Working with prospects

Overview

Prospects represent external users on messaging platforms. This guide covers retrieving prospect data, updating context, and using prospect information for lead management.

Prospect data model

The prospect object contains profile data synced from the platform, plus a context object with your team’s custom data.

{
  "platform": "twitter",
  "platformId": "1876543210987654321",
  "externalId": "hzcai5t59nn9vsck3rbuepyg",
  "documentId": 858224163,
  "displayName": "Jordan Rivera",
  "username": "jordanrivera",
  "handle": "@jordanrivera",
  "image": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/.../photo.jpg",
  "imageNormalized": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/.../photo.jpg",
  "bio": "Head of Growth at TechCo. Building the future of SaaS.",
  "location": "San Francisco, CA",
  "profileUrl": "https://x.com/jordanrivera",
  "websiteUrl": "https://techco.com",
  "websiteDomain": "techco.com",
  "verified": "none",
  "profileType": "personal",
  "isProtected": false,
  "followerCount": 12400,
  "followingCount": 892,
  "postCount": 3420,
  "engagementCount": 8100,
  "listedCount": 18,
  "platformCreatedAt": "2019-03-15T08:00:00.000Z",
  "firstSeenAt": "2024-07-09T14:08:49.000Z",
  "lastUpdatedAt": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
  "lastEnrichedAt": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
  "lastActiveAt": "2025-01-14T12:00:00.000Z",
  "source": "cached",
  "isFresh": true,
  "isStale": false,
  "confidence": 0.85,
  "platformData": {
    "isVerifiedBlue": false,
    "isVerifiedGold": false,
    "isVerifiedGray": false,
    "bannerUrl": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/...",
    "tweetsCount": 3420,
    "favoritesCount": 8100
  },
  "context": {
    "tags": ["t8rvk2m5j0xn4wq7ybftcael"],
    "statusId": "s3km7xj9wq5p2bvnhfdteoly",
    "valuation": 50000,
    "notes": "Decision maker at TechCo. Follow up next week.",
    "threads": [
      {
        "id": "l44e15irdq4db30i77cgphhx",
        "accountLinkId": "df6jbw4h36qm5d9iu2sgn7kx",
        "lastMessageTimestamp": "2025-01-15T15:30:00.000Z",
        "createdAt": "2025-01-10T10:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Key fields

Field	Description
`platform`	Always `"twitter"` for now
`platformId`	The X numeric user ID (string)
`externalId`	Inbox internal ID. `null` if the prospect hasn’t been imported to the database yet
`displayName`	Display name shown on their profile
`username`	Handle without `@`
`handle`	Handle with `@` prefix (e.g., `@jordanrivera`)
`image`	Profile picture URL from platform
`imageNormalized`	Profile picture URL normalized to highest quality — prefer this for display
`bio`	Profile bio/description text
`verified`	`"none"`, `"verified"` (blue check), `"business"` (gold), or `"government"` (gray)
`profileType`	`"personal"`, `"business"`, or `"government"`
`followerCount`	Number of followers (singular, not `followersCount`)
`confidence`	Data accuracy score from `0` to `1` — higher is more reliable

Context fields

The context object contains your team’s custom data for this prospect:

Field	Type	Description
`tags`	`string[]`	Array of tag IDs applied to this prospect
`statusId`	`string \| null`	Pipeline status ID
`valuation`	`number \| null`	Deal value
`notes`	`string \| null`	Free-text notes
`threads`	`array \| null`	Threads across all account links for this prospect

Tags, status, valuation, and notes are stored on prospects. Assignee and done/not-done technically live on threads — see Assigning and Marking Done for details.

Finding prospects

Lookup by platform ID

Find a prospect using their X user ID:

const { data } = await client.get("/prospects/lookup", {
  params: {
    platformId: "1876543210987654321",
  },
});

if (data) {
  console.log(`Found: @${data.username}`);
  console.log(`Followers: ${data.followerCount}`);
} else {
  console.log("Prospect not found");
}

curl "https://inboxapp.com/api/v1/prospects/lookup?platformId=1876543210987654321" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $INBOX_API_TOKEN"

Returns the prospect with context directly, or null if not found.

Not all prospects are searchable via the API. Lookup is only guaranteed to return a prospect if your team has interacted with them (e.g., they messaged you or you started a conversation). New users who haven’t interacted with anyone on the platform may not be found. We’re working on improving this.

Get by Inbox ID

Retrieve a specific prospect by their Inbox ID:

const { data } = await client.get(`/prospects/${prospectId}`);
console.log(`Prospect: @${data.username}`);
console.log(`Tags: ${data.context.tags.length}`);

Returns the prospect with context directly.

Prospects are automatically created when they message you or when you start a conversation with them.

Updating prospect context

Update tags, status, valuation, and notes on a prospect. You can also update assigneeId and done — these are applied to all threads belonging to this prospect on your team.

Setting notes and valuation

await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  notes: "Interested in Enterprise plan. Follow up next week.",
  valuation: 50000,
});

Applying tags

Tags are updated incrementally using addTags and removeTags:

// Add tags
await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  addTags: ["t8rvk2m5j0xn4wq7ybftcael", "u9swl3n6k1yo5xr8zcgudbfm"],
});

// Remove a tag
await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  removeTags: ["t8rvk2m5j0xn4wq7ybftcael"],
});

// Add and remove in one request
await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  addTags: ["v0txm4o7l2zp6ys9adhvecgn"],
  removeTags: ["u9swl3n6k1yo5xr8zcgudbfm"],
});

There is no tagIds field. Tags are always modified incrementally with addTags and removeTags.

Setting status

// Get status IDs first
const { data: statuses } = await client.get("/statuses");
const qualifiedStatus = statuses.find((s) => s.name === "Qualified");

// Set prospect status
await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  statusId: qualifiedStatus.id,
});

// Clear status
await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  statusId: null,
});

Assigning and marking done

// Assign a prospect to a team member
await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  assigneeId: "r3km7xj9wq5p2bvnhfdteoly",
});

// Mark a prospect as done
await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  done: true,
});

// Unassign and reopen
await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  assigneeId: null,
  done: false,
});

assigneeId and done technically live on threads, not on the prospect itself. When you set these via the prospect update endpoint, the change is applied to all threads for that prospect on your team. If you have multiple account links talking to the same prospect, every thread with that prospect will be assigned or marked done. Keep this in mind for multi-account setups.

Complete update

Multiple context fields can be updated in a single request:

await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospectId}/context`, {
  notes: "Decision maker at Acme Corp",
  valuation: 75000,
  addTags: ["t8rvk2m5j0xn4wq7ybftcael"],
  statusId: "s4ln8yk0xr6q3cw1behsifup",
});

Prospect lookup vs thread lookup

Two lookup patterns exist for different use cases:

Use Case	Endpoint	Returns
Get prospect profile + context	`GET /prospects/lookup`	Prospect with context (or `null`)
Find conversation thread	`GET /threads/lookup`	Thread object (or `null`)

// When you need prospect profile data
const prospect = await client.get("/prospects/lookup", {
  params: { platformId: "1876543210987654321" },
});

// When you need the conversation
const thread = await client.get("/threads/lookup", {
  params: {
    externalPlatformId: "1876543210987654321",
    accountLinkId: "df6jbw4h36qm5d9iu2sgn7kx",
  },
});

Common workflows

Lead scoring

Calculate a score based on prospect profile:

function calculateLeadScore(prospect: any): number {
  let score = 0;

  // Follower count scoring
  if (prospect.followerCount > 100000) score += 30;
  else if (prospect.followerCount > 10000) score += 20;
  else if (prospect.followerCount > 1000) score += 10;

  // Verification bonus
  if (prospect.verified !== "none") score += 15;

  // Bio keywords
  const bio = prospect.bio?.toLowerCase() || "";
  const keywords = ["founder", "ceo", "director", "head of", "vp"];
  if (keywords.some((k) => bio.includes(k))) score += 25;

  // Has website
  if (prospect.websiteUrl) score += 10;

  return score;
}

// Usage
const { data: prospect } = await client.get(`/prospects/${prospectId}`);
const score = calculateLeadScore(prospect);
console.log(`Lead score: ${score}/100`);

// Auto-tag based on score
if (score >= 70) {
  await client.patch(`/prospects/${prospect.externalId}/context`, {
    addTags: [highValueTagId],
  });
}

Finding prospects by tag

Prospects aren’t directly searchable — search threads instead, which include the prospect:

// Get all threads with "Enterprise" tag
const { data } = await client.get("/threads", {
  params: {
    inbox: "default",
    "filters[tags][selectedIds][0]": enterpriseTagId,
  },
});

// Extract prospect info from threads
const enterpriseProspects = data.threads.map((thread) => ({
  externalId: thread.prospect.externalId,
  username: thread.prospect.username,
  followerCount: thread.prospect.followerCount,
  threadId: thread.id,
}));

console.log(`${enterpriseProspects.length} active enterprise conversations`);

Exporting prospect data

Export prospects to CSV format via threads:

async function exportProspects() {
  const allThreads = [];
  let cursorId: string | undefined;
  let cursorTimestamp: string | undefined;

  do {
    const { data } = await client.get("/threads", {
      params: {
        limit: 100,
        ...(cursorId && { cursorId, cursorTimestamp }),
      },
    });

    allThreads.push(...data.threads);
    cursorId = data.nextCursor?.id;
    cursorTimestamp = data.nextCursor?.timestamp;
  } while (cursorId);

  // Build CSV rows
  const rows = allThreads.map((t) => ({
    externalId: t.prospect.externalId,
    platformId: t.prospect.platformId,
    username: t.prospect.username,
    displayName: t.prospect.displayName,
    bio: t.prospect.bio || "",
    followerCount: t.prospect.followerCount,
    verified: t.prospect.verified,
    tags: t.prospect.context.tags.join("; "),
    statusId: t.prospect.context.statusId || "",
    valuation: t.prospect.context.valuation || "",
    notes: t.prospect.context.notes || "",
  }));

  return rows;
}

Platform profile data

Profile data is synced from X and includes:

Field	Description	Updates
`username`	@handle	On each interaction
`displayName`	Display name	On each interaction
`bio`	Profile bio	On each interaction
`followerCount`	Followers	Periodically
`verified`	Verification status	Periodically
`image`	Avatar URL	On each interaction

Profile data may be slightly stale. Follower counts and other stats are updated periodically, not in real-time. Check isFresh, isStale, and confidence to assess data quality.

Best practices

Store deal context in notes

Use the notes field for context that doesn’t fit structured fields:

await client.patch(`/prospects/${id}/context`, {
  notes: `Meeting 1/15: Discussed pricing. Need to follow up with case study.
Key decision maker. Budget approved Q1.`
});

Track valuation for prioritization

Set valuation to prioritize high-value prospects:

const sorted = threads
  .filter(t => t.prospect.context.valuation)
  .sort((a, b) =>
    (b.prospect.context.valuation ?? 0) - (a.prospect.context.valuation ?? 0)
  );

Assignees and done live on threads

assigneeId and done technically live on threads, not on the prospect. Tags, status, valuation, and notes live on the prospect. When you set assigneeId or done via the prospect update endpoint, it applies to all threads for that prospect on your team — so if you have multiple accounts talking to the same prospect, all of those threads are affected.

For guidance on when to use tags vs statuses, see Tags & statuses.

Next steps

Lookup prospect

GET /prospects/lookup

Update context

PATCH /prospects//context

Tags & statuses

Organize with tags and pipeline stages

Managing threads

Work with conversations

Getting started

Fundamentals

Configuration

Working with prospects

Overview

Prospect data model

Key fields

Context fields

Finding prospects

Lookup by platform ID

Get by Inbox ID

Updating prospect context

Setting notes and valuation

Applying tags

Setting status

Assigning and marking done

Complete update

Prospect lookup vs thread lookup

Common workflows

Lead scoring

Finding prospects by tag

Exporting prospect data

Platform profile data

Best practices

Next steps

Lookup prospect

Update context

Tags & statuses

Managing threads

​Overview

​Prospect data model

​Key fields

​Context fields

​Finding prospects

​Lookup by platform ID

​Get by Inbox ID

​Updating prospect context

​Setting notes and valuation

​Applying tags

​Setting status

​Assigning and marking done

​Complete update

​Prospect lookup vs thread lookup

​Common workflows

​Lead scoring

​Finding prospects by tag

​Exporting prospect data

​Platform profile data

​Best practices

​Next steps

Lookup prospect

Update context

Tags & statuses

Managing threads

Overview

Prospect data model

Key fields

Context fields

Finding prospects

Lookup by platform ID

Get by Inbox ID

Updating prospect context

Setting notes and valuation

Applying tags

Setting status

Assigning and marking done

Complete update

Prospect lookup vs thread lookup

Common workflows

Lead scoring

Finding prospects by tag

Exporting prospect data

Platform profile data

Best practices

Next steps