Why Is the conferencing Object Removed When Updating an Event’s description?

When issuing a PUT request to modify an event via the Nylas Events API, you may observe that any existing conferencing details (e.g., Google Meet URLs) vanish—even if your payload only alters the description field. Below, we explain why this occurs and how to avoid it.

     Background

The Nylas platform serializes conferencing metadata (such as meeting links, phone numbers, and PINs) directly into the HTML and plain-text versions of the event’s description. Internally, the standalone conferencing object is derived from—and synchronized with—the content embedded in that description.

     Observed Behavior

• Initial GET returns both a populated conferencing object and a description containing the embedded meeting link.

• Subsequent PUT that overwrites description without re-including the embedded conferencing markup results in:

  • An empty or absent conferencing object

  • The description text updating correctly, but without any conferencing information

     Root Cause

Because Nylas treats the description as the single source of truth for conferencing data, any update to that field replaces the stored HTML/text. If the updated description omits the previously embedded meeting URL (or other conferencing markers), the API assumes those details have been intentionally removed and clears the conferencing object.

     Recommendation

To preserve your meeting links and related conferencing information when updating an event:

1. Retrieve the existing event payload.

2. Extract the current conferencing section from its description (HTML and/or plain-text).

3. Merge your new description content with the existing conferencing markup.

4. Submit the combined payload in your PUT request.
   
   

     Conclusion

This behavior is by design: the Nylas Events API uses the description field as the authoritative store for conferencing metadata. Overwriting that field without preserving embedded conferencing markup will clear the associated conferencing object. Always merge your updates with the existing conferencing content to maintain meeting links and details.

Updated May 08, 2025 18:33