Fix n8n + Pipedrive Person Email/Phone Saved as [object Object] or Ignored

The exact shape Pipedrive wants

In Pipedrive's Persons API, email and phone are not scalar fields. Each is an array. Every element is an object with three keys: value (the actual address or number, as a string), primary (a boolean; exactly one element in the array should be true), and label (a short string like work, home, or mobile).

So a person with one work email is sent as email: [ { value: 'a@b.com', primary: true, label: 'work' } ]. A person with a work and a personal email is a two-element array with primary: true on one of them.

This applies to both create (Add a person) and update. On update, sending the array replaces the whole email or phone set for that person, so include every address you want to keep, not just the new one.

Why you see [object Object] or a dropped value

If an n8n expression yields a JavaScript object and that gets placed where Pipedrive expects the array, the HTTP serialisation can turn the object into its string form, which is the literal text [object Object]. Pipedrive stores that text as the email value. This is the classic symptom and it means 'an object was stringified somewhere in the mapping'.

If you send a bare string ('a@b.com') for email, Pipedrive may reject the request or fail to attach it as a proper contact method, so the field looks empty afterward.

If you build the array but forget primary, or set primary: true on more than one element, Pipedrive can keep only one entry or reorder them unexpectedly, which shows up as 'only the first value saved'.

• [object Object] stored → an object was stringified instead of sent as the array.
• Field blank after write → a bare string was sent instead of the array.
• Only one value kept → primary missing, or set on multiple elements.

What not to do

Do not JSON.stringify the array yourself and paste the string into the field. Pipedrive wants the actual array in the request body, not a string that looks like an array.

Do not try to set email through a custom field to sidestep the format. The person email and phone are standard contact fields with their own storage; a custom text field is not the same thing and breaks Pipedrive features that use the real fields.

Do not send only the new email on an update and expect Pipedrive to merge it with the existing ones. Update replaces the set; you must include the addresses you want to keep.

The fix: build the array in a Code or Set node

Add a Code node before the Pipedrive node that assembles email and phone as proper arrays from your source data. For each address or number, output an object with value as a string, a primary boolean, and a label. Guarantee exactly one primary per array — mark the first element primary and the rest not, unless your source specifies which is primary.

For updates, first read the person's current email and phone arrays, merge in the new values (de-duplicating by value), decide which one is primary, and send the full merged array.

If you are calling Pipedrive with an HTTP Request node instead of the built-in node, put the arrays directly in the JSON body. If you are using the built-in Pipedrive node and it only offers a single email string field, use the HTTP Request node for this call so you can send the array shape the API actually requires.

// n8n Code node: build Pipedrive-shaped contact arrays
function contactArray(values, label) {
  const list = (Array.isArray(values) ? values : [values]).filter(Boolean).map(v => String(v).trim());
  return list.map((value, i) => ({ value, primary: i === 0, label }));
}

const body = {
  name: $json.fullName,
  email: contactArray($json.emails, 'work'),   // -> [ { value:'a@b.com', primary:true, label:'work' } ]
  phone: contactArray($json.phones, 'work'),
};
return [{ json: body }];

// POST https://<company>.pipedrive.com/api/v2/persons   (x-api-token header)
// body as above — email/phone are arrays, not strings

Verification

Create a test person with one email and one phone. Open the person in Pipedrive: the email and phone should show the real values, each marked as primary, with the label you set — not [object Object] and not blank.

Create a second test person with two emails. Confirm both appear, exactly one is primary, and the order is what you intended.

Run an update that adds a third email to an existing person. Confirm the person ends up with all the emails you sent in the merged array, and that any address you left out of the array is gone — which proves update replaces rather than merges, so your merge logic is doing the right thing.

• Single email/phone stores the real value with a primary flag and label.
• Multiple values all appear, with exactly one primary.
• Update replaces the set — the array you send is the final state.

Sources checked for this guide

Pipedrive's Persons API reference documents email and phone as arrays of objects with value, primary, and label. Pipedrive Developers' Community threads document the [object Object] symptom when the array is not built correctly, and the correct multi-value format for create and update. n8n's Pipedrive node documentation covers the person operations.