clay-architecture-variants

Clay Architecture Variants

Overview

Three proven architecture patterns for Clay data enrichment at different scales. Clay is a hosted SaaS -- your architecture decisions focus on how you send data in (webhooks), how you get enriched data out (HTTP API columns, CRM sync, or CSV export), and how you orchestrate the flow.

Prerequisites

• Clay account with appropriate plan tier
• Clear understanding of data volume and latency requirements
• Infrastructure for chosen architecture tier (if queue-based or event-driven)

Instructions

Architecture 1: Direct Integration (Simple)

Best for: Small teams, < 1K enrichments/day, ad-hoc usage.

┌──────────────┐     webhook     ┌───────────┐
│ Your App     │───────POST─────>│ Clay Table │
│ (or CSV)     │                 │ (enriches) │
└──────────────┘                 └─────┬─────┘
                                       │
                                  CRM action
                                  or CSV export
                                       │
                                       v
                                 ┌───────────┐
                                 │ CRM / DB  │
                                 └───────────┘

// Direct: send leads synchronously, export results manually
async function directEnrich(leads: Lead[]): Promise<void> {
  for (const lead of leads) {
    await fetch(process.env.CLAY_WEBHOOK_URL!, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify(lead),
    });
    await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 250)); // Rate limit
  }
  console.log(`Sent ${leads.length} leads. Check Clay table for enriched data.`);
  // Enriched data reaches CRM via Clay's native CRM action column
}

Pros: Zero infrastructure, 5-minute setup, works on all Clay plans. Cons: No retry logic, no programmatic access to enriched data, manual export only.

---

Architecture 2: Webhook-in, HTTP API-out (Standard)

Best for: Growing teams, 1K-10K enrichments/day, CRM integration.

┌──────────────┐     webhook     ┌───────────┐   HTTP API col   ┌──────────────┐
│ Your App     │───────POST─────>│ Clay Table │──────POST──────>│ Your Webhook │
│              │                 │ (enriches) │                 │ Handler      │
└──────────────┘                 └───────────┘                 └──────┬───────┘
                                                                      │
                                                                 Process +
                                                                 Route
                                                                      │
                                                          ┌───────────┼───────────┐
                                                          │           │           │
                                                          v           v           v
                                                       ┌─────┐   ┌───────┐   ┌──────┐
                                                       │ CRM │   │Outreach│  │ DB   │
                                                       └─────┘   └───────┘   └──────┘

// Standard: send leads via webhook, receive enriched data via HTTP API column
// Inbound: Your app -> Clay
async function sendLeads(leads: Lead[]): Promise<void> {
  const batchResult = await clayClient.sendBatch(leads, 200);
  console.log(`Sent: ${batchResult.sent}, Failed: ${batchResult.failed}`);
}

// Outbound: Clay HTTP API column -> Your webhook handler
app.post('/api/clay/enriched', async (req, res) => {
  res.json({ ok: true }); // Respond fast

  const lead = req.body;
  if (lead.icp_score >= 80 && lead.work_email) {
    await pushToCRM(lead);
    await addToOutreachSequence(lead);
  } else if (lead.icp_score >= 50) {
    await addToNurtureCampaign(lead);
  }
});

Pros: Full automation, programmatic access to enriched data, flexible routing. Cons: Requires Growth plan (HTTP API columns), needs public HTTPS endpoint.

---

Architecture 3: Queue-Based Pipeline (Scale)

Best for: Enterprise, 10K+ enrichments/day, multiple data sources.

┌───────────┐
│ Web Forms │──┐
└───────────┘  │     ┌───────────┐     webhook     ┌───────────┐
               ├────>│ Job Queue │───────POST─────>│ Clay Table │
┌───────────┐  │     │ (BullMQ)  │                 │ (enriches) │
│ CRM Events│──┘     └───────────┘                 └─────┬─────┘
└───────────┘              │                              │
                      DLQ on fail                   HTTP API col
┌───────────┐              │                              │
│ CSV Import│──────────────┘                              v
└───────────┘                                   ┌──────────────┐
                                                │ Your Handler │
                                                │ (w/ circuit  │
                                                │  breaker)    │
                                                └──────┬───────┘
                                                       │
                                            ┌──────────┼──────────┐
                                            │          │          │
                                            v          v          v
                                         ┌─────┐  ┌───────┐  ┌──────┐
                                         │ CRM │  │Outreach│  │ DWH  │
                                         └─────┘  └───────┘  └──────┘

// Scale: queue-based with DLQ, circuit breaker, and multi-source intake
import { Queue, Worker } from 'bullmq';

const enrichQueue = new Queue('clay-enrichment');

// Multiple sources feed the queue
async function onWebFormSubmit(lead: Lead) {
  await enrichQueue.add('web-form', { ...lead, source: 'web-form' });
}

async function onCRMEvent(lead: Lead) {
  await enrichQueue.add('crm-event', { ...lead, source: 'crm-event' });
}

async function onCSVImport(leads: Lead[]) {
  for (const lead of leads) {
    await enrichQueue.add('csv-import', { ...lead, source: 'csv-import' });
  }
}

// Worker sends to Clay with rate limiting and circuit breaker
const worker = new Worker('clay-enrichment', async (job) => {
  const { allowed, reason } = circuitBreaker.canProcess(6);
  if (!allowed) throw new Error(`Circuit open: ${reason}`);

  const res = await fetch(process.env.CLAY_WEBHOOK_URL!, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify(job.data),
  });

  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Clay webhook failed: ${res.status}`);
  circuitBreaker.recordSuccess(6);
}, {
  concurrency: 1,
  limiter: { max: 5, duration: 1000 }, // 5 per second max
});

Pros: Handles any volume, automatic retries, DLQ for failures, multi-source. Cons: Requires queue infrastructure (Redis), more complex to operate.

Decision Matrix

Factor	Direct	Webhook + HTTP API	Queue-Based
Volume	< 1K/day	1K-10K/day	10K+/day
Plan required	Any	Growth+	Growth+
Infrastructure	None	HTTPS endpoint	Redis + HTTPS endpoint
Retry logic	Manual	In-app	Automatic (BullMQ)
Data access	CSV export only	Real-time callback	Real-time callback
CRM sync	Clay native action	HTTP API column	HTTP API column
Complexity	Low	Medium	High
Time to implement	Hours	Days	1-2 weeks

Error Handling

Issue	Cause	Solution
Need real-time enriched data	Using Direct (CSV only)	Upgrade to Webhook + HTTP API
Queue backing up	Webhook rate limiting	Reduce concurrency, add delay
HTTP API column timeout	Callback endpoint slow	Respond 200 immediately, process async
Credits exhausted mid-pipeline	No budget control	Add circuit breaker with credit limit

Resources

• Clay University -- HTTP API Integration
• Clay University -- Using Clay as an API
• BullMQ Documentation

Next Steps

For common pitfalls to avoid, see clay-known-pitfalls.