Glossary

Definitions of key terms and concepts used in the Cakemail CLI documentation.

A

Account Your Cakemail account with associated plan, limits, and settings.

API (Application Programming Interface) Interface that allows the CLI to communicate with Cakemail services.

Attribute (Custom) Additional data fields you define to store custom contact information beyond email and name.

B

Batch Mode Non-interactive mode for running CLI commands in scripts without confirmation prompts.

Bounce Failed email delivery. Can be hard (permanent) or soft (temporary).

Bounce Rate Percentage of sent emails that bounced: (Bounces / Sent) × 100

C

Campaign An email message sent to a list or segment of contacts.

Click Rate (CTR) Percentage of delivered emails where recipient clicked a link: (Unique Clicks / Delivered) × 100

Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR) Percentage of email openers who clicked a link: (Unique Clicks / Unique Opens) × 100

Contact An email subscriber in your lists with associated data.

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) File format used for importing/exporting contact data.

Custom Attribute See Attribute.

D

Deliverability Ability to successfully deliver emails to recipients' inboxes.

Delivery Rate Percentage of emails successfully delivered: (Delivered / Sent) × 100

Double Opt-In Subscription process requiring email confirmation before adding contact to list.

Draft Campaign state before scheduling or sending.

E

Engagement Measure of how recipients interact with emails (opens, clicks).

Export Process of downloading contact or campaign data from Cakemail.

F

Filter Query parameter to narrow results based on specific criteria.

Format Output format for CLI commands (table, json, csv, compact).

H

Hard Bounce Permanent delivery failure (invalid email, domain doesn't exist).

HTML Email content format supporting rich text, images, and styling.

I

Import Process of uploading contact data to Cakemail from external source.

ISO Format Standard date format: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2024-03-15).

J

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) Data format used for structured data exchange and CLI output.

K

Key Result See KPI.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator) Metric used to evaluate campaign success (open rate, click rate, etc.).

L

List Static collection of contacts you manage manually.

List Health Measure of list quality based on active vs. inactive contacts.

M

Merge Tag Placeholder in email content replaced with contact-specific data (e.g., {{first_name}}).

MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) Predictable revenue metric for subscription businesses.

O

Open Tracked event when recipient opens an email.

Open Rate Percentage of delivered emails that were opened: (Unique Opens / Delivered) × 100

P

Pagination Dividing large result sets into pages for easier handling.

Plain Text Email content without HTML formatting.

Profile CLI behavior mode (developer, marketer, balanced) affecting output verbosity and confirmation prompts.

Q

Query Request to filter or search data using specific criteria.

Quota Account limits for contacts, emails sent, etc.

R

Rate Limiting Restriction on number of API requests in a time period.

Recipient Contact who receives a campaign.

S

Segment Dynamic group of contacts automatically updated based on conditions.

Sender Verified email address used as campaign sender.

Smart Default Automatic detection of list/sender when only one exists (v1.4.0+).

Soft Bounce Temporary delivery failure (inbox full, server temporarily unavailable).

Spam Complaint When recipient marks email as spam.

Status State of contact (subscribed, unsubscribed, bounced) or campaign (draft, scheduled, sending, sent).

Subject Line Email subject displayed in recipient's inbox.

T

Template Reusable email design with placeholders for content.

Test Email Preview email sent before campaign launch.

Transactional Email Automated, triggered email (receipts, notifications) vs. marketing campaigns.

Tracking Monitoring email opens and link clicks via invisible pixels and wrapped URLs.

U

Unique Click First click by a specific contact (subsequent clicks not counted).

Unique Open First open by a specific contact (subsequent opens not counted).

Unsubscribe Action where contact opts out of receiving emails.

Unsubscribe Rate Percentage of delivered emails resulting in unsubscribe: (Unsubscribes / Delivered) × 100

UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) Standard time zone reference (timezone +00:00).

UTM Parameters URL tracking parameters for Google Analytics (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign).

V

Verification Process of confirming email address ownership for sender addresses.

W

Webhook HTTP callback that delivers real-time event notifications.

Workflow Automated sequence of CLI commands for common tasks.

Metric Formulas Quick Reference

Industry Benchmarks

Note: Benchmarks vary by industry, audience, and email type.