How to track email opens and clicks via API (without the CRM bloat)

Михаил Брайковский — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 09:54:06 +0000

Hi everyone! 👋

I wanted to share a project I've been working on: Trackkit.

The Problem
Most email tracking solutions are either tied to a specific provider (like SendGrid/Postmark) or require heavy CRM SDKs. I wanted something provider-agnostic and lightweight that works via a simple HTTP API.

The Solution: Trackkit
I built Trackkit to give developers full control over their email interaction data without the overhead. You can use it with any SMTP server or even personal mail.

Quick PHP Integration Example
Here is how easy it is to create a tracked message and get your metadata:

// Initialize CURL request
$ch = curl_init('https://api.trackkit.io/message/create');

curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_POST           => true,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER     => [
        'Authorization: Bearer YOUR-API-KEY', // Use your API-key
        'Content-Type: application/json',
    ],
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS     => json_encode([
        'recipient' => 'user@example.com',
        'subject'   => 'Order #12345 Confirmation',
    ]),
]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
$data = json_decode($response, true);

// Extract tracking metadata
$token       = $data['token'];
$pixelUrl    = $data['tracking_pixel'];
$linkPrefix  = $data['link_prefix'];
$messageUuid = $data['message_uuid']; // Store this in your DB to link events

Key Technical Features:

No SDKs: Pure HTTP/CURL. Works with PHP, Node.js, Python, Go, etc.
HMAC-Signed Webhooks: Securely verify that data is coming from us.
Smart Bot Filtering: We filter out pre-fetches from Gmail and Outlook to keep your analytics clean.
Privacy First: We don't store your email content, only the tracking events.

Feedback Welcome!
I just launched the beta and I'm looking for feedback on the API design and documentation.

Check it out here: https://trackkit.io

I'll be in the comments to answer any questions!

DEV Community: Михаил Брайковский

How to track email opens and clicks via API (without the CRM bloat)