Hightouch - Novu

This guide demonstrates how to use Hightouch’s HTTP Request destination to sync data from your warehouse into Novu. You’ll learn how to:

Create a reusable HTTP Request destination that points at the Novu API
Sync rows from a Hightouch model into Novu subscribers
Trigger notification workflows in Novu from a Hightouch events model
Configure retries and rate limits for reliable delivery

By the end, you’ll have a working integration that creates subscribers and triggers notification workflows in Novu based on the data in your warehouse.

Before you start, ensure you have:

A Hightouch account with a connected source (a warehouse or database such as Snowflake, BigQuery, or Postgres) and permission to create destinations and syncs
At least one model in Hightouch that returns the rows you want to sync (for example, a table of users)
A Novu account with an API key (find this in your Novu dashboard under Settings > API Keys)

Hightouch is a reverse ETL platform. Instead of running code on each event like Segment Destination Functions, Hightouch queries a model on a schedule and sends an HTTP request for each row that is added, changed, or removed. You map those row changes to Novu API calls.

Create the HTTP Request destination

Create one destination per service and reuse it across syncs.

Go to the Destinations overview page and click Add destination
Select HTTP Request and click Continue
Enter the Base URL for the Novu API:
- US (default): https://api.novu.co
- EU: https://eu.api.novu.co
Under HTTP headers, add the following headers. Mark the Authorization value as Secret so it is encrypted and hidden in the UI:

Header	Value
`Authorization`	`ApiKey YOUR_NOVU_API_KEY`
`Content-Type`	`application/json`

Leave the certificate options off unless your setup requires them, then click Continue
Give the destination a descriptive name, such as HTTP Request - Novu API, and save

The base URL is the static part of the endpoint. You add the specific path (for example, /v2/subscribers) later in each sync, so a single Novu destination can power both the subscriber sync and the workflow trigger sync.

Sync a model into Novu subscribers

This sync keeps Novu subscribers in step with the users in your warehouse. Use one request shape for both new and updated rows: POST /v2/subscribers creates a subscriber when the subscriberId is new and updates it when it already exists.Assume your model returns one row per user with columns like this:

`subscriber_id`	`first_name`	`last_name`	`email`	`phone`
`97980cfea0067`	Peter	Gibbons	`[email protected]`	+14158675309

Go to the Syncs overview page and click Add sync
Select your users model and the Novu HTTP Request destination
Under request triggers, enable Rows added and Rows changed
Configure both triggers the same way:

HTTP method: POST
URL: /v2/subscribers
Payload type: JSON
Define JSON payload:

{
  "subscriberId": "{{ row.subscriber_id }}",
  "firstName": "{{ row.first_name }}",
  "lastName": "{{ row.last_name }}",
  "email": "{{ row.email }}",
  "phone": "{{ row.phone }}"
}

Explanation

Map subscriberId to a stable warehouse column that never changes. Novu uses it as the recipient identifier.
POST /v2/subscribers is idempotent for a given subscriberId: the first request creates the subscriber, later requests update the same record.
Wrap every string value in double quotes inside the JSON payload. Leave numeric or boolean values unquoted.
Use Hightouch’s Preview tab to confirm the rendered body before you save.

Optional: partial updates with PATCH

If you only want to send changed fields and not a full profile, configure Rows changed as:

HTTP method: PATCH
URL: /v2/subscribers/{{ row.subscriber_id }}
Body with only the fields you want to update

Prefer the shared POST upsert path above unless you specifically need partial updates. PATCH returns 404 if the subscriber does not exist yet.

Trigger workflows from an events model

To trigger a Novu workflow, sync a model that returns one row per event you want to notify on. Keep this separate from the subscriber sync so you can schedule and backfill them independently.Novu can create a subscriber just in time when a workflow is triggered. A prior subscriber sync is useful for preferences and enrichment, but it is not required for triggers to succeed.A simple events model returns the target subscriber, the workflow to run, and the fields you need in the payload:

`subscriber_id`	`workflow_id`	`plan`	`account_type`
`97980cfea0067`	`welcome`	`Pro Annual`	`Facebook`

Create a new sync from your events model to the Novu destination
Under request triggers, enable Rows added only, so each new event fires once
Configure the trigger:

HTTP method: POST
URL: /v1/events/trigger
Payload type: JSON
Define JSON payload:

{
  "name": "{{ row.workflow_id }}",
  "to": {
    "subscriberId": "{{ row.subscriber_id }}"
  },
  "payload": {
    "plan": "{{ row.plan }}",
    "accountType": "{{ row.account_type }}"
  }
}

Explanation

name is the workflow identifier in Novu. Store it in a column so one sync can drive many workflows, or hard-code a static value like "welcome" if the model only feeds one workflow.
to.subscriberId addresses the recipient. You can also pass profile fields such as email or firstName inside to so Novu upserts them on trigger.
Build payload from typed columns in the Liquid template. Prefer this over injecting a pre-serialized JSON string from the warehouse, which can escape incorrectly when the column is stored as text.

Enable only the Rows added trigger for workflow sends. Enabling Rows changed or Rows removed on an events model can trigger the same notification more than once.

Configure reliability and run the sync

Before your first run, set rate limits and error handling so you stay within Novu’s limits and recover cleanly from transient failures.

Rate limiting and concurrency: Hightouch defaults to 1000 requests per second. Novu’s Free plan allows 20 RPS for subscriber and configuration endpoints and 60 RPS for event triggers. Higher plans raise those caps. See Rate limiting. Start below your plan’s limit (for example, 10 to 20 RPS for subscriber syncs and 30 to 60 RPS for triggers on Free), then raise the limit if your plan allows it.
Error handling: Hightouch treats any 400 or 500 level response as an error and can retry until the request succeeds. Retrying on the next sync run is appropriate for 429 and 5xx responses. Permanent client errors such as 400, 401, 404, and 422 usually mean a bad payload, key, or template. Fix those with the live debugger and alerts rather than relying on endless retries.
Initial sync behavior: decide how existing rows are handled on the first run. For a subscriber backfill, sync all rows. For workflow triggers, skip existing rows so you do not notify users about historical events.
Set a schedule or run the sync manually, then click Run.

Verify the integration

1. Confirm subscribers

After the subscriber sync completes, open the Subscribers list in your Novu dashboard and confirm the rows appear with the expected subscriberId, name, email, and phone.

2. Confirm workflow triggers

After the events sync completes, open the Activity Feed in your Novu dashboard and confirm the workflow ran for the expected subscriber with the payload from your model.

Use Hightouch’s live debugger on the sync run to inspect the exact request and response for each row, which makes it easy to spot payload or authentication issues.

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized: Check the Authorization header on the destination. It must be ApiKey YOUR_NOVU_API_KEY, and the key must match your Novu environment (Development or Production) and region.
Workflow not triggering: Confirm the value in name matches an existing workflow identifier in Novu, the workflow is active, and you are using an API key from the same environment.
Invalid JSON payload: Make sure every string is wrapped in double quotes. Use Hightouch’s payload Preview against a sample row before running the sync.
429 Too Many Requests: Lower the rate limit and concurrency in the sync configuration to stay within your plan limits.

Additional notes

One destination, many syncs: The Novu destination holds the base URL and credentials. Add a new sync for each endpoint you need rather than creating a second destination.
Batching workflow triggers: POST /v1/events/trigger expects a single event. For batches, use POST /v1/events/trigger/bulk with an events array. Bulk requests cost 100 rate-limit tokens each. Example Liquid body when batching is enabled:

{
  "events": [
    {% for row in rows %}
      {
        "name": "{{ row.workflow_id }}",
        "to": {
          "subscriberId": "{{ row.subscriber_id }}"
        },
        "payload": {
          "plan": "{{ row.plan }}",
          "accountType": "{{ row.account_type }}"
        }
      }{% unless forloop.last %},{% endunless %}
    {% endfor %}
  ]
}

Region: EU accounts must use https://eu.api.novu.co. A US API key will not authenticate against the EU host, and the reverse is also true.

With this setup, changes in your warehouse flow into Novu on every sync, keeping subscribers current and triggering notification workflows from the data you already trust.

​Create the HTTP Request destination

​Sync a model into Novu subscribers

​Trigger workflows from an events model

​Configure reliability and run the sync

​Verify the integration

​Related guides

Create the HTTP Request destination

Sync a model into Novu subscribers

Trigger workflows from an events model

Configure reliability and run the sync

Verify the integration

Related guides