Understanding Insert ID in Mixpanel: Purpose & Tracking Requirements
what is the insert id in Mixpanel and what is the purpose and is this just a client side specific requirement or it is needed for server side tracking also?
what is the insert id in Mixpanel and what is the purpose and is this just a client side specific requirement or it is needed for server side tracking also?
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The Insert ID ($insert_id) in Mixpanel is a unique identifier for each event, used for deduplication purposes. It's an important component of Mixpanel's event tracking system, and it's not just a client-side requirement - it's also needed for server-side tracking.Here are the key points about Insert ID: 1. Purpose: The main purpose of the Insert ID is to prevent duplicate events from being recorded in Mixpanel. As stated in the Mixpanel documentation: "$insert_id: A unique identifier for the event, used to deduplicate events that are accidentally sent multiple times."2. Deduplication: Mixpanel uses the Insert ID along with other event properties to identify and remove duplicate events. According to the Ingestion API documentation: "Events with identical values for (event, time, distinct_id, $insert_id) are considered duplicates; only one of them will be considered in queries."3. Requirement: The Insert ID is required for all events, regardless of whether they're sent from client-side or server-side. The Import Events API documentation states: "$insert_id is required on all events. This makes it safe to retry /import requests."4. Format: The Insert ID must be 36 characters or less and contain only alphanumeric characters or hyphens. It's often recommended to use a UUID for this purpose.5. Generation: If you're using Mixpanel's SDKs, they will automatically generate an Insert ID for you. However, if you're implementing server-side tracking or using the API directly, you'll need to generate and provide the Insert ID yourself.6. Best Practice: If your events don't already have a unique ID, Mixpanel recommends "computing a hash of some set of properties that make the event semantically unique (eg: distinct_id + timestamp + some other property) and using the first 36 characters of that hash as the $insert_id."In summary, the Insert ID is a crucial component for both client-side and server-side event tracking in Mixpanel, serving to ensure data integrity by preventing duplicate events.
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