Merge patch (RFC 7396)

Connect’s PATCH endpoints follow RFC 7396 JSON Merge Patch. This applies anywhere you PATCH a resource with a partial body — most relevantly on PATCH /connect/table_entries/:id for the data and customFieldData fields.

The three rules

Body has key with…	Result
Non-null value	Set or replace the key
null value	Delete the key entirely
Key omitted	Leave it untouched

For nested objects (e.g., inside customFieldData), the merge is deep — you can update a single nested field without overwriting siblings.

Examples

Starting state:

{
    "data": {
        "course": "Kids BJJ",
        "preferredDay": "Saturday",
        "notes": "Interested in beginner course"
    }
}

Replace one field

PATCH /connect/table_entries/<id>
Content-Type: application/json

{ "data": { "preferredDay": "Monday" } }

Result: preferredDay updated, course and notes untouched.

Delete a field

{ "data": { "notes": null } }

Result: notes removed entirely. course and preferredDay untouched.

Replace AND delete in one request

{ "data": { "preferredDay": "Monday", "notes": null } }

Both apply atomically.

Exception: contacts replaces, it doesn’t merge

contacts on PATCH /connect/table_entries/:id is not merge-patched. A given array is the complete set of people on the lead — anyone absent is taken off it. Omit contacts on updates that aren’t about people. See Contacts.

Changing somebody’s email or phone number is not a data patch either: identity keys in data are stored but read by nothing, and the Connect API does not edit a person’s channels.

Caveat: no full-replace operation

Merge patch can’t express “replace data entirely” in a single request. If you need to clear all keys, you have to:

1. List the existing keys (e.g., from a GET first).
2. Send a PATCH with null for each key you want to delete.
3. Send the new keys in the same PATCH.

In practice this almost never matters — you usually want to update or delete specific fields, not nuke the whole object.

Related

• Leads resource — primary place merge-patch shows up.
• Workflows — common patch patterns (move to lead state, archive a value).