Cargo CLI — Segmentation

Segments are the audience layer of a Cargo workspace: a named, saved filter over one model that answers "which records do I mean?" Everything downstream — a batch run, a play trigger, a CSV export, a change feed — takes a segment (or a segment-shaped filter) as its input.

See references/response-shapes.md for full JSON response structures. See references/troubleshooting.md for common errors and how to fix them. Filter condition kinds and operators live in ../cargo-orchestration/references/filter-syntax.md — the single source of truth for filter JSON.

Bootstrap

Already signed in (cargo-ai whoami returns a workspace)? Skip to the next section.

npm install -g @cargo-ai/cli            # no global install? prefix every command with `npx @cargo-ai/cli`
cargo-ai login --email [email protected]  # emailed code, no browser; creates the account on first use
                                        # alternatives: --oauth (browser) · --token <api-token> (CI)
cargo-ai whoami                         # confirm the active workspace before any write

Every command prints JSON to stdout; failures exit non-zero with {"errorMessage": "..."}. Anything that creates a run or a batch is async — pass --wait-until-finished or poll the matching get. When the full skill bundle is installed, ../cargo/references/prerequisites.md adds the CLI version pin, token scopes, and the admin-only surface.

Key concepts

Filter vs segment — pick deliberately. A one-off question ("how many companies have >100 employees?") wants segment fetch with an inline filter and no saved object. An audience you will run something against, schedule against, or track over time wants a real segment create — because only a saved segment produces changes.

Discover resources first

Always list before creating. A workspace usually already holds the segment you are about to duplicate.

cargo-ai segmentation segment list                    # all segments (uuid, name, slug, modelUuid, recordsCount)
cargo-ai storage model list                           # find the modelUuid a segment must target
cargo-ai storage column list --model-uuid <uuid>      # the column slugs your filter conditions reference

Segments created automatically by a play are named GENERATED_PLAY_SEGMENT and carry fromPlay: true — never edit or remove those by hand; they belong to the play that owns them.

Retrieve in the UI: segments live under the model at app.getcargo.io/workspaces/<WORKSPACE_UUID>/models/<MODEL_UUID>. Get <WORKSPACE_UUID> from cargo-ai whoami.

Quick reference

cargo-ai segmentation segment list
cargo-ai segmentation segment get <segment-uuid>
cargo-ai segmentation segment create --name "<name>" --model-uuid <uuid> --filter '<json>'
cargo-ai segmentation segment update --uuid <segment-uuid> --filter '<json>'
cargo-ai segmentation segment remove <segment-uuid>
cargo-ai segmentation segment fetch    --model-uuid <uuid> --filter '<json>' --limit 50
cargo-ai segmentation segment download --model-uuid <uuid> --filter '<json>'
cargo-ai segmentation change list  --segment-uuid <segment-uuid>
cargo-ai segmentation change fetch --uuid <change-uuid> --kinds added --limit 50
cargo-ai segmentation record fetch --model-uuid <uuid> --ids <id[,id…]>

Building a filter

The full condition catalogue — every kind (string, number, date, boolean, array, relation) and every operator — is in ../cargo-orchestration/references/filter-syntax.md. The shape:

{
  "conjonction": "and",
  "groups": [
    {
      "conjonction": "and",
      "conditions": [
        { "kind": "number", "columnSlug": "employee_count", "operator": "greaterThan", "value": 100 },
        { "kind": "string", "columnSlug": "email", "operator": "isNotEmpty" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

conjonction, not conjunction. The French spelling is intentional and it is the single most expensive typo in the CLI: a misspelled key does not error — the filter silently matches nothing, and you conclude the data is empty. Grep your JSON for conjunction before every call.

Match-everything filter: {"conjonction":"and","groups":[]}.

Size the audience before you build it

Counting is free; running anything over an audience is not. Establish the size first, then decide.

# 1. How many records match? — inline filter, no saved object, 1 row back
cargo-ai segmentation segment fetch \
  --model-uuid <uuid> \
  --filter '{"conjonction":"and","groups":[{"conjonction":"and","conditions":[
      {"kind":"number","columnSlug":"employee_count","operator":"greaterThan","value":100}]}]}' \
  --limit 1

# 2. Happy with the shape? Save it as the real audience.
cargo-ai segmentation segment create \
  --name "Mid-market accounts" \
  --model-uuid <uuid> \
  --filter '<same json>' \
  --column-slugs "name,domain,employee_count" \
  --tracking-column-slugs "employee_count,funding_stage"

segment get <uuid> then reports recordsCount — the authoritative size. Cite that number, not your own estimate, before proposing a paid run over the segment.

Fetch vs download vs record fetch

segment fetch --sync refreshes the underlying data sources before evaluating; --enrich returns joined/derived values. Both cost time, so leave them off for a size check.

Never page a large segment into the conversation. Use --limit 3 to see the shape, then download for the rest.

Changes — the delta feed

Every time a segment syncs, Cargo computes a change: how the membership moved. This is what turns a static list into a signal.

# What deltas exist for this segment?
cargo-ai segmentation change list --segment-uuid <segment-uuid>
# → { "changes": [ { "uuid", "totalRecordsCount", "addedRecordsCount",
#                    "updatedRecordsCount", "removedRecordsCount",
#                    "unchangedRecordsCount", "createdAt" } ] }

# Which records actually entered the audience in that delta?
cargo-ai segmentation change fetch --uuid <change-uuid> --kinds added --limit 50

--kinds is required on change fetch and takes added, updated, removed, or unchanged (comma-separated). Returned rows carry the _kind, _id, _title, and _time meta-columns alongside the model's own columns.

updatedRecordsCount is always 0 unless the segment was created with --tracking-column-slugs — the tracked columns define what "updated" means. Set them at creation time when the segment is meant to feed a monitoring motion.

A segment's most recent delta is also inlined on segment list / segment get as lastChange, so a "what moved?" question rarely needs a second call.

What consumes a segment

Segments are an input, not an outcome. Once one exists:

• Run something over it — batch a connector action or workflow across every member: ../cargo-orchestration/SKILL.md. Batches enroll from a segment; sample 10–20 records and get explicit approval before enrolling the full audience.
• Trigger a play on entry — a play whose trigger is a segment fires as records enter it. Play triggers use kind: "filter" and generate their own GENERATED_PLAY_SEGMENT; see ../cargo-orchestration/references/examples/plays.md.
• Export it — ../cargo-analytics/SKILL.md (segment download needs --model-uuid, not --segment-uuid — a frequent 400).
• Watch it — alert when the audience empties, stalls, or spikes: ../cargo-observability/SKILL.md.
• Act on it as GTM — signal segments (job change, funding, tech intent) drive the recipes in ../cargo-gtm/SKILL.md.
• Declare it as code — defineSegment in ../cargo-cdk/SKILL.md when the audience should live in git.

Gotchas

• conjonction, never conjunction — silent empty result, no error.
• segment download takes --model-uuid, not --segment-uuid. The filter travels with the request; the segment UUID is not a valid input there.
• change fetch needs --uuid (the change UUID) plus --kinds. Passing the segment UUID returns a 400.
• change list needs --segment-uuid. Calling it bare returns a 400 complaining that segmentUuid is undefined.
• --help on change and record subcommands prints the parent help rather than the subcommand's flags (CLI ≥ 1.0.48). Use the Quick reference above; file a report if it still bites.
• A segment belongs to exactly one model. Cross-model audiences are a relationship + filter on the joined column, not two segments.
• fromPlay: true segments are owned by a play. Editing one changes what that play targets; removing one breaks it.
• --limit on a segment caps membership, it is not a display page size — --fetching-limit is the page size.

When the CLI fails

Two failed attempts on the same command, or behavior that contradicts this skill, goes to the team:

cargo-ai workspaceManagement report create \
  --title "<one-line summary>" \
  --description "<commands run, errorMessage verbatim, expected vs actual, UUIDs>"