Customer.io Upgrade & Migration
Current State
!npm list customerio-node 2>/dev/null | grep customerio || echo 'customerio-node: not installed'
!npm view customerio-node version 2>/dev/null || echo 'Cannot check latest version'
Overview
Plan and execute customerio-node SDK upgrades safely: assess current version, review breaking changes, apply code migrations, and validate with staged rollout.
Prerequisites
- Current SDK version identified (
npm list customerio-node) - Test environment available
- Version control for rollback
Major Version Migration Reference
Legacy CustomerIO to Modern TrackClient + APIClient
Older versions of customerio-node used a single CustomerIO class. Modern versions split into TrackClient (tracking) and APIClient (transactional/broadcasts).
// BEFORE — Legacy pattern (customerio-node < 2.x)
const CustomerIO = require("customerio-node");
const cio = new CustomerIO(siteId, apiKey);
cio.identify("user-1", { email: "user@example.com" });
cio.track("user-1", { name: "event_name" });
// AFTER — Modern pattern (customerio-node >= 2.x)
import { TrackClient, APIClient, RegionUS } from "customerio-node";
const cio = new TrackClient(siteId, apiKey, { region: RegionUS });
await cio.identify("user-1", { email: "user@example.com" });
await cio.track("user-1", { name: "event_name", data: {} });
const api = new APIClient(appApiKey, { region: RegionUS });
await api.sendEmail(request);
Key changes:
TrackClientreplacesCustomerIOfor identify/trackAPIClientis new — handles transactional + broadcasts- Region is now explicit (
RegionUSorRegionEU) - Methods return Promises (must
await) - Event tracking uses
{ name, data }object instead of positional args
Instructions
Step 1: Assess Current Version
// scripts/cio-version-check.ts
import { readFileSync, existsSync } from "fs";
function assessVersion() {
// Check installed version
const lockPath = "package-lock.json";
if (existsSync(lockPath)) {
const lock = JSON.parse(readFileSync(lockPath, "utf-8"));
const installed =
lock.packages?.["node_modules/customerio-node"]?.version ??
lock.dependencies?.["customerio-node"]?.version ??
"not found in lockfile";
console.log(`Installed: customerio-node@${installed}`);
}
// Check package.json declared version
const pkg = JSON.parse(readFileSync("package.json", "utf-8"));
const declared = pkg.dependencies?.["customerio-node"] ?? "not declared";
console.log(`Declared: ${declared}`);
// Search for usage patterns
console.log("\nUsage pattern check:");
console.log("- Look for 'new CustomerIO(' → legacy pattern, needs migration");
console.log("- Look for 'new TrackClient(' → modern pattern");
console.log("- Look for 'RegionUS/RegionEU' → region-aware (good)");
}
assessVersion();
Step 2: Review Breaking Changes
// Common breaking changes between major versions:
// v1.x → v2.x:
// - CustomerIO class → TrackClient + APIClient
// - Callbacks → Promises (async/await)
// - Region parameter added (defaults to US)
// - SendEmailRequest constructor changed
// v2.x → v3.x:
// - Import path may change
// - TypeScript types improved
// - Error object structure may change
// Always check the official changelog:
// https://github.com/customerio/customerio-node/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md
Step 3: Create Migration Wrapper
// lib/customerio-migration.ts
// Adapter that supports both old and new patterns during migration
import { TrackClient, APIClient, RegionUS } from "customerio-node";
export class CioMigrationClient {
private trackClient: TrackClient;
private apiClient: APIClient | null;
constructor(config: {
siteId: string;
trackApiKey: string;
appApiKey?: string;
region?: "us" | "eu";
}) {
const region = config.region === "eu"
? (await import("customerio-node")).RegionEU
: RegionUS;
this.trackClient = new TrackClient(config.siteId, config.trackApiKey, {
region,
});
this.apiClient = config.appApiKey
? new APIClient(config.appApiKey, { region })
: null;
}
// Legacy-compatible identify (accepts both old and new signatures)
async identify(userId: string, attrs: Record<string, any>): Promise<void> {
// Ensure timestamps are in seconds, not milliseconds
if (attrs.created_at && attrs.created_at > 1e12) {
attrs.created_at = Math.floor(attrs.created_at / 1000);
}
await this.trackClient.identify(userId, attrs);
}
// Legacy-compatible track (normalizes data format)
async track(
userId: string,
eventOrOpts: string | { name: string; data?: Record<string, any> },
data?: Record<string, any>
): Promise<void> {
if (typeof eventOrOpts === "string") {
// Legacy: track("user", "event_name", { key: "value" })
await this.trackClient.track(userId, {
name: eventOrOpts,
data: data ?? {},
});
} else {
// Modern: track("user", { name: "event_name", data: {} })
await this.trackClient.track(userId, eventOrOpts);
}
}
get app(): APIClient {
if (!this.apiClient) {
throw new Error("App API key not configured");
}
return this.apiClient;
}
}
Step 4: Update and Test
# Update to latest version
npm install customerio-node@latest
# Run your test suite
npm test
# Run integration tests against dev workspace
npx dotenv -e .env.development -- npx vitest run tests/customerio
Step 5: Migration Test Suite
// tests/cio-migration.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
import { TrackClient, APIClient, RegionUS } from "customerio-node";
const cio = new TrackClient(
process.env.CUSTOMERIO_SITE_ID!,
process.env.CUSTOMERIO_TRACK_API_KEY!,
{ region: RegionUS }
);
describe("Post-migration validation", () => {
const testId = `migration-test-${Date.now()}`;
it("identify works with new client", async () => {
await expect(
cio.identify(testId, {
email: `${testId}@test.example.com`,
created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
})
).resolves.not.toThrow();
});
it("track works with object format", async () => {
await expect(
cio.track(testId, { name: "migration_test", data: { version: "new" } })
).resolves.not.toThrow();
});
it("suppress and destroy work", async () => {
await cio.suppress(testId);
await expect(cio.destroy(testId)).resolves.not.toThrow();
});
});
Step 6: Staged Rollout with Feature Flag
// Use feature flag to gradually migrate traffic
import { createHash } from "crypto";
function useNewSdk(userId: string, rolloutPercent: number): boolean {
const hash = createHash("md5").update(`cio-migration-${userId}`).digest("hex");
return parseInt(hash.substring(0, 8), 16) % 100 < rolloutPercent;
}
// In your application code:
if (useNewSdk(userId, 10)) {
// New SDK path
await newClient.identify(userId, attrs);
} else {
// Legacy SDK path (until migration complete)
await legacyClient.identify(userId, attrs);
}
Migration Checklist
- [ ] Current version documented
- [ ] Target version identified
- [ ] Breaking changes reviewed (CHANGELOG.md)
- [ ] Code changes implemented (TrackClient, region, async/await)
- [ ] Unit tests passing
- [ ] Integration tests passing against dev workspace
- [ ] Staging deployment successful
- [ ] Feature flag for staged rollout ready
- [ ] Rollback plan documented (pin old version in package.json)
- [ ] Team notified of migration timeline
Error Handling
| Issue | Solution |
|-------|----------|
| TrackClient is not a constructor | Old import style — use import { TrackClient } from "customerio-node" |
| region is not defined | Import RegionUS or RegionEU from customerio-node |
| Methods not returning Promises | Upgrade to latest — old versions used callbacks |
| TypeError: cio.track is not a function | Using APIClient instead of TrackClient for tracking |
Resources
Next Steps
After successful migration, proceed to customerio-ci-integration for CI/CD setup.