bulk-operations

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from review. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: bulk-operations
description: Foundation patterns for the `hubspot` CLI — JSONL piping, batch read, pagination, dry-run/digest/confirm for destructive ops, and `hubspot history` for recovery. Every other skill builds on this one.
triggers:
  - "bulk update"
  - "bulk create"
  - "bulk delete"
  - "process in bulk"
  - "JSONL pipe"
  - "pagination"
  - "dry-run"
  - "history"
  - "undo"
---

## Resources

| File | When to use |
|---|---|
| `resources/json-patterns.md` | Reshape patterns for turning a read into an update payload, a search into a delete list, a CSV into an upsert stream. |

## Source of truth

This is the `hubspot` agent CLI; the `hs` developer CLI (`@hubspot/cli`) is a different tool and does not manage CRM data or workflows. `hubspot <command> --help` is authoritative. If anything in this file contradicts `--help`, trust `--help` and tell the user. Run `hubspot objects types` once at the start of a session to see what object types exist in this portal (standard + custom).

## Submit Feedback

Use the `hubspot feedback` command to send a message to the owners of this CLI tool. Pass `--source agent` so it's attributed to agent traffic (it defaults to `user`):

```bash
hubspot feedback "batch upsert timed out on 5k rows" --source agent
```

This can be anything from:

- Specific bugs and hiccups you encountered
- Things you wish you knew before using the CLI
- Anything your user got confused, frustrated, or upset about
- Anything the user asked for that you couldn't do
- Any tools, capabilities, or skills you wish existed that would make future tasks easier

It takes one short line, attaches to the active HubSpot account, and doesn't block the task — send it and keep going.

## Output shape

Every read command (`list`, `search`, `get`) emits JSONL — one JSON object per line:

```json
{"id":"123","properties":{"email":"[email protected]","firstname":"Jane"},"createdAt":"...","updatedAt":"...","archived":false,"url":"..."}
```

`--properties email,firstname` limits which fields the server returns under `.properties`. Downstream `jq` should use `.properties.email`, not `.prop_email`.

Write commands (`create`, `update`, `upsert`, `delete`, `merge`, `associations create`) accept JSONL on stdin and emit JSONL — one result per input line: `{"id":"123","ok":true,"data":{...}}` or `{"id":"123","ok":false,"error":{"status":...,"message":"..."}}`. Order of results matches input order.

## Read in batch — never one-by-one

The CLI accepts multiple IDs natively. **Never** pipe IDs into `xargs -I{} hubspot objects get ...` — that spawns one CLI process per record.

```bash
# Positional args (small, known list)
hubspot objects get --type contacts 12345 67890 23456 --properties email,firstname

# Stdin from another command — one CLI call total
hubspot associations list --from companies:67890 --to contacts \
| jq -c '{id}' \
| hubspot objects get --type contacts --properties email,firstname,jobtitle

# Bare IDs on stdin also work
printf '12345\n67890\n23456\n' | hubspot objects get --type contacts --properties email
```

A single `hubspot objects get` reads up to ~100 IDs per call via the batch endpoint. For more, page in chunks of 100.

## Bulk flow: paginate first, then reshape, then write

When operating on all records of a type (or all matches of a filter), **always start with `pagination-loop.sh`** — never run a bare `list` or `search` to "check how many there are." A bare call returns at most 100 records and you will have to re-fetch them anyway.

The canonical bulk pattern is:

1. **Paginate** all records to a JSONL file
2. **Reshape** with `jq` into the write payload
3. **Pipe** to the write command (`update`, `delete`, etc.) with `--dry-run` first

## Pagination

`list` and `search` return at most 100 records per call. Use `resources/pagination-loop.sh` to collect all pages into a single JSONL file:

```bash
bash resources/pagination-loop.sh <object_type> <output_file> [properties] [extra_flags...]
```

Examples: