Skip to contents

Getting Started with activecampaignr

Source: vignettes/getting-started.Rmd
getting-started.Rmd

Installation 

# Install from GitHub
# install.packages("pak")
pak::pak("pcstrategyandopsco/activecampaignr")

Authentication

You need your ActiveCampaign API URL and API key, found under Settings > Developer in your AC account.

library(activecampaignr)

# Option 1: Direct authentication
ac_auth(
  url = "https://yourname.api-us1.com",
  api_key = "your-api-key-here"
)

# Option 2: From environment variables (recommended)
# Set ACTIVECAMPAIGN_URL and ACTIVECAMPAIGN_API_KEY in .Renviron
ac_auth_from_env()

Fetching Deals

All list functions return tidy tibbles with automatic pagination:

# All deals
deals <- ac_deals()
deals

# Won deals only
won <- ac_deals(status = 1)

# Deals modified in the last 7 days
recent <- ac_deals(updated_after = Sys.Date() - 7)

# Get a single deal
deal <- ac_deal("12345")

Working with Custom Fields

Custom fields are fetched in wide format — one row per deal, one column per field:

cf <- ac_deal_custom_fields_wide()
cf
# # A tibble: 500 x 12
#   deal_id student_id enrolment_id pathway_name ...
#   <chr>   <chr>      <chr>        <chr>
# 1 1001    S-123      E-456        Full Stack
# ...

Contacts 

# All contacts
contacts <- ac_contacts()

# Search by email
contact <- ac_contacts(email = "user@example.com")

# Create a contact
new_contact <- ac_create_contact(
  email = "new@example.com",
  first_name = "Jane",
  last_name = "Doe",
  phone = "021 123 4567"
)

Caching and Incremental Sync

For production pipelines, use the sync functions which cache results in RDS files and only fetch recent changes:

# First call: fetches everything, caches to disk
result <- ac_sync_deals()
deals <- result$deals
custom_fields <- result$custom_fields

# Subsequent calls within 10 minutes: returns cache instantly
result <- ac_sync_deals()  # <1 second

# Force a full refresh
result <- ac_sync_deals(force = TRUE)

# Configure cache TTL
result <- ac_sync_deals(ttl_minutes = 30, lookback_days = 3)
# Check what's cached
ac_cache_status()

# Clear cache
ac_cache_clear()

Phone Normalization

Standardize NZ/AU phone numbers for matching:

ac_standardize_phone("021 123 4567")   # "+64211234567"
ac_standardize_phone("+61412345678")    # "+61412345678"
ac_standardize_phone("0211234567")      # "+64211234567"

Pipelines and Stages 

pipelines <- ac_deal_pipelines()
stages <- ac_deal_stages()

# Stages for a specific pipeline
stages <- ac_deal_stages(pipeline = "1")

Creating and Updating Deals 

# Create a deal
deal <- ac_create_deal(
  title = "New Enrolment - Jane Doe",
  value = 500000,  # in cents
  currency = "nzd",
  pipeline = "1",
  stage = "3",
  owner = "5",
  contact = "12345"
)

# Update a deal
updated <- ac_update_deal(deal$id, title = "Updated Title", stage = "4")

# Delete a deal
ac_delete_deal(deal$id)

Next Steps