolean	no	`false`	Skip contacts phase

customFieldMappings item schema:

{
  "sendgridFieldId": "e1_T",
  "sendgridFieldName": "company",
  "autosendFieldName": "company",
  "fieldType": "string"
}

fieldType must be one of: string, number, date.

Migration phases

The job runs in this order:

Custom fields - creates AutoSend custom field definitions from the mappings.
Templates - fetches each SendGrid template’s active version. Images hosted on cdn.mcauto-images-production.sendgrid.net are downloaded and re-uploaded to your AutoSend media library, and the HTML is rewritten to point at the new URLs.
Unsubscribe groups - creates the matching suppression group in AutoSend and imports its suppressed email list.
Contact lists - creates the AutoSend list metadata.
Contacts - uses SendGrid’s Export Contacts API to import all global contacts, then associates them with the lists created in step 4.

Example A - migrate everything

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.autosend.com/v1/migrations/sendgrid/migrate \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer AS_YOUR_AUTOSEND_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "sendgridApiKey": "SG.your_sendgrid_api_key",
    "migrateAll": true
  }'

Example B - migrate selected assets only

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.autosend.com/v1/migrations/sendgrid/migrate \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer AS_YOUR_AUTOSEND_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "sendgridApiKey": "SG.your_sendgrid_api_key",
    "templateIds": ["d-abc123", "d-def456"],
    "contactListIds": ["list-uuid-1"],
    "customFieldMappings": [
      {
        "sendgridFieldId": "e1_T",
        "sendgridFieldName": "company",
        "autosendFieldName": "company",
        "fieldType": "string"
      }
    ],
    "ignoreUnsubscribeGroups": true
  }'

Example C - contacts only, skip everything else

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.autosend.com/v1/migrations/sendgrid/migrate \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer AS_YOUR_AUTOSEND_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "sendgridApiKey": "SG.your_sendgrid_api_key",
    "migrateAll": true,
    "ignoreTemplates": true,
    "ignoreUnsubscribeGroups": true,
    "ignoreCustomFields": true
  }'

Response `202 Accepted`

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "SendGrid migration initiated successfully",
  "data": {
    "bulkOperationId": "65fa1d2b8c9a4f1234567890",
    "status": "PENDING",
    "message": "SendGrid migration initiated successfully"
  }
}

Hold on to the bulkOperationId. Your AutoSend dashboard shows progress against it.

Common errors

HTTP	Code	Meaning
400	`SENDGRID_MIGRATION_IN_PROGRESS`	A migration is already running for this project - wait for it to finish
400	`SENDGRID_NO_ITEMS_TO_MIGRATE`	Nothing selected and `migrateAll` was not set
500	`SENDGRID_FAILED_TO_FETCH_PLAN`	SendGrid API key is invalid or rejected
500	`SENDGRID_MIGRATION_CREATION_FAILED`	Could not schedule the migration job - retry shortly

Migrate one or more templates

Migrate specific SendGrid dynamic templates without touching anything else. Useful for one-off moves or for syncing a template after edits in SendGrid.

Always test migrated templates that contain complex Handlebars expressions before sending production traffic to them.

POST /v1/migrations/sendgrid/sg-template

Request body

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
`sendgridApiKey`	string	yes	-	Your SendGrid API key
`sendgridTemplateIds`	string[]	yes	-	SendGrid dynamic template IDs (e.g. `d-abc123`)
`onExistUpdateHTML`	boolean	no	`false`	If a template with the same ID already exists in AutoSend, overwrite its HTML and subject

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.autosend.com/v1/migrations/sendgrid/sg-template \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer AS_YOUR_AUTOSEND_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "sendgridApiKey": "SG.your_sendgrid_api_key",
    "sendgridTemplateIds": ["d-abc123", "d-def456"],
    "onExistUpdateHTML": true
  }'

Response `200`

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Template migrated successfully",
  "data": [
    {
      "templateId": "d-abc123",
      "templateName": "Welcome email",
      "subject": "Welcome to Acme",
      "templateType": "TRANSACTIONAL",
      "createdAt": "2026-05-14T08:12:11.234Z"
    }
  ]
}

Images referenced from cdn.mcauto-images-production.sendgrid.net are automatically downloaded and re-hosted on AutoSend so your templates continue to render after you turn SendGrid off.

Migrate one unsubscribe group

Migrate a single SendGrid unsubscribe group (ASM group), and optionally its suppressed email addresses. POST /v1/migrations/sendgrid/sg-unsubscribe-group

Request body

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
`sendgridApiKey`	string	yes	-	Your SendGrid API key
`sendgridUnsubscribeGroupId`	string \| number	yes	-	The SendGrid unsubscribe group ID
`addEmailsInSuppression`	boolean	no	`true`	Also import all currently suppressed email addresses for the group
`groupExist`	boolean	no	`false`	If `true`, skip creating a new AutoSend suppression group and only import the emails into the existing group with the matching `groupId`

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.autosend.com/v1/migrations/sendgrid/sg-unsubscribe-group \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer AS_YOUR_AUTOSEND_KEY' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "sendgridApiKey": "SG.your_sendgrid_api_key",
    "sendgridUnsubscribeGroupId": 12345,
    "addEmailsInSuppression": true
  }'

Response `200`

When the group was newly created and emails were imported:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Unsubscribe group migrated successfully",
  "data": {
    "groupId": "12345",
    "addedCount": 42,
    "entries": [
      { "id": "65fa...", "email": "[email protected]", "groupId": "12345" }
    ]
  }
}

If the group already existed and addEmailsInSuppression was false, the response is the suppression group DTO instead.

FAQ

Is my SendGrid API key stored anywhere?

The key is held in memory for the lifetime of the migration job and encrypted at rest while the background job is queued.

Can I re-run a migration?

Yes. Templates are upserted by their SendGrid templateId when onExistUpdateHTML: true. Contacts and suppressed emails are upserted by email address, so duplicates are safe. Custom fields are not deduplicated - re-running custom-field migration will fail the duplicate creations and report them in the metrics, but the run continues.

How long does it take?

Templates and unsubscribe groups are usually done in seconds. Contacts use SendGrid’s Export Contacts API, which takes around 1 minute per 100k contacts on SendGrid’s side, plus the time to import on our side. The request returns immediately - the job keeps running after your HTTP connection closes.

What about images embedded in templates?

SendGrid-hosted images (cdn.mcauto-images-production.sendgrid.net) are automatically downloaded and re-uploaded to AutoSend’s media library, and the HTML is rewritten to point at the new URLs.

What if my SendGrid API key has limited scopes?

/plan returns whatever the scopes allow. If a scope is missing (e.g. you didn’t grant suppressions.read), that section comes back empty and the corresponding migration phase silently skips it. Grant the missing scope and re-run if needed.

Support

If a migration fails or produces unexpected results, send us:

The bulkOperationId returned by /migrate
Your AutoSend project ID
The approximate time of the request

Email [email protected] with these details and we’ll investigate.

Next Steps

Email Templates

Manage the templates you just migrated from SendGrid.

Contacts

Browse and segment the contacts imported from SendGrid.

Unsubscribe Groups

Review the suppression groups created during migration.

Sending Domain

Verify your sending domain so migrated templates can start sending.

Getting Started

Quickstart

Transactional Emails

Marketing Emails

Email Automations

Others

Migration

Overview

Prerequisites

Authentication

Recommended Flow

Preview the migration

Run the full migration

Or run targeted migrations

Endpoints

Get migration plan

Request body

Response `200`

Run the full migration

Request body

Migration phases

Example A - migrate everything

Example B - migrate selected assets only

Example C - contacts only, skip everything else

Response `202 Accepted`

Common errors

Migrate one or more templates

Request body

Response `200`

Migrate one unsubscribe group

Request body

Response `200`

FAQ

Support

Next Steps

Email Templates

Contacts

Unsubscribe Groups

Sending Domain

Getting Started

Quickstart

Transactional Emails

Marketing Emails

Email Automations

Others

Migration

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Authentication

​Recommended Flow

Preview the migration

Run the full migration

Or run targeted migrations

​Endpoints

​Get migration plan

​Request body

​Response 200

​Run the full migration

​Request body

​Migration phases

​Example A - migrate everything

​Example B - migrate selected assets only

​Example C - contacts only, skip everything else

​Response 202 Accepted

​Common errors

​Migrate one or more templates

​Request body

​Response 200

​Migrate one unsubscribe group

​Request body

​Response 200

​FAQ

​Support

​Next Steps

Email Templates

Contacts

Unsubscribe Groups

Sending Domain

Overview

Prerequisites

Authentication

Recommended Flow

Endpoints

Get migration plan

Request body

Response `200`

Run the full migration

Request body

Migration phases

Example A - migrate everything

Example B - migrate selected assets only

Example C - contacts only, skip everything else

Response `202 Accepted`

Common errors

Migrate one or more templates

Request body

Response `200`

Migrate one unsubscribe group

Request body

Response `200`

FAQ

Support

Next Steps