Quickstart

#1. Get an API key

Create an account, then create your first key under API keys. Keys look like en_live_… and are server-side secrets.

The plaintext is shown once, at creation, and never again — only a hash is stored. Copy it straight into your secret manager; if you lose it, revoke the key and create another.

#2. Create a waitlist

Once, in the dashboard or over the API. Reuse its id for every signup — you do not create a waitlist per person.

curl -X POST https://api.enlist.dev/v1/waitlists \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ENLIST_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"my-launch"}'

#3. First signup

The API is plain REST, so this is the whole integration. No dependency required.

const response = await fetch('https://api.enlist.dev/v1/waitlists/WAITLIST_ID/signups', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.ENLIST_API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ email: 'user@example.com', utm_source: 'producthunt' }),
});

const { id, position, total } = await response.json();
// Response is immediate. Email goes out with position in it. Dashboard tracks delivery.
// Re-submitting the same email returns the same position, no duplicate email.

#Wiring it into a form

A Next.js route handler on your backend. Your API key stays server-side. The browser gets the response — you render what you want, we track what lands.

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  const { email } = await request.json();
  const utmSource = new URL(request.url).searchParams.get('utm_source') ?? undefined;

  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.enlist.dev/v1/waitlists/${process.env.WAITLIST_ID}/signups`,
    {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.ENLIST_API_KEY}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({ email, utm_source: utmSource }),
    },
  );

  const { position, total } = await response.json();
  return Response.json({ position, total });
}

#Customize signup emails

Open settings to edit the signup email subject and body. Use variables: {{waitlist_name}}, {{position}}, {{total}}, {{email}}. Plain text with auto-wrapped HTML.

#Prefer a typed client?

#What happens on signup

• The signup gets the next position on that waitlist. Positions never shift.
• A signup email goes out — "You're on the list — you're #47 of 1203." Delivery and open state show up in the dashboard.
• Re-submitting the same email is a no-op: the original position comes back and no second email is sent.
• utm_source is captured and rolled up in the stats endpoint.
• A referral_code comes back in the response. Put it behind ?ref= for a share link, and pass whatever arrives in ?ref back as referral_code on the next signup — see Referrals.

#Using an AI coding agent?

Skip all of this. Add the MCP server and prompt your agent: "Add a waitlist to this project." Your agent wires everything in one message.