What is the sequence of processing stages for an event in the cloud-mode data pipeline? – Twilio Support

Question

What is the sequence of processing stages for an event in the cloud-mode data pipeline?

Product

Twilio Segment

Environment

Segment Console

Answer

When an event is triggered and sent to Segment, it passes through a specific sequence of processing stages before reaching its downstream destination. The exact order of operations in the cloud-mode data pipeline is as follows:

Source Capture: The event is generated by a Segment library (or API) and sent to Segment's tracking API.
Source Insert Functions: These are applied as soon as the events enter Segment's CDN, before they are officially inserted into the source.
Protocols (Tracking Plans & Source Transformations): Segment evaluates the incoming data against your connected Tracking Plan to validate the schema and applies any source-scoped transformations.
Integration Filters: Segment evaluates the integrations object within the event payload and any per-source schema integration filters to determine which destinations should receive the data.
Destination Filters: These are evaluated next to conditionally block specific events or properties from proceeding to the destination.
Destination-Scoped Transformations: These are applied only after the events have successfully passed through your Destination Filters.
Mapping Triggers (Actions Destinations): Segment evaluates if the event matches the defined triggers for your Destination Actions; the event must match a trigger to proceed further.
Destination Insert Functions: If the event matches the mapping trigger, it is passed to your destination insert function for custom enrichment or filtering.
Destination Functions / Mappings: The event is transformed into the specific format required by the downstream tool's API using your Action mappings or custom Destination Functions.
Delivery: The final, transformed payload is delivered to the destination's endpoint.

Additional Information

Please note that this pipeline specifically applies to cloud-mode (server-side) destinations. Device-mode destinations send data directly from the user's device to the destination's API, meaning they bypass server-side processing features like Source Insert Functions and cloud-mode Destination Filters.