Import and Manage Recipient Contacts and Lists in Zexa

Contacts in Zexa are the people you send messages to. You can add contacts individually, import them in bulk via CSV, or create them programmatically via the API. Contacts are grouped into lists that you target when creating campaigns.

Add a contact

Open Add Contact

In the Zexa dashboard, navigate to Contacts > Add Contact.

Enter contact details

Fill in the contact’s name, phone number (E.164 format, e.g. +244912345678), and an optional email address.

Assign to a list

Select one or more existing contact lists to add this contact to. You can also create a new list from this screen.

Save the contact

Click Save. The contact is immediately available for use in campaigns.

Phone numbers must be in E.164 format (e.g. +244912345678). Numbers submitted without a country code will be rejected by the API and the import validator.

Import contacts from CSV

To add many contacts at once, use the bulk CSV import tool.

Download the sample template

Go to Contacts > Import and click Download Sample CSV to get the expected column layout.

Prepare your CSV file

Fill in your data using the following columns:

Column	Required	Format
`name`	Yes	Plain text
`phone`	Yes	E.164 (e.g. `+244912345678`)
`email`	No	Valid email address

Upload the file

Return to Contacts > Import, select your CSV file, and choose the target contact list.

Review and confirm

Zexa displays a preview with a count of valid and invalid rows. Fix any errors highlighted in red, then click Confirm Import.

Manage contacts via API

Create a contact

curl

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.zexa.ao/v1/contacts \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <api_key>" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "name": "Ana Silva",
    "phone": "+244912345678",
    "email": "ana@example.com",
    "lists": ["lst_abc123"]
  }'

List contacts in a list

Use the list_id, page, and per_page query parameters to paginate through a contact list:

curl

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://api.zexa.ao/v1/contacts?list_id=lst_abc123&page=1&per_page=50" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <api_key>"

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "con_001",
      "name": "Ana Silva",
      "phone": "+244912345678",
      "email": "ana@example.com",
      "opted_out": false,
      "created_at": "2026-06-01T09:00:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "page": 1,
  "per_page": 50,
  "total": 1
}

Delete a contact

curl

curl --request DELETE \
  --url https://api.zexa.ao/v1/contacts/con_001 \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer <api_key>"

A 204 No Content response confirms the contact has been removed.

Contact lists

Contact lists let you group contacts into reusable audiences. A single contact can belong to multiple lists, and a single list can be targeted by multiple campaigns. To create a list from the dashboard:

Open Lists

Go to Contacts > Lists > New List.

Name your list

Enter a descriptive name (e.g. Luanda Subscribers or VIP Customers Q3) and click Create.

Add contacts

Add contacts to the list manually, via CSV import, or by specifying the list ID when creating contacts through the API.

Opt-outs and unsubscribes

Zexa automatically manages opt-outs to keep your sending compliant:

SMS: when a recipient replies STOP (or a localised equivalent), Zexa marks them as opted out.
Email: when a recipient clicks the unsubscribe link in an email, Zexa marks them as opted out.
Opted-out contacts are automatically excluded from all future campaigns — you do not need to remove them from your lists manually.

You can view opted-out contacts under Contacts > Opt-outs in the dashboard.

Always obtain explicit consent before adding contacts to any list. Sending unsolicited messages violates Zexa’s Terms of Use and may breach data protection laws applicable in your market.

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Import and Manage Recipient Contacts and Lists in Zexa

Add a contact

Import contacts from CSV

Manage contacts via API

Create a contact

List contacts in a list

Delete a contact

Contact lists

Opt-outs and unsubscribes

Campaigns

Sender IDs

Templates

​Add a contact

​Import contacts from CSV

​Manage contacts via API

​Create a contact

​List contacts in a list

​Delete a contact

​Contact lists

​Opt-outs and unsubscribes

Campaigns

Sender IDs

Templates

Add a contact

Import contacts from CSV

Manage contacts via API

Create a contact

List contacts in a list

Delete a contact

Contact lists

Opt-outs and unsubscribes