# Edit a running sequence

> What you can safely change on a live sequence and what you cannot — appending and deleting steps, switching to conditional, per-contact email edits, CC and BCC, custom opt-out links, clearing a Bounced status, and bulk actions across sequences.

**Steps can only be appended to the end of a live sequence, and an edit never reaches contacts who already passed that step. Deleting a step is permanent. To add conditions, duplicate the sequence and move the Throttled contacts across. Per-contact wording is edited in the Preview tab, without touching the template.**

_Status: Reviewed — human-edited, facts not yet confirmed against the product._

## Goal

A live [sequence](/specifications/sequences) changed without disrupting the contacts
already moving through it — and a clear picture of which contacts each change reaches.

## Preconditions

An existing sequence with contacts in it. Read
[How a sequence executes](/behavior/sequence-execution) first if you are not sure where
your contacts currently sit — the **Current step** column in the sequence's People tab
shows the step each contact is waiting for.

## The rule behind every live edit

Edits are forward-looking. A change to a step's content or delay applies only to the
contacts that have not reached that step yet; contacts already past it keep what they
received. Restructuring is narrower still: you cannot rework a stretch of the sequence
that contacts have already completed, which is why steps append to the end rather than
insert at the top, why switching to conditional means duplicating, and why a per-contact
wording change lives in the Preview tab instead of the template. Deleting a step is the
one change that reaches everyone.

| Change | Who it reaches |
| --- | --- |
| Editing a step's content or delay | Only contacts that have not reached that step yet |
| Appending a new step at the end | Contacts that are still `Active` and have steps remaining |
| Deleting a step | Everyone — the step disappears from the sequence for all contacts |
| Editing an email in the Preview tab | One contact, on one step; the template is untouched |
| Adding CC or BCC to a template | Sends of that step that have not gone out yet |

## Change the steps

### Add a step

1. Open the sequence's **Steps** tab and add the new step at the end of the steps list.
2. If the sequence is finished, change the contacts' statuses from **Finished** to **Active**. This is required — the sequence will not start sending new emails unless the contacts are active.
3. To reactivate only some people, filter first and activate the result. A filter that excludes the Replied, Bounced, and Opted out contacts leaves you with just the ones worth another touch.

Once the contacts are active, the sequence resumes sending. A step appended to a running
sequence picks up a default delay based on its position — the position-to-delay table is
in [How a sequence executes](/behavior/sequence-execution).

> An active sequence with contacts in progress cannot take a new **first** step — the button
> to insert before Step 1 is hidden, and steps can only be appended at the end. Build the
> opening touch before you launch, or duplicate the sequence.

### Delete a step

1. Open the sequence and go to the **Steps** tab.
2. Hover over the step you want to remove and click the bin icon.
3. Click **Delete** in the pop-up window.
4. Confirm the action if some contacts have already completed the step.

Deletion is allowed in almost every case — including steps that already have contacts
processed through them, steps with many A/B variants (including variants beyond Z, such as
A1 and A2), and bulk deletion of a step together with all steps below it. There is exactly
one blocked case: **deleting Step 1 when Step 2 is an email without a subject line**. Step
2 would become the first email in the sequence, and the first email must include a
subject, so you see the message *"Cannot add step — email subject is missing. The first
email in a sequence must include a subject."* Add a subject to Step 2 first, then delete
Step 1.

> Once a step is removed it cannot be restored.

What a deletion changes elsewhere:

| Area | Effect |
| --- | --- |
| People History, Preview, Current Step column | The step no longer appears |
| Filters, integrations, triggers, contact activity, tasks | Deleted steps show as *(Deleted)* |
| Contacts moved in by **Merge** or **Move to sequence** | They skip the deleted step and go to the next one |
| A deleted **last** step | No further steps exist, so contacts are not moved to the deleted step or to another sequence |
| Email threads | The first email of a thread cannot be removed if it is the very first email in the sequence. Delete the first email of the second or any later thread and the rest of that thread's emails move into the previous thread |
| Reports | Historical data from deleted steps is kept and is not affected |
| [Triggers](/specifications/triggers) | Triggers still run. A trigger set to *Move to step* whose target step was deleted will fail; other triggers keep working |
| [Tasks](/specifications/tasks) | Tasks linked to deleted steps are not removed and can still be completed |
| [Inbox](/specifications/inbox) | Threads are unaffected — you can continue the conversation with the contact |

### Switch an existing sequence to conditional

Because steps cannot be changed once contacts have completed them, the way to add
conditions to a live sequence is to duplicate it and carry the untouched contacts across.

1. On the **Sequences** page, click the three dots next to the sequence and select **Duplicate**.
2. Add the condition steps to the duplicated sequence.
3. In the **People** tab of the original sequence, apply the "Current step is Throttled" smart filter to find the contacts who have not progressed yet.
4. Move those contacts to the new sequence.

Throttled contacts are the ones queued for Step 1 that have not received anything, so
moving them loses nothing. Contacts already deep in the original sequence stay where they
are and finish under the old structure. See
[Sequence steps](/specifications/sequence-steps) for what conditions can branch on.

## Change what one contact receives

### Edit the email for one contact

1. Open the sequence and go to the **Preview** tab.
2. Choose the contact from the list.
3. Change the email body on the right — you can edit text and links, upload images, and attach files.
4. Save the changes.

The edit is not reflected in the original sequence step, so the template and every other
recipient stay as they were. Three limits apply: customized emails do not support CC;
variables cannot be modified here, because Reply populates them from the contact's card
and any alteration is reverted; and when customizing an A/B test email, only one variation
can be changed. See [Templates and variables](/specifications/templates-and-variables).

### Add CC or BCC to a sequence email

1. Open the **Steps** tab of the sequence.
2. Click the template you want to edit.
3. Choose the CC or BCC option.
4. Type the email address and press Enter on your keyboard.
5. Click **Save**.

CC and BCC are set per template. You must add them to each sequence template separately —
there is no way to apply a CC or BCC to the whole sequence at once.

### Add a BCC to every email in the account

1. Open the **Emails** tab of your **Settings**.
2. Expand the BCC section.
3. Choose whether the BCC applies to **outgoing** or **incoming** emails.
4. Enter at least one email address that should receive the BCCs, and press Enter to populate it.
5. Click **Save**.

There is also an option to exclude the Out of Office, Bounced, and Automatic emails —
check the box if you want to keep those out. This setting adds a BCC to *all* emails, so
you cannot scope it to one particular sequence. See
[Configure account settings](/how-to/configure-account-settings).

### Add a custom opt-out link to the email body

1. Go to the **Steps** tab of the sequence.
2. Click the step to open the editor.
3. Select the place where the opt-out link should sit.
4. Click the **Insert/edit link** button.
5. In the Url field, enter `{opt-out}`.
6. In the Text to Display field, enter the link text — for example, *here*.
7. Click **Ok** to insert the link.

Repeat for the other sequence emails that need one.

> If you already have an **Opt-out link** set up in your email account settings, adding
> another one to the email body creates duplicates. To avoid that, open the **Email
> Accounts** tab of your settings, click the mailbox, move to the **Opt-out** section,
> remove everything from the *Text at the bottom of the email* field, and click **Save**.
> See [Email accounts](/specifications/email-accounts).

## Fix contact state

### Clear a Bounced status and resend

Reply assigns the `Bounced` status automatically once an email bounces. To let the
sequence try the address again, remove the status:

1. Go to the **People** tab.
2. Select the contact.
3. Click the **Change status** icon.
4. Hit **−** next to the Bounced status.
5. Apply the changes and confirm.

Clearing the status does not repair the address. A hard bounce means the address is
permanently rejected, so fix or [enrich](/capabilities/data-enrichment) it on the contact
record before resending — the mechanics are in
[What happens when an email bounces](/behavior/bounce-handling).

## Find things while the sequence runs

### Which mailbox sends to a contact

Each contact has a sending email attached — the mailbox the sequence sends from.

1. Go to the **People** tab of the sequence.
2. Click **Create new filter**.
3. Choose the sending-email property.
4. Pick the email account and click **Apply**.

The conditions available are **Equals** (contacts with that exact sending address),
**Does not equal** (contacts with any other sending address), **Is set** (contacts with
any sending email), and **Is not set** (contacts with no sending email assigned). Only
mailboxes linked with the sequence appear in the picker — if the one you need is missing,
add it in the sequence settings first. How Reply picks the account in the first place is
in [Mailbox selection](/behavior/mailbox-selection).

### Contacts who clicked

Click tracking is off until you turn it on, and it is not retroactive.

1. Open the sequence and go to the **Settings** tab.
2. Expand the **General Settings** section.
3. Turn the **Link tracking** toggle on.

Clicked contacts then appear in their own section of the sequence's **People** tab. To see
clickers across all sequences, apply the equivalent filter on the People page — see
[Filter contacts](/how-to/filter-contacts). The **Stats** and **Reports** tabs also carry
a clicks column in the Brief and Detailed views.

> Reply tracks only links added with the **Insert/Edit link** button in the template editor,
> and link tracking does not work in test emails.

### Manage the People-tab columns

Resize a column by hovering over its title until the resizer appears, then dragging it to
the width you need. To reorder or remove columns, open the **People** tab, click the
**Settings** icon, then click and hold a column to move it, or click the **Delete** icon
to take it out of the view. The same menu has a button for adding a column back. If the
columns you have checked do not fit the screen, use the horizontal scroll.

| Column | What it shows |
| --- | --- |
| **Name** | The contact's name. Cannot be unchecked |
| **Email** | The contact's email. Cannot be unchecked |
| **Company** | The contact's place of work |
| **Title** | The contact's position |
| **Status** | The contact's status in the sequence |
| **Delivered** | How many times an email was delivered to the contact |
| **Opens** | The *unique* number of email opens per step and per sequence — a contact on the second step who opened each step shows Opens = 2 |
| **Views** | How many times the contact opened your email; every opening is counted |
| **Replied** | How many times the contact replied to your email |
| **Current step** | The step the contact is on now |
| **Delivery date** | The date of delivery, recorded per step |
| **Inbox** | Which inbox category the contact's reply landed in |
| **Country**, **City**, **State**, **Phone** | The contact's location and phone fields |

## Work across many sequences

### Bulk actions

Select the sequences on the Sequences page and use the action icons.

| Action | Constraint |
| --- | --- |
| **Activate** | Sequences with errors cannot be activated — fix them first. Hover the toggle to see what the issue is |
| **Pause** | Archived and new sequences cannot be paused |
| **Archive** | Active sequences and sequences with errors cannot be archived — pause them first |
| **Move to folder** | Archived sequences cannot be moved to a folder |
| **Delete** | Removes the selected sequences from Reply |

Archiving is permanent: an archived sequence keeps its metrics but only deletion remains
available on it. See [Sequences](/specifications/sequences).

Selected sequences also have a **Tracking settings** panel that changes Plain Text Mode,
Open tracking, and Click tracking for all of them at once. Each row carries **+** (enable
for all) and **−** (disable for all) controls rather than a toggle, which avoids ambiguity
when the selected sequences are in mixed states. All three rows start neutral, and a row
you do not touch is left unchanged. Selecting **+ Plain Text Mode** immediately disables
the Open tracking and Click tracking rows; selecting **+ Open tracking** or **+ Click
tracking** immediately disables the Plain Text Mode row, and saving may first ask you to
confirm when a selected sequence currently has Plain Text Mode enabled. Selecting **−** on
any row never triggers a conflict. Every changed sequence records the change in its own
sequence log.

> The bulk **Tracking settings** panel is not available in every account. If you do not see
> it, ask your account manager.

### See a teammate's sequences

With **Team Edition** in **Public** mode, open the **Sequences** tab in the header, click
the initials to expand the drop-down menu, and pick the teammate whose sequences you want
to see. In **Private** mode, only the Team Owner can see other team members' sequences.

Without Team Edition, log into the teammate's account instead: click your initials in the
header, pick the teammate, and click their profile. Only users with the **Admin** role can
log into other team members' accounts. To check or change a role, go to Team management,
open the **Members** tab, click the role, and pick another one. See
[Permissions and roles](/reference/permissions).

## Verification

After appending a step, confirm the contacts you want to continue show `Active` rather
than `Finished`, and watch the **Current step** column advance. After deleting a step,
check that the Steps tab shows the structure you expect and that no trigger points at the
removed step. After a Preview-tab edit, reopen the same contact and confirm the custom
body is still there and the template is unchanged.

## Common mistakes

- Appending a step to a finished sequence and expecting sending to resume on its own — the contacts stay `Finished` until you set them back to `Active`.
- Reactivating everyone in a finished sequence, including the Replied, Bounced, and Opted out contacts. Filter them out before changing statuses.
- Editing a step and assuming the change reaches everyone — it only reaches contacts that have not passed that step.
- Adding a custom opt-out link to the body while a mailbox-level opt-out text is still configured, which produces two opt-out links per email.
- Adding CC or BCC to one template and expecting it on every step — CC and BCC are per template.
- Enabling link tracking after a send and expecting historical clicks — tracking starts from the moment the toggle goes on.
- Archiving a sequence you still need. Archiving cannot be undone; move the contacts to a list first.

## FAQ

### Can I add a step to a sequence that has already finished?

Yes. Add the step at the end of the steps list, then change the contacts' statuses from
Finished back to Active — that second part is required, or the sequence will not send
anything new. Filter first if you only want to reactivate part of the audience.

### Can I insert a step before Step 1 while the sequence is running?

No. On an active sequence with contacts in progress the insert-before-Step-1 control is
hidden and steps can only be appended at the end. See
[How a sequence executes](/behavior/sequence-execution).

### What happens to contacts when I delete a step they already completed?

They keep their history in Reports, but the step stops appearing in the People History and
Preview tabs and in the Current Step column, and it shows as *(Deleted)* in filters,
integrations, triggers, contact activity, and tasks. Contacts that were moved into the
sequence and had not reached the step skip it and go to the next one.

### Can I change the wording for a single contact?

Yes, in the **Preview** tab. Pick the contact, edit the body, and save — the original step
is untouched. CC is not supported in customized emails, variables revert to the contact
card's values, and only one A/B variation can be customized.

### Can I BCC a single sequence?

No. Per-template CC and BCC are set on each step individually, and the account-level BCC
in Settings → Emails applies to all emails, so it cannot be scoped to one sequence.

### How do I let a bounced contact receive email again?

Select the contact on the People tab, open **Change status**, hit **−** next to Bounced,
apply, and confirm. Fix the address itself first — clearing the status does not make an
invalid address deliverable. See
[What happens when an email bounces](/behavior/bounce-handling).

### Why can't I archive an active sequence in bulk?

Archiving requires the sequence to be paused and error-free. Pause the selected sequences
first, then archive them. Sequences with errors also cannot be activated — hover the
toggle to see what needs fixing.

## Related

- [How a sequence executes](/behavior/sequence-execution) · [Sequence stopping](/behavior/sequence-stopping)
- [Sequences](/specifications/sequences) · [Sequence steps](/specifications/sequence-steps)
- [Filter contacts](/how-to/filter-contacts)
- [Launch a sequence](/how-to/launch-a-sequence) · [Create a sequence](/how-to/create-a-sequence)
- [Statuses](/reference/statuses) · [Permissions and roles](/reference/permissions)
- [Why is a campaign not running?](/troubleshooting/campaign-is-not-running)

## Build with Reply

- REST API: [docs.reply.io](https://docs.reply.io/api-reference/introduction) — sequence, step, and contact-status endpoints
- MCP: [agents.reply.io/mcp](https://agents.reply.io/mcp) — agents inspect and adjust running sequences
- CLI: [agents.reply.io/cli](https://agents.reply.io/cli) — scripted sequence maintenance