Instantly Automation

Instantly Automation

Automate your cold email outreach with Instantly -- create and manage campaigns with multi-step sequences, configure sending schedules, import leads in bulk, manage sending accounts, and track campaign performance -- all through natural language commands.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/instantly

Setup

1. Add the Composio MCP server to your client configuration:

   http://localhost:8787/mcp
   

2. Connect your Instantly account when prompted (API key authentication).
3. Start issuing natural language commands to manage your outreach campaigns.

Core Workflows

1. List Sending Accounts

Retrieve all email accounts configured in your Instantly workspace, with filtering by status and provider.

Tool: INSTANTLY_LIST_ACCOUNTS

Example prompt:

"Show all active sending accounts in my Instantly workspace"

Key parameters:

• status -- Filter by status: 1 (Active), 2 (Paused), -1 (Connection Error), -2 (Soft Bounce Error), -3 (Sending Error)
• provider_code -- Filter by provider: 1 (Custom IMAP/SMTP), 2 (Google), 3 (Microsoft), 4 (AWS)
• search -- Search by email substring or domain
• limit -- Max items (1-100)
• starting_after -- Pagination cursor from previous response
• tag_ids -- Comma-separated tag UUIDs

2. Create a Campaign

Launch a new outreach campaign with scheduling, email sequences, A/B testing variants, and sending configuration.

Tool: INSTANTLY_CREATE_CAMPAIGN

Example prompt:

"Create an Instantly campaign called 'Q1 Outreach' that sends Monday-Friday 9am-5pm Central time with a 3-step email sequence"

Key parameters:

• name (required) -- Campaign name
• campaign_schedule (required) -- Schedule configuration:
  • schedules (required) -- Array of schedule objects, each with:
    • name -- Schedule name
    • timing -- {from: "09:00", to: "17:00"} (HH:mm format)
    • days -- Map of day index strings "0" (Sun) to "6" (Sat) to booleans
    • timezone -- Supported values include "America/Chicago", "America/Detroit", "America/Boise", "America/Anchorage"
  • start_date / end_date -- ISO 8601 dates
• email_list -- Array of sending account email addresses (must be pre-configured accounts; use INSTANTLY_LIST_ACCOUNTS to discover valid addresses)
• sequences -- Array (only first element used) containing:
  • steps -- Array of step objects with:
    • type -- Must be "email"
    • delay -- Days before NEXT email (integer, min 0)
    • variants -- Array of {subject, body} objects for A/B testing
• daily_limit -- Daily sending cap
• email_gap -- Minutes between emails
• stop_on_reply -- Stop campaign when lead replies (boolean)
• stop_on_auto_reply -- Stop on auto-replies (boolean)
• open_tracking / link_tracking -- Enable tracking (booleans)

Timezone notes:

• Verified working: "America/Chicago" (Central), "America/Detroit" (Eastern), "America/Boise" (Mountain)
• Auto-mapped: "America/New_York" maps to "America/Detroit", "America/Denver" maps to "America/Boise"
• NOT supported: "America/Los_Angeles", "US/Pacific" -- use "America/Anchorage" or "America/Dawson" as alternatives

3. Update Campaign Settings

Modify an existing campaign's schedule, sending limits, sequences, or tracking settings.

Tool: INSTANTLY_UPDATE_CAMPAIGN

Example prompt:

"Update my Instantly campaign to increase the daily limit to 100 and enable open tracking"

Key parameters:

• id (required) -- Campaign UUID
• Any combination of: name, campaign_schedule, email_list, sequences, daily_limit, email_gap, stop_on_reply, open_tracking, link_tracking, etc.
• Set any parameter to null to unset it

4. Manage Lead Lists and Bulk Import

Create dedicated lead lists and import prospects in bulk for campaign targeting.

Tools: INSTANTLY_CREATE_LEAD_LIST, INSTANTLY_ADD_LEADS_BULK

Example prompt:

"Create a lead list called 'Q1 Prospects' and add 50 leads to my Instantly campaign"

Key parameters for creating lead lists:

• List name and configuration

Key parameters for bulk lead import:

• Campaign or list ID to import into
• Array of lead objects with email and metadata
• Duplicate handling options
• Lead verification settings

5. Review Campaign Details

Retrieve full campaign configuration to verify settings, inspect sequences, or prepare for updates.

Tool: INSTANTLY_GET_CAMPAIGN

Example prompt:

"Show me the full details of my Instantly campaign"

Key parameters:

• id (required) -- Campaign UUID

6. List All Campaigns

Enumerate all campaigns in your workspace with optional filters and pagination.

Tool: INSTANTLY_LIST_CAMPAIGNS

Example prompt:

"List all my Instantly campaigns"

Key parameters:

• Optional filters and pagination parameters

Known Pitfalls

• Timezone support is limited: The Instantly API accepts a restricted set of timezone strings. Pacific Time ("America/Los_Angeles") is NOT supported. Use "America/Anchorage" (UTC-9/UTC-8) or "America/Dawson" (UTC-7 year-round) as alternatives.
• Invalid schedule payloads cause 400 errors: A malformed campaign_schedule (missing days, from, to, or schedules) triggers HTTP 400. Repeated 400s indicate payload issues, not transient failures.
• Sequences must be complete: Each sequence step requires a valid type ("email"), delay, and at least one variant with both subject and body. Incomplete variants block campaign creation.
• Only first sequence element is used: The API only processes sequences[0]. Additional sequences are ignored.
• email_list must reference existing accounts: The email_list field requires email addresses of pre-configured sending accounts in your Instantly workspace, not arbitrary recipient addresses. Always use INSTANTLY_LIST_ACCOUNTS to discover valid sending addresses.
• 401 scope errors on campaign creation: Campaign creation can fail with "Invalid scope. Required: campaigns:create". Update your API key permissions before retrying writes.
• Read-back fields may differ: Field names in INSTANTLY_GET_CAMPAIGN responses may differ from create payloads (e.g., timing.from_ vs timing.from). Parse defensively.

Quick Reference

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