Buildwithclaude sendgrid-automation

Automate SendGrid email operations including sending emails, managing contacts/lists, sender identities, templates, and analytics via Rube MCP (Composio). Always search tools first for current schemas.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/plugins/all-skills/skills/sendgrid-automation" ~/.claude/skills/davepoon-buildwithclaude-sendgrid-automation && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: plugins/all-skills/skills/sendgrid-automation/SKILL.md

SendGrid Automation via Rube MCP

Automate SendGrid email delivery workflows including marketing campaigns (Single Sends), contact and list management, sender identity setup, and email analytics through Composio's SendGrid toolkit.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/sendgrid

Prerequisites

Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)
Active SendGrid connection via
```
RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS
```
with toolkit
```
sendgrid
```
Always call
```
RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS
```
first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add

https://rube.app/mcp

as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming
```
RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS
```
responds
Call
```
RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS
```
with toolkit
```
sendgrid
```
If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete SendGrid API key authentication
Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. Create and Send Marketing Campaigns (Single Sends)

When to use: User wants to create and send a marketing email campaign to a contact list or segment.

Tool sequence:

```
SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_ALL_LISTS
```
- List available marketing lists to target [Prerequisite]
```
SENDGRID_CREATE_A_LIST
```
- Create a new list if needed [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_ADD_OR_UPDATE_A_CONTACT
```
- Add contacts to the list [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_GET_ALL_SENDER_IDENTITIES
```
- Get verified sender ID [Prerequisite]
```
SENDGRID_CREATE_SINGLE_SEND
```
- Create the campaign with content, sender, and recipients [Required]

Key parameters for SENDGRID_CREATE_SINGLE_SEND:

```
name
```
: Campaign name (required)
```
email__config__subject
```
: Email subject line
```
email__config__html__content
```
: HTML body content
```
email__config__plain__content
```
: Plain text version
```
email__config__sender__id
```
: Verified sender identity ID
```
email__config__design__id
```
: Use instead of html_content for pre-built designs
```
send__to__list__ids
```
: Array of list UUIDs to send to
```
send__to__segment__ids
```
: Array of segment UUIDs
```
send__to__all
```
: true to send to all contacts

email__config__suppression__group__id

email__config__custom__unsubscribe__url

: One required for compliance

Pitfalls:

Setting
```
send_at
```
on CREATE does NOT schedule the send; it only prepopulates the UI date; use the Schedule endpoint separately
```
send_at: "now"
```
is only valid with the Schedule endpoint, not CREATE
Must provide either
```
suppression_group_id
```
or
```
custom_unsubscribe_url
```
for unsubscribe compliance
Sender must be verified before use; check with
```
SENDGRID_GET_ALL_SENDER_IDENTITIES
```
Nested params use double-underscore notation (e.g.,
```
email__config__subject
```
)

2. Manage Contacts and Lists

When to use: User wants to create contact lists, add/update contacts, search for contacts, or remove contacts from lists.

Tool sequence:

```
SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_ALL_LISTS
```
- List all marketing lists [Required]
```
SENDGRID_CREATE_A_LIST
```
- Create a new contact list [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_GET_A_LIST_BY_ID
```
- Get list details and sample contacts [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_ADD_OR_UPDATE_A_CONTACT
```
- Upsert contacts with list association [Required]
```
SENDGRID_GET_CONTACTS_BY_EMAILS
```
- Look up contacts by email [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_GET_CONTACTS_BY_IDENTIFIERS
```
- Look up contacts by email, phone, or external ID [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_GET_LIST_CONTACT_COUNT
```
- Verify contact count after operations [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_REMOVE_CONTACTS_FROM_A_LIST
```
- Remove contacts from a list without deleting [Optional]

SENDGRID_REMOVE_LIST_AND_OPTIONAL_CONTACTS

- Delete an entire list [Optional]

```
SENDGRID_IMPORT_CONTACTS
```
- Bulk import from CSV [Optional]

Key parameters for SENDGRID_ADD_OR_UPDATE_A_CONTACT:

```
contacts
```
: Array of contact objects (max 30,000 or 6MB), each with at least one identifier:
```
email
```
,
```
phone_number_id
```
,
```
external_id
```
, or
```
anonymous_id
```
(required)
```
list_ids
```
: Array of list UUID strings to associate contacts with

Pitfalls:

```
SENDGRID_ADD_OR_UPDATE_A_CONTACT
```
is asynchronous; returns 202 with
```
job_id
```
; contacts may take 10-30 seconds to appear
List IDs are UUIDs (e.g., "ca7a3796-e8a8-4029-9ccb-df8937940562"), not integers
List names must be unique; duplicate names cause 400 errors

SENDGRID_ADD_A_SINGLE_RECIPIENT_TO_A_LIST

uses the legacy API; prefer

SENDGRID_ADD_OR_UPDATE_A_CONTACT

with

list_ids

```
SENDGRID_REMOVE_LIST_AND_OPTIONAL_CONTACTS
```
is irreversible; require explicit user confirmation
Email addresses are automatically lowercased by SendGrid

3. Manage Sender Identities

When to use: User wants to set up or view sender identities (From addresses) for sending emails.

Tool sequence:

```
SENDGRID_GET_ALL_SENDER_IDENTITIES
```
- List all existing sender identities [Required]
```
SENDGRID_CREATE_A_SENDER_IDENTITY
```
- Create a new sender identity [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_VIEW_A_SENDER_IDENTITY
```
- View details for a specific sender [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_UPDATE_A_SENDER_IDENTITY
```
- Update sender details [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_CREATE_VERIFIED_SENDER_REQUEST
```
- Create and verify a new sender [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_AUTHENTICATE_A_DOMAIN
```
- Set up domain authentication for auto-verification [Optional]

Key parameters for SENDGRID_CREATE_A_SENDER_IDENTITY:

```
from__email
```
: From email address (required)
```
from__name
```
: Display name (required)
```
reply__to__email
```
: Reply-to address (required)
```
nickname
```
: Internal identifier (required)
```
address
```
,
```
city
```
,
```
country
```
: Physical address for CAN-SPAM compliance (required)

Pitfalls:

New senders must be verified before use; if domain is not authenticated, a verification email is sent
Up to 100 unique sender identities per account
Avoid using domains with strict DMARC policies (gmail.com, yahoo.com) as from addresses
```
SENDGRID_CREATE_VERIFIED_SENDER_REQUEST
```
sends a verification email; sender is unusable until verified

4. View Email Statistics and Activity

When to use: User wants to review email delivery stats, bounce rates, open/click metrics, or message activity.

Tool sequence:

```
SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_GLOBAL_EMAIL_STATISTICS
```
- Get account-wide delivery metrics [Required]
```
SENDGRID_GET_ALL_CATEGORIES
```
- Discover available categories for filtering [Optional]

SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_EMAIL_STATISTICS_FOR_CATEGORIES

- Get stats broken down by category [Optional]

```
SENDGRID_FILTER_ALL_MESSAGES
```
- Search email activity feed by recipient, status, or date [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_FILTER_MESSAGES_BY_MESSAGE_ID
```
- Get detailed events for a specific message [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_REQUEST_CSV
```
- Export activity data as CSV for large datasets [Optional]
```
SENDGRID_DOWNLOAD_CSV
```
- Download the exported CSV file [Optional]

Key parameters for SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_GLOBAL_EMAIL_STATISTICS:

```
start_date
```
: Start date YYYY-MM-DD (required)
```
end_date
```
: End date YYYY-MM-DD
```
aggregated_by
```
: "day", "week", or "month"
```
limit
```
/
```
offset
```
: Pagination (default 500)

Key parameters for SENDGRID_FILTER_ALL_MESSAGES:

query

: SQL-like query string, e.g.,

status="delivered"

to_email="user@example.com"

, date ranges with

BETWEEN TIMESTAMP

```
limit
```
: 1-1000 (default 10)

Pitfalls:

```
SENDGRID_FILTER_ALL_MESSAGES
```
requires the "30 Days Additional Email Activity History" paid add-on; returns 403 without it
Global statistics are nested under
```
details[].stats[0].metrics
```
, not a flat structure
Category statistics are only available for the previous 13 months

Maximum 10 categories per request in

SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_EMAIL_STATISTICS_FOR_CATEGORIES

CSV export is limited to one request per 12 hours; link expires after 3 days

5. Manage Suppressions

When to use: User wants to check or manage unsubscribe groups for email compliance.

Tool sequence:

```
SENDGRID_GET_SUPPRESSION_GROUPS
```
- List all suppression groups [Required]

SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_ALL_SUPPRESSION_GROUPS_FOR_AN_EMAIL_ADDRESS

- Check suppression status for a specific email [Optional]

Pitfalls:

Suppressed addresses remain undeliverable even if present on marketing lists
Campaign send counts may be lower than list counts due to suppressions

Common Patterns

ID Resolution

Always resolve names to IDs before operations:

List name -> list_id:
```
SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_ALL_LISTS
```
and match by name
Sender name -> sender_id:
```
SENDGRID_GET_ALL_SENDER_IDENTITIES
```
and match
Contact email -> contact_id:
```
SENDGRID_GET_CONTACTS_BY_EMAILS
```
with email array
Template name -> template_id: Use the SendGrid UI or template endpoints

Pagination

SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_ALL_LISTS

: Token-based with

page_token

and

page_size

(max 1000)

SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_GLOBAL_EMAIL_STATISTICS

: Offset-based with

limit

(max 500) and

offset

Always paginate list retrieval to avoid missing existing lists

Async Operations

Contact operations (

ADD_OR_UPDATE_A_CONTACT

IMPORT_CONTACTS

) are asynchronous:

Returns 202 with a
```
job_id
```
Wait 10-30 seconds before verifying with
```
GET_CONTACTS_BY_EMAILS
```
Use
```
GET_LIST_CONTACT_COUNT
```
to confirm list growth

Known Pitfalls

ID Formats

Marketing list IDs are UUIDs (e.g., "ca7a3796-e8a8-4029-9ccb-df8937940562")
Legacy list IDs are integers; do not mix with Marketing API endpoints
Sender identity IDs are integers
Template IDs: Dynamic templates start with "d-", legacy templates are UUIDs
Contact IDs are UUIDs

Rate Limits

SendGrid may return HTTP 429; respect
```
Retry-After
```
headers
CSV export limited to one request per 12 hours
Bulk contact upsert max: 30,000 contacts or 6MB per request

Parameter Quirks

Nested params use double-underscore:
```
email__config__subject
```
,
```
from__email
```
```
send_at
```
on CREATE_SINGLE_SEND only sets a UI default, does NOT schedule

SENDGRID_ADD_A_SINGLE_RECIPIENT_TO_A_LIST

uses legacy API;

recipient_id

is Base64-encoded lowercase email

```
SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_ALL_LISTS
```
and
```
SENDGRID_GET_ALL_LISTS
```
both exist; prefer RETRIEVE_ALL_LISTS for Marketing API
Contact adds are async (202); always verify after a delay

Legacy vs Marketing API

Some tools use the legacy Contact Database API (
```
/v3/contactdb/
```
) which may return 403 on newer accounts

Prefer Marketing API tools:

SENDGRID_ADD_OR_UPDATE_A_CONTACT

SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_ALL_LISTS

SENDGRID_CREATE_SINGLE_SEND

Quick Reference

Task	Tool Slug	Key Params
List marketing lists	`SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_ALL_LISTS`	`page_size` , `page_token`
Create list	`SENDGRID_CREATE_A_LIST`	`name`
Get list by ID	`SENDGRID_GET_A_LIST_BY_ID`	`id`
Get list count	`SENDGRID_GET_LIST_CONTACT_COUNT`	`id`
Add/update contacts	`SENDGRID_ADD_OR_UPDATE_A_CONTACT`	`contacts` , `list_ids`
Search contacts by email	`SENDGRID_GET_CONTACTS_BY_EMAILS`	`emails`
Search by identifiers	`SENDGRID_GET_CONTACTS_BY_IDENTIFIERS`	`identifier_type` , `identifiers`
Remove from list	`SENDGRID_REMOVE_CONTACTS_FROM_A_LIST`	`id` , `contact_ids`
Delete list	`SENDGRID_REMOVE_LIST_AND_OPTIONAL_CONTACTS`	`id` , `delete_contacts`
Import contacts CSV	`SENDGRID_IMPORT_CONTACTS`	field mappings
Create Single Send	`SENDGRID_CREATE_SINGLE_SEND`	`name` , `email__config__*` , `send__to__list__ids`
List sender identities	`SENDGRID_GET_ALL_SENDER_IDENTITIES`	(none)
Create sender	`SENDGRID_CREATE_A_SENDER_IDENTITY`	`from__email` , `from__name` , `address`
Verify sender	`SENDGRID_CREATE_VERIFIED_SENDER_REQUEST`	`from_email` , `nickname` , `address`
Authenticate domain	`SENDGRID_AUTHENTICATE_A_DOMAIN`	`domain`
Global email stats	`SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_GLOBAL_EMAIL_STATISTICS`	`start_date` , `aggregated_by`
Category stats	`SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_EMAIL_STATISTICS_FOR_CATEGORIES`	`start_date` , `categories`
Filter email activity	`SENDGRID_FILTER_ALL_MESSAGES`	`query` , `limit`
Message details	`SENDGRID_FILTER_MESSAGES_BY_MESSAGE_ID`	`msg_id`
Export CSV	`SENDGRID_REQUEST_CSV`	`query`
Download CSV	`SENDGRID_DOWNLOAD_CSV`	`download_uuid`
List categories	`SENDGRID_GET_ALL_CATEGORIES`	(none)
Suppression groups	`SENDGRID_GET_SUPPRESSION_GROUPS`	(none)
Get template	`SENDGRID_RETRIEVE_A_SINGLE_TRANSACTIONAL_TEMPLATE`	`template_id`
Duplicate template	`SENDGRID_DUPLICATE_A_TRANSACTIONAL_TEMPLATE`	`template_id` , `name`