Instantly Production Checklist
Overview
Pre-flight checklist for launching Instantly cold email campaigns in production. Covers account warmup verification, deliverability testing, lead list hygiene, campaign configuration, webhook setup, and monitoring. Skip any step that doesn't apply to your use case.
Prerequisites
- Completed
instantly-install-auth setup
- Email accounts connected and warmed up (minimum 14 days recommended)
- Lead list prepared with verified emails
Production Launch Checklist
Phase 1: Account Health (2-4 weeks before launch)
import { instantly } from "./src/instantly";
async function phase1AccountHealth() {
console.log("=== Phase 1: Account Health ===\n");
const accounts = await instantly<Array<{ email: string }>>(
"/accounts?limit=100"
);
const vitals = await instantly("/accounts/test/vitals", {
method: "POST",
body: JSON.stringify({ accounts: accounts.map((a) => a.email) }),
}) as Array<{ email: string; smtp_status: string; imap_status: string }>;
const broken = vitals.filter((v) => v.smtp_status !== "ok" || v.imap_status !== "ok");
console.log(`Accounts: ${accounts.length} total, ${broken.length} broken`);
if (broken.length > 0) {
console.log("FIX THESE FIRST:");
broken.forEach((v) => console.log(` ${v.email}: SMTP=${v.smtp_status} IMAP=${v.imap_status}`));
return false;
}
const warmup = await instantly("/accounts/warmup-analytics", {
method: "POST",
body: JSON.stringify({ emails: accounts.map((a) => a.email) }),
}) as Array<{ email: string; warmup_emails_landed_inbox: number; warmup_emails_sent: number }>;
for (const w of warmup) {
const inboxRate = (w.warmup_emails_landed_inbox / (w.warmup_emails_sent || 1)) * 100;
const healthy = inboxRate >= 80;
console.log(` ${w.email}: inbox rate ${inboxRate.toFixed(1)}% ${healthy ? "OK" : "LOW — extend warmup"}`);
}
const acctDetails = await instantly<Array<{ email: string; daily_limit: number | null }>>(
"/accounts?limit=100"
);
const noLimit = acctDetails.filter((a) => !a.daily_limit);
if (noLimit.length > 0) {
console.log(`\nWARNING: ${noLimit.length} accounts have no daily limit set`);
}
return broken.length === 0;
}
Phase 2: Campaign Configuration (1 week before)
async function phase2CampaignConfig(campaignId: string) {
console.log("\n=== Phase 2: Campaign Configuration ===\n");
const campaign = await instantly<{
name: string;
sequences: Array<{ steps: Array<{ variants: Array<{ subject: string; body: string }> }> }>;
campaign_schedule: { schedules: any[] };
daily_limit: number | null;
stop_on_reply: boolean;
link_tracking: boolean;
open_tracking: boolean;
stop_on_auto_reply: boolean;
email_gap: number;
}>(`/campaigns/${campaignId}`);
const checks = [
{ label: "Has sequences", pass: campaign.sequences?.length > 0 },
{ label: "Has email steps", pass: campaign.sequences?.[]?.?. > },
{ : , : campaign.?.?. > },
{ : , : campaign. === },
{ : , : campaign. === },
{ : , : campaign. === },
{ : , : (campaign. ?? ) > },
{ : , : (campaign. ?? ) >= },
];
allPass = ;
( check checks) {
.();
(!check.) allPass = ;
}
step1 = campaign.?.[]?.?.[];
(step1) {
.();
}
allPass;
}
Phase 3: Lead List Hygiene
async function phase3LeadHygiene(campaignId: string) {
console.log("\n=== Phase 3: Lead List Hygiene ===\n");
const analytics = await instantly<{ total_leads: number }>(
`/campaigns/analytics?id=${campaignId}`
);
console.log(`Total leads: ${analytics.total_leads}`);
const blocklist = await instantly<Array<{ bl_value: string }>>(
"/block-lists-entries?limit=10"
);
console.log(`Block list entries: ${blocklist.length}+`);
console.log("\nChecklist:");
console.log(" [ ] Leads verified with email verification service");
console.log(" [ ] Company domains in block list (your own + competitors)");
console.log(" [ ] No role-based emails (info@, admin@, support@)");
console.log();
.();
}
Phase 4: Test Email & Webhook Verification
async function phase4TestAndWebhooks(campaignId: string) {
console.log("\n=== Phase 4: Test & Webhooks ===\n");
const accounts = await instantly<Array<{ email: string }>>(
"/accounts?limit=1"
);
if (accounts.length > 0) {
await instantly("/emails/test", {
method: "POST",
body: JSON.stringify({
eaccount: accounts[0].email,
to_address_email_list: [process.env.TEST_EMAIL || "test@yourdomain.com"],
subject: "Production Test — Instantly Integration",
body: "This is a test email from the Instantly integration. If you received this, the setup is working correctly.",
}),
});
console.log("Test email sent from:", accounts[0].email);
}
const webhooks = await instantly<Array<{
name: ; : ; : ;
}>>();
.();
( w webhooks) {
.();
}
(webhooks. > ) {
( w webhooks.(, ) <{ : ; : }>) {
{
(, { : });
.();
} (: ) {
.();
}
}
}
}
Phase 5: Launch & Monitor
async function phase5Launch(campaignId: string) {
console.log("\n=== Phase 5: Launch ===\n");
const campaign = await instantly<{ name: string; status: number }>(
`/campaigns/${campaignId}`
);
console.log(`Campaign: ${campaign.name} (status: ${campaign.status})`);
await instantly(`/campaigns/${campaignId}/activate`, { method: "POST" });
console.log("Campaign ACTIVATED");
const status = await instantly(`/campaigns/${campaignId}/sending-status`);
console.log("Sending status:", JSON.stringify(status));
console.log("\nPost-launch monitoring:");
console.log();
.();
.();
.();
}
() {
campaignId = process..!;
accountsOk = ();
(!accountsOk) { .(); ; }
configOk = (campaignId);
(campaignId);
(campaignId);
(configOk) (campaignId);
}
().(.);
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|---|
| Campaign won't activate | Missing sequences/accounts/leads | Run Phase 2 checks |
| Test email not received | Account SMTP broken | Run vitals test |
| Webhook test fails | Target URL unreachable | Verify endpoint is public HTTPS |
| High bounce rate post-launch | Unverified leads | Pause campaign, clean list |
Resources
Next Steps
For version migration, see instantly-upgrade-migration.
