HubSpot contact creation issue: Data not appearing in contact list

Other Questions HubSpot
1

I’m having trouble with the HubSpot API for creating contacts. Here’s what I’m doing:

contact_api = SomeHubspotContactApi.new
contact_api.add_new({
  first_name: 'Jane',
  last_name: 'Smith',
  email_address: '[email protected]'
}.to_json, auth: 'api_key')

The API call seems to work, but when I check the HubSpot contact list, the new contact shows up empty. No first name, last name, or email.

When I fetch the contact details using the ID, I get this:

ContactInfo = Struct.new(:archived, :created_at, :id, :properties, :updated_at)

contact = ContactInfo.new(
  false,
  Time.now,
  '789012',
  {
    'createdate' => Time.now.iso8601,
    'email' => '',
    'firstname' => '',
    'hs_object_id' => '789012',
    'lastmodifieddate' => Time.now.iso8601,
    'lastname' => ''
  },
  Time.now
)

I’ve double-checked my API key setup in the config file. Any ideas what might be going wrong?

2

I’ve encountered a similar issue when working with the HubSpot API. From my experience, this could be related to property mappings or permissions.

First, double-check that the property names in your API call match exactly with HubSpot’s internal property names. Sometimes, they’re slightly different (e.g., ‘email_address’ might need to be just ‘email’).

Also, ensure your API key has the necessary permissions to create and update contact properties. I once spent hours debugging only to realize my API key didn’t have the right scope.

If those checks don’t solve it, try using HubSpot’s API debugging tools or their request logger. They’ve been invaluable for me in pinpointing exactly where data is getting lost in translation.

Lastly, consider implementing error handling in your code to catch and log any specific error messages from the API. This could provide more insight into what’s going wrong behind the scenes.

3

I’ve dealt with this exact problem before. The issue is likely with the property names in your API call. HubSpot is quite particular about these.

Try modifying your code to use ‘email’ instead of ‘email_address’, and ensure ‘firstName’ and ‘lastName’ are camelCased. Like this:

contact_api.add_new({
  firstName: 'Jane',
  lastName: 'Smith',
  email: '[email protected]'
}.to_json, auth: 'api_key')

If that doesn’t work, check your API key permissions in HubSpot’s settings. Sometimes, the key might have read access but not write access for contacts.

Also, make sure you’re not hitting any rate limits. HubSpot has strict limits on API calls, and exceeding them can cause silent failures.