> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.autonudge.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bring your contacts in

> Four ways contacts reach Nudge, and which ones start your automations

A contact can reach your workspace four ways: a form on your website, a CSV file, the API, or your AI assistant. Pick by one question before anything else: should these people hear from you straight away, or not?

| Way in | Good for | Starts your automations? |
| - | - | - |
| [A form](#a-form-on-your-website) | New leads, as they arrive | Yes |
| [A CSV file](#a-csv-file) | A list from somewhere else, like a webinar | Yes, for people who are new |
| [The API, one at a time](#the-api) | Leads from your own website or systems | Yes |
| [The API, in bulk, or your AI assistant](#a-whole-book-at-once) | Your existing book of contacts | No |

Everyone who comes in is matched against the contacts you already have, by email and by phone, so the same person never ends up twice.

## A form on your website

The usual way new leads arrive. Build a form under **Forms**, then paste its two-line embed snippet into your website. Each submission becomes a contact, lands in the status your automations watch, and the follow-up starts at once. See [Web forms](https://docs.autonudge.dev/crm/forms.md).

## A CSV file

For a list you got somewhere else. In **Bulk Action**, press **Upload CSV**, or drop the file on the segment area. Nudge finds the name, email and phone columns itself and shows you what it found before changing anything: who's already a contact, who's new, and which rows it skipped and why. Up to 2,000 rows a file. See [Use a CSV file](https://docs.autonudge.dev/automation/bulk-send.md#use-a-csv-file).

People already in your workspace are left exactly as they are. New people are created when you confirm, and you can stop there: they stay even if you never send the bulk action.

> [!WARNING]
>
> New contacts from a CSV enter your automations like any new contact. If an automation greets new contacts, everyone new in the file gets that greeting. To bring in old contacts quietly, switch those automations off first, or use the API's bulk import below.

## The API

For leads that arrive in another system of yours. Create a key under **Settings → API** and send each lead to `POST /contacts` as it comes in. Nudge treats it like a form submission: matched or created, then into your automations. See [API](https://docs.autonudge.dev/api/overview.md).

## A whole book at once

For the contacts you already have, from a spreadsheet or another CRM, without messaging any of them. Two ways, both quiet:

* **The API's bulk import:** `POST /contacts` with a list, up to 100 a call. Nothing is sent. See [Contacts](https://docs.autonudge.dev/api/overview.md#contacts).
* **Your AI assistant:** connect Claude or ChatGPT under **Settings → API** and paste or describe the list. Nothing is sent, and running the same list twice is safe. It can also bring in the history that goes with them: past calls, emails, notes and deals. See [Using it with an AI assistant](https://docs.autonudge.dev/api/overview.md#using-it-with-an-ai-assistant).

When you do want some of them in a workflow, turn that automation on with **New and recent matches**, using a window that covers the import. See [Turning an automation on](https://docs.autonudge.dev/automation/triggers.md#turning-an-automation-on).

Next: [invite your team](https://docs.autonudge.dev/settings/users.md#inviting-someone) to work them.


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