RT 2.0 ID Stitching Configuration

Configure profile merging across multiple identifiers in real-time.

Prerequisites

• RT 2.0 enabled and event tables configured
• Understanding of available ID fields in event data

ID Stitching Structure

id_stitching:
  primary_key: "td_client_id"        # Main unique identifier
  stitching_keys:                     # All identifiers for merging
    - name: "td_client_id"
      exclude_regex: "^test_.*"       # Filter invalid IDs
    - name: "email"
      exclude_regex: ".*@test\\.com$"
    - name: "user_id"
  ext_lookup_key: "email"             # Optional: External lookup

Primary Key

The main unique identifier for profiles:

primary_key: "td_client_id"

Requirements:

• Must be one of the stitching_keys
• Should be stable and unique
• Available in most events
• Not null for most users

Common choices:

• td_client_id - TD cookie/device ID (recommended for web)
• user_id - Your application's user ID
• customer_id - CRM customer ID

Stitching Keys

All identifiers used to merge profiles:

stitching_keys:
  - name: "td_client_id"
    exclude_regex: "^test_.*"    # Exclude test IDs

  - name: "email"
    exclude_regex: ".*@(test|example)\\.com$"  # Exclude test emails

  - name: "user_id"
    exclude_regex: "^guest_"     # Exclude guest users

  - name: "phone_number"
    # No exclusion pattern

Key Selection:

• Include all IDs present in event data
• Order doesn't matter
• Primary key must be in this list
• Can add more keys later

Exclude Regex Patterns

Filter out invalid or test identifiers:

Common Patterns

# Test IDs
exclude_regex: "^test_.*"              # Starts with "test_"
exclude_regex: ".*_test$"              # Ends with "_test"

# Test emails
exclude_regex: ".*@test\\.com$"        # @test.com domain
exclude_regex: ".*@example\\.com$"     # @example.com domain
exclude_regex: ".*@(test|example|demo)\\.com$"  # Multiple test domains

# Guest/anonymous users
exclude_regex: "^guest_"               # Starts with "guest_"
exclude_regex: "^anon_"                # Starts with "anon_"
exclude_regex: "^(guest|anonymous)_"   # Starts with guest_ or anonymous_

# Development IDs
exclude_regex: "^dev_"                 # Development IDs
exclude_regex: "localhost"             # Localhost IDs

# Invalid formats
exclude_regex: "^$"                    # Empty strings
exclude_regex: "^null$"                # String "null"
exclude_regex: "^undefined$"           # String "undefined"

External Lookup Key

Optional key for external profile lookups:

ext_lookup_key: "email"

Use cases:

• External API lookups by email
• CRM integrations
• Customer service lookups

Requirements:

• Must be one of the stitching_keys
• Typically email or user_id

Complete Examples

E-commerce

id_stitching:
  primary_key: "td_client_id"
  stitching_keys:
    - name: "td_client_id"
      exclude_regex: "^test_"
    - name: "email"
      exclude_regex: ".*@(test|example)\\.com$"
    - name: "customer_id"
      exclude_regex: "^guest_"
    - name: "user_id"
  ext_lookup_key: "email"

B2B/SaaS

id_stitching:
  primary_key: "user_id"
  stitching_keys:
    - name: "user_id"
      exclude_regex: "^test_"
    - name: "email"
      exclude_regex: ".*@(test|example|localhost)\\.com$"
    - name: "td_client_id"
    - name: "account_id"
  ext_lookup_key: "email"

Mobile App

id_stitching:
  primary_key: "td_client_id"
  stitching_keys:
    - name: "td_client_id"       # Device ID
    - name: "user_id"             # App user ID
      exclude_regex: "^guest_"
    - name: "advertising_id"      # IDFA/GAID
    - name: "email"
      exclude_regex: ".*@test\\.com$"
  ext_lookup_key: "user_id"

How ID Stitching Works

When an event comes in with multiple IDs:

{
  "td_client_id": "abc123",
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "user_id": "user_456"
}

1. Check existing profiles with any of these IDs
2. Merge profiles if multiple profiles found
3. Update primary key to the value from the event
4. Associate all IDs with the merged profile

Discover Available IDs

Check what ID fields are in your event tables:

# View table schema
tdx table describe <database> <table>

# Check ID field distribution
tdx query "
select
  count(distinct td_client_id) as client_ids,
  count(distinct email) as emails,
  count(distinct user_id) as user_ids,
  count(*) as total_events
from <database>.<table>
where td_interval(time, '-7d')
"

# Check ID co-occurrence
tdx query "
select
  count(*) as events,
  count(case when td_client_id is not null then 1 end) as has_client_id,
  count(case when email is not null then 1 end) as has_email,
  count(case when user_id is not null then 1 end) as has_user_id
from <database>.<table>
where td_interval(time, '-7d')
"

# Find test patterns to exclude
tdx query "
select
  email,
  count(*) as event_count
from <database>.<table>
where td_interval(time, '-7d')
  and email like '%test%'
group by email
order by event_count desc
limit 20
"

Update ID Stitching via API

# Update key columns
tdx api "/audiences/<parent_segment_id>/realtime_setting" --type cdp --method PATCH --data '{
  "key_columns": {
    "primary_key": "td_client_id",
    "stitching_keys": [
      {
        "name": "td_client_id",
        "exclude_regex": "^test_.*"
      },
      {
        "name": "email",
        "exclude_regex": ".*@test\\.com$"
      },
      {
        "name": "user_id"
      }
    ],
    "ext_lookup_key": "email"
  }
}'

Validate ID Stitching

# Validate configuration
tdx ps rt validate rt_config.yaml

# Checks:
# - primary_key is in stitching_keys
# - All key names are valid
# - Regex patterns are valid

Monitor Profile Merging

Check profile merge activity:

# Query ID change log
tdx query "
select
  operation,
  count(*) as merge_count
from cdp_audience_<parent_segment_id>_rt.id_change_log
where td_interval(time, '-1d')
group by operation
order by merge_count desc
"

# Check recent merges
tdx query "
select
  time,
  operation,
  from_id,
  to_id,
  merge_reason
from cdp_audience_<parent_segment_id>_rt.id_change_log
where td_interval(time, '-1h')
  and operation = 'merge'
order by time desc
limit 20
"

Common Errors

Error	Solution
"Primary key not in stitching_keys"	Add primary_key to stitching_keys list
"Invalid regex pattern"	Test regex with online validator
"Key column not found"	Verify field exists in event tables
"Duplicate key names"	Remove duplicate stitching_keys
"ext_lookup_key not in stitching_keys"	Add ext_lookup_key to stitching_keys

Best Practices

Key Selection

• Start minimal: Begin with 2-3 keys, add more later
• Stable IDs first: Use IDs that rarely change (not session IDs)
• Common IDs: Include IDs present in most events
• Business keys: Include important business identifiers (customer_id, user_id)

Exclude Patterns

• Test thoroughly: Test regex against real data
• Be specific: Narrow patterns reduce false positives
• Document patterns: Add comments explaining each pattern
• Review logs: Check what's being excluded

Primary Key Selection

• Most stable: Choose ID that rarely changes
• Highest coverage: Available in most events
• Not PII: Avoid email/phone as primary (use td_client_id or user_id)
• Unique: Each value identifies exactly one person

Testing

# Test exclude regex patterns
tdx query "
select
  td_client_id,
  email,
  user_id,
  case when regexp_like(td_client_id, '^test_') then 'excluded' else 'included' end as client_id_status,
  case when regexp_like(email, '.*@test\\.com$') then 'excluded' else 'included' end as email_status
from <database>.<table>
where td_interval(time, '-1h')
limit 20
"

Next Steps

After configuring ID stitching:

• Push Configuration: Deploy RT config with tdx ps push
• Monitor Merges: Check ID change log for merge activity
• RT Personalization: Use unified profiles → Use rt-pz-service skill
• RT Triggers: Trigger on unified profile events → Use rt-journey-create skill

Resources

• ID Stitching Documentation
• Profile Merging Guide
• Regex Pattern Reference