Instantly Security Basics

Overview

Secure your Instantly.ai integration with scoped API keys, least-privilege access, secret management, webhook validation, and audit logging. Instantly API v2 uses Bearer token auth with granular scope-based permissions.

Prerequisites

Instantly account with API access
Understanding of environment variable management
Access to Instantly dashboard Settings > Integrations

Instructions

Step 1: Least-Privilege API Key Scopes

Create separate API keys for different use cases with minimal required scopes.

// Key scopes follow the pattern: resource:action
// resource = campaigns, accounts, leads, etc.
// action = read, update, all

// Read-only analytics dashboard
// Scopes needed: campaigns:read, accounts:read
const ANALYTICS_KEY_SCOPES = ["campaigns:read", "accounts:read"];

// Campaign automation bot
// Scopes needed: campaigns:all, leads:all
const AUTOMATION_KEY_SCOPES = ["campaigns:all", "leads:all"];

// Webhook-only integration
// Scopes needed: leads:read (to look up lead data on events)
const WEBHOOK_KEY_SCOPES = ["leads:read"];

// AVOID: all:all gives unrestricted access — dev/test only

Use Case	Recommended Scopes	Risk Level
Analytics dashboard	`campaigns:read`, `accounts:read`	Low
Lead import tool	`leads:update`	Medium
Campaign launcher	`campaigns:all`, `leads:all`, `accounts:read`	High
Full automation	`all:all`	Critical — dev only
Webhook handler	`leads:read`	Low

Step 2: Secret Management

// NEVER hardcode API keys
// BAD:
const client = new InstantlyClient({ apiKey: "sk_live_abc123" });

// GOOD: environment variables
const client = new InstantlyClient({
  apiKey: process.env.INSTANTLY_API_KEY!,
});

// BETTER: secret manager integration
import { SecretManagerServiceClient } from "@google-cloud/secret-manager";

async function getApiKey(): Promise<string> {
  const client = new SecretManagerServiceClient();
  const [version] = await client.accessSecretVersion({
    name: "projects/my-project/secrets/instantly-api-key/versions/latest",
  });
  return version.payload?.data?.toString() || "";
}

# .gitignore — always exclude secrets
.env
.env.*
*.key

Step 3: API Key Rotation

// Instantly supports multiple API keys — rotate without downtime

async function rotateApiKey() {
  const oldKey = process.env.INSTANTLY_API_KEY;

  // 1. Create new API key via dashboard (Settings > Integrations > API)
  // 2. Update secret manager / env vars with new key
  // 3. Deploy with new key
  // 4. Verify new key works
  const client = new InstantlyClient({ apiKey: process.env.INSTANTLY_API_KEY_NEW! });
  await client.getCampaigns({ limit: 1 }); // test call

  // 5. Delete old key via API
  // GET /api/v2/api-keys to find the old key ID
  const keys = await client.request<Array<{ id: string; name: string }>>(
    "/api-keys"
  );
  const oldKeyEntry = keys.find((k) => k.name === "old-key-name");
  if (oldKeyEntry) {
    await client.request(`/api-keys/${oldKeyEntry.id}`, { method: "DELETE" });
    console.log("Old API key deleted");
  }
}

// API Key management endpoints:
// POST   /api/v2/api-keys        — Create new key (name, scopes)
// GET    /api/v2/api-keys        — List all keys
// DELETE /api/v2/api-keys/{id}   — Revoke a key

Step 4: Webhook Security

import express from "express";

const app = express();
app.use(express.json());

// Validate webhook requests
app.post("/webhooks/instantly", (req, res) => {
  // Option 1: Verify via custom header set during webhook creation
  const expectedSecret = process.env.INSTANTLY_WEBHOOK_SECRET;
  const receivedSecret = req.headers["x-webhook-secret"];

  if (expectedSecret && receivedSecret !== expectedSecret) {
    console.warn("Webhook auth failed: invalid secret");
    return res.status(401).json({ error: "Unauthorized" });
  }

  // Option 2: IP allowlisting (check Instantly's outbound IPs)
  // Option 3: Verify payload structure matches Instantly schema
  const { event_type, data } = req.body;
  if (!event_type || !data) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: "Invalid payload" });
  }

  // Process immediately, return 200 fast (Instantly retries 3x in 30s)
  res.status(200).json({ received: true });

  // Async processing
  handleWebhookEvent(event_type, data).catch(console.error);
});

// When creating webhooks, add custom auth headers
async function createSecureWebhook(targetUrl: string) {
  return instantly("/webhooks", {
    method: "POST",
    body: JSON.stringify({
      name: "Secure CRM Sync",
      target_hook_url: targetUrl,
      event_type: "reply_received",
      headers: {
        "X-Webhook-Secret": process.env.INSTANTLY_WEBHOOK_SECRET,
        Authorization: `Basic ${Buffer.from("user:pass").toString("base64")}`,
      },
    }),
  });
}

Step 5: Audit Logging

// Instantly provides audit logs for workspace activity
async function checkAuditLogs() {
  const logs = await instantly<Array<{
    id: string;
    action: string;
    resource: string;
    timestamp_created: string;
    user: string;
  }>>("/audit-logs?limit=50");

  console.log("Recent Audit Events:");
  for (const log of logs) {
    console.log(`  ${log.timestamp_created} | ${log.action} | ${log.resource} | ${log.user}`);
  }
}

Step 6: Workspace Member Permissions

// Manage workspace members with role-based access
async function listWorkspaceMembers() {
  const members = await instantly<Array<{
    id: string;
    email: string;
    role: string;
  }>>("/workspace-members");

  for (const m of members) {
    console.log(`${m.email}: ${m.role}`);
  }
}

// Remove a member
async function removeMember(memberId: string) {
  await instantly(`/workspace-members/${memberId}`, { method: "DELETE" });
}

Security Checklist

API keys stored in environment variables or secret manager
.env files listed in .gitignore
Each integration has its own scoped API key
No all:all keys in production
Webhook endpoints validate authentication
API key rotation schedule (quarterly recommended)
Audit logs reviewed periodically
Workspace members have minimum necessary roles
Block list entries for competitor/internal domains

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
`401` after rotation	Old key still in use	Verify deployment picked up new key
`403` on scope-limited key	Missing required scope	Create new key with correct scopes
Webhook `401`	Secret mismatch	Check `headers` field in webhook config
Audit log empty	Plan doesn’t include audit logs	Upgrade plan or check workspace settings

Resources

Next Steps

For production readiness, see instantly-prod-checklist.

instantly-security-basics

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