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

# Custom Capture

> Log any signal from any source using the authenticated capture API.

## Endpoint

```
POST https://api.yourdomain.com/api/v1/capture
```

**Auth:** `Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>`

Unlike the inbound webhook endpoints, the capture API requires an API key. Generate one in **Settings → API Keys**.

## Request body

```json theme={null}
{
  "email": "prospect@company.com",
  "type": "email_sent",
  "source": "smtp",
  "description": "Outbound: Introduction email",
  "external_id": "msg_<message-id>",
  "occurred_at": "2026-05-14T10:00:00Z",
  "metadata": {
    "subject": "Introduction to Nous",
    "campaign": "May Outreach"
  }
}
```

## Fields

| Field         | Type     | Required | Description                                         |
| ------------- | -------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| `email`       | string   | Yes\*    | Contact email. Required if `contact_id` not set.    |
| `contact_id`  | UUID     | Yes\*    | Contact UUID. Required if `email` not set.          |
| `type`        | string   | Yes      | Activity type — see table below                     |
| `source`      | string   | No       | Source identifier (e.g. `smtp`, `custom`, `zapier`) |
| `description` | string   | No       | Human-readable label shown on the timeline          |
| `external_id` | string   | No       | Deduplication key — safe to retry                   |
| `occurred_at` | ISO 8601 | No       | Defaults to `now()`                                 |
| `metadata`    | object   | No       | Any extra key-value pairs                           |

## Activity types

| `type`              | Description           |
| ------------------- | --------------------- |
| `email_sent`        | Outbound email        |
| `email_received`    | Inbound email / reply |
| `email_opened`      | Open tracked          |
| `email_bounced`     | Bounce                |
| `call`              | Phone call            |
| `meeting_scheduled` | Meeting booked        |
| `meeting_held`      | Meeting completed     |
| `website_visit`     | Page view             |
| `linkedin_message`  | LinkedIn DM           |
| `note`              | Manual note           |
| `custom`            | Anything else         |

## Response

```json theme={null}
{
  "ok": true,
  "activity_id": "uuid",
  "contact_id": "uuid",
  "stage_before": "identified",
  "stage_after": "aware"
}
```

`stage_before` / `stage_after` tell you if this signal advanced the contact's pipeline stage.

## Example: Zapier

Use the custom capture endpoint in a Zapier webhook action to log events from any tool Nous doesn't natively support.