How to Set Custom Properties for Past Events in Tracking Systems

Hi folks! I hope you are doing well. I have a question regarding the update past event. For instance, we have an event to track payment. We have two different payment type that "renewal" and "new". In the past we do not set custom properties. But I know which user and when pushed that exact event. How can I set past event's custom event property? Thank you!

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kapa.ai
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kapa.ai
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To update past events in Mixpanel with custom properties, you'll need to use the import API rather than the standard tracking methods. The Mixpanel SDKs are designed for real-time tracking and don't support updating historical events directly. Here's how you can approach this:1. Use the /import API endpoint to import the updated events with the new custom properties. This API is specifically designed for importing historical data.2. For implementing this, Mixpanel recommends using either: - The Python SDK's .import_data() function - The mixpanel-utils module's import_events() functionBoth of these methods leverage the /import API for event ingestion, which allows you to import events that occurred more than 5 days in the past.Here's an example of how you might use the Python SDK to import updated events:LBKSfrom mixpanel import MixpanelLBKSmp = Mixpanel("YOUR_PROJECT_TOKEN")LBKS# Assuming you have a list of events to update events_to_update = [ { "event": "Payment", "properties": { "distinct_id": "user123", "time": 1609459200, # Unix timestamp of the original event "payment_type": "renewal" # New custom property } }, # ... more events ... ]LBKSmp.import_data(events_to_update)LBKSRemember that when updating historical events: - You need to include the original timestamp of the event - Make sure to use the correct distinct_id for each user - Include all the properties you want the event to have, not just the new onesFor more detailed information on importing historical events, you can refer to the Mixpanel documentation on importing historical events.Mixpanel Java SDK Documentation Mixpanel Swift SDK Documentation
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