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Call updateUser() to update profile fields (name, email, metadata) for the user attached to the current session. Use this for partial user updates as context evolves during the session — e.g. the user upgrades their plan, switches teams, or completes onboarding. User metadata has upsert semantics across the user’s lifetime: any fields you provide are merged with previously set values, so you only need to send what has changed.
updateUser() does not re-attribute an already-identified session. Once a session is linked to a user (via the first identify or updateUser call), subsequent updateUser calls with a different userId will not move the session to a different user — they only update the named user’s metadata.For the initial “user just signed in” flow with a known email, identify() is the more focused entry point. For session-level metadata, use updateSession().
Use the useMilana() hook:
import { useMilana } from "milana-js/react";

function UpgradeButton() {
  const { updateUser } = useMilana();

  const handleUpgrade = async (newPlan: string) => {
    await billing.upgrade(newPlan);
    void updateUser({
      userId: currentUser.id,
      metadata: { plan: newPlan },
    });
  };

  return <button onClick={() => handleUpgrade("pro")}>Upgrade</button>;
}

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Parameters

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userId
string
required
A stable, unique identifier for the user in your system. Use your database user ID or a similar permanent identifier — do not use an email address as the primary ID. Pass the same userId as your prior identify call; a different userId will not re-attribute the session.
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email
string
The user’s email address. Used to connect user identity across your systems (e.g. support tools, CRM, data warehouse) and displayed in the dashboard.
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name
string
The user’s display name.
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metadata
object
Arbitrary key-value pairs to attach to the user. Keys are strings, values can be string, number, boolean, null, or nested objects/arrays of the same types. e.g. plan, team, country, role, accountType.

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Return value

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success
boolean
true if the update was applied. false if the session was not active, the network request failed, or the session was not sampled.

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Timing

updateUser() is safe to call before init() completes — the SDK queues the call and replays it once the session is ready.