Pendo Events Quick Reference
The core events Pendo captures out of the box and through tagging. Use this as a starting point for mapping product telemetry data to your operational and business-level metrics.
Usage Events
Captured automatically or via tagging. These form the foundation of product analytics and adoption measurement.
| Event | Definition | Data Sync Export Field | Capture Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page View | A visitor loads a tagged page in your application. Recorded with URL, timestamp, and visitor/account context. | allEvents (type: page) | Auto + Tagging |
| Feature Click | A visitor interacts with a tagged UI element (button, link, input, etc.). The primary measure of feature-level adoption. | allEvents (type: feature) | Tagging |
| Track Event | A custom event sent programmatically via the Pendo Track API. Used for backend or complex interactions that can't be captured by visual tagging (e.g., API calls, form submissions, workflow completions). | allEvents (type: track) | Code |
| Session | A continuous period of visitor activity. A new session starts after 30 minutes of inactivity. Provides the basis for time-in-app and session frequency metrics. | visitorHistory (numEvents, lastVisit) | Automatic |
| Core Event | A tagged Page, Feature, or Track Event designated as high-value by an admin (up to 10 per app). Used to compute Product Engagement Score (PES), retention-by-first-use, and time-to-first-value. | featureEvents, pageEvents | Admin config |
Guide Events
Captured when visitors interact with in-app guides, tooltips, and walkthroughs. Critical for measuring onboarding effectiveness and in-app communication reach.
| Event | Definition | Data Sync Export Field | Capture Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guide View | A guide is displayed to a visitor. Fires once per guide per session unless configured otherwise. The top-of-funnel metric for in-app messaging. | guideEvents (type: guideSeen) | Automatic |
| Guide Step Advance | A visitor advances from one step to the next in a multi-step guide. Step completion rate (steps completed / steps shown) measures guide effectiveness. | guideEvents (type: guideAdvanced) | Automatic |
| Guide Dismissed | A visitor closes or dismisses a guide before completing all steps. High dismiss rates signal poor targeting, timing, or content relevance. | guideEvents (type: guideDismissed) | Automatic |
| Guide CTA Click | A visitor clicks a call-to-action button within a guide. Measures conversion from in-app messaging to a desired action. | guideEvents (type: guideActivity) | Automatic |
Sentiment & Feedback Events
Captured through Pendo's built-in NPS and polling features. These provide the qualitative signal layer that complements behavioral data.
| Event | Definition | Data Sync Export Field | Capture Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPS Score | A visitor submits a numeric NPS response (0-10). Categorized as Promoter (9-10), Passive (7-8), or Detractor (0-6). The most widely used product sentiment signal for health scoring. | pollEvents (npsRating) | In-app survey |
| NPS Qualitative Response | The free-text follow-up to an NPS score. Often contains specific feature requests, complaints, or competitive mentions. High value for VoC analysis. | pollEvents (npsComment) | In-app survey |
| Poll Response | A visitor answers a custom in-app poll question (single choice, multi-choice, free text, or numeric). Used for targeted feedback collection on specific features or workflows. | pollEvents (pollResponse) | In-app poll |
Track Events
Track Events extend Pendo's data capture beyond what visual tagging can reach. They're sent programmatically via the Pendo Track API and are essential for capturing backend actions, complex workflows, and events that don't have a visible UI element.
When to Use Track Events
- → Backend actions with no UI click (API calls, webhooks, batch jobs)
- → Form submissions where you need field-level data
- → Workflow completions spanning multiple pages
- → Transactions: purchases, upgrades, exports, imports
- → Error states and failure events worth monitoring
- → Integration triggers (Slack connect, SSO setup, API key creation)
How to Send a Track Event
Track Events are sent via the Pendo agent's track() method in your application code:
pendo.track('workflow_completed', {
workflow_name: 'onboarding',
steps_completed: 5,
duration_seconds: 342,
account_tier: 'enterprise'
});
The first argument is the event name. The second is an optional metadata object with key-value pairs that become filterable properties in Pendo analytics.
Track Event Properties
Each Track Event can carry custom metadata as key-value pairs. These properties are available in Pendo analytics for filtering, segmentation, and Data Sync export.
| Property | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| String | Text value | "enterprise" |
| Number | Integer or float | 342 |
| Boolean | True/false flag | true |
Nested objects and arrays are not supported. Keep properties flat.
Common Track Event Examples
report_exported
User exports a report or dataset. Track format, row count, and destination.
integration_connected
User completes a third-party integration setup (Slack, Salesforce, API key).
subscription_upgraded
Account upgrades plan tier. Capture old tier, new tier, and trigger source.
onboarding_milestone
User completes a key onboarding step. Track step name and time since signup.
error_encountered
Application error surfaced to user. Track error code, page, and severity.
Key Considerations for Track Events
- 1. Not retroactive. Track Events only exist from the moment your code starts sending them. Plan your instrumentation early.
- 2. Naming conventions matter. Use consistent, lowercase, snake_case names. Once sent, event names can't be renamed in Pendo.
- 3. Keep properties flat. No nested objects or arrays. String, number, and boolean values only.
- 4. Can be designated as Core Events. High-value Track Events can be promoted to Core Event status, feeding into PES and retention analytics.
- 5. Available in Data Sync. Track Events appear in allEvents with type: track, including all custom properties.
Retroactive Analytics
One of Pendo's most powerful capabilities. From the moment the agent is installed, it automatically captures every click, page load, and visitor interaction, even before you've tagged a single feature or page. Define a new feature or page later and Pendo instantly surfaces historical usage data back to the install date.
Instant Feature Adoption Analysis
Tag a feature today and immediately see how many users have engaged with it over the past months, back to the install date.
Retroactive Funnel Analysis
Define conversion funnels and instantly analyze historical drop-off rates without waiting for new data to accumulate.
Historical Path Analysis
Understand how users navigated to a specific point or where they went next, using data that was already captured passively.
Retroactive Segmentation
Create segments like "all users who visited page X in the last 30 days" and apply them to historical data immediately.
How It Works by Event Type
| Event Category | Retroactive Capability | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Page Views & Sessions | Fully retroactive to install date | Captured automatically from the moment the snippet is live. Tag pages anytime and see full history. |
| Feature Clicks | Fully retroactive to install date | All click interactions are recorded from day one. Define a feature tag months later and Pendo backfills the data instantly. |
| Track Events | From first API call forward | Custom events sent via the Track API are captured from the moment your code sends them. Not retroactively backfilled. |
| Guide Events | From guide activation forward | Guide interactions are captured once a guide is published and displayed. Historical data grows from that point. |
| NPS & Polls | From survey launch forward | Sentiment data begins when you activate your first survey. All responses are captured and retained from that point. |
Data Sync for Warehouse Backfill
Pendo's Data Sync supports backfilling up to three calendar years of captured event data into your warehouse. The behavioral data Pendo has been collecting since installation can be loaded in bulk to power historical trend analysis, model training, and baseline metrics from day one of your data foundation build.
Key Takeaway
The sooner Pendo is installed, the richer your retroactive dataset. Every day the agent is running, it's building the behavioral history your AI and analytics applications will draw from.
Why This Matters for AI and Customer Health
These 12 events are the product telemetry layer that feeds into customer health models, churn prediction, and expansion signals. When joined with operational data (CRM, billing, support) and business-level metrics (ARR, renewal dates, contract terms), they form the complete picture:
Adoption Scoring
Page views + feature clicks + core event usage = breadth and depth of product adoption per account.
Onboarding Health
Guide completion rates + time-to-first-core-event = onboarding effectiveness and time-to-value.
Sentiment Layer
NPS scores + poll responses + qualitative feedback = the voice of the customer signal your usage data can't provide.
Churn Risk
Declining session frequency + feature decay + detractor NPS = early warning signals when correlated with renewal timing.
Expansion Signals
Growing feature breadth + high core event adoption + promoter NPS = accounts primed for upsell conversations.
Guide ROI
Guide view-to-CTA conversion + downstream feature adoption = measurable impact of in-app engagement programs.
A Note on Pendo Data Sync
All events above are available through Pendo's Data Sync (formerly Data Sync / Cooper). The export surfaces raw event-level data organized into tables like allEvents, guideEvents, pollEvents, visitorHistory, and accountHistory.
For AI and warehouse use cases, the event-level grain from Data Sync is what gets loaded into your centralized data layer and aggregated into daily account-level snapshots for scoring and modeling.
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