Linking SparkPost as a source

The SparkPost connector syncs your email data into the PostHog Data warehouse, including message events, suppression lists, recipient lists, templates, sending domains, subaccounts, and webhooks, so you can analyze your email program alongside your product data.

Prerequisites

You need a SparkPost account with API access so you can create an API key. SparkPost runs independent US and EU stacks that do not share data, so you'll need to know which region your account is on.

Adding a data source

1. In PostHog, go to the Sources tab of the data pipeline section.
2. Click + New source and click Link next to this source.
3. Enter your credentials (see Configuration below) and click Next.
4. Select the tables you want to sync, choose a sync method and frequency, then click Import.

Once the syncs are complete, you can start querying this data in PostHog.

When linking SparkPost, you'll need:

• Region – pick the region your account is on: US (api.sparkpost.com) or EU (api.eu.sparkpost.com).
• API key – create one in your SparkPost account settings (or the EU console at app.eu.sparkpost.com). Grant the read permissions for the data you want to sync, for example Events: Read-only, Suppression Lists: Read-only, Recipient Lists: Read-only, Templates: Read-only, Sending Domains: Read-only, Subaccounts: Read-only, and Webhooks: Read-only.

Sync modes

Each table can be synced in one of several modes, depending on what the source supports:

• Webhook (when available) – the source pushes changes to PostHog in real time. Fastest freshness, lowest ongoing cost, and the only mode that reliably captures updates and deletes.
• Incremental – only new or updated rows are synced on each run, using a cursor field (such as an updated_at timestamp). Cheaper than a full refresh, but deletes aren't captured.
• Append only – new rows are appended using a cursor field; existing rows are never updated. Ideal for immutable, append-only tables like event logs.
• Full refresh – the whole table is reloaded on every sync. Use it when a table has no reliable cursor or when you need deletions reflected.

See sync methods for a full explanation of how each mode works and how to choose between them.

Message events are retained for 10 days, so the initial sync of events can only reach back that far.

Configuration

Supported tables

The tables available from this source are discovered from your account when you connect it, so the exact list depends on your data. Once connected, you can pick which tables to sync from the sources tab.

Troubleshooting

• If you get an authorization error, your SparkPost API key is invalid. Generate a valid key and reconnect.
• If you get a permission error, your API key is missing the read permissions for this data. Grant the required permissions and reconnect.

If your sync is failing or data looks wrong, see the Data warehouse troubleshooting guide. If that doesn't help, contact support – we're happy to help.