Zendesk Automation via Rube MCP

Automate Zendesk operations through Composio's Zendesk toolkit via Rube MCP.

Toolkit docs: composio.dev/toolkits/zendesk

Prerequisites

• Rube MCP must be connected (RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS available)

• Active Zendesk connection via RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit zendesk

• Always call RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS first to get current tool schemas

Setup

Get Rube MCP: Add https://rube.app/mcp as an MCP server in your client configuration. No API keys needed — just add the endpoint and it works.

• Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds

• Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit zendesk

• If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Zendesk auth

• Confirm connection status shows ACTIVE before running any workflows

Core Workflows

1. List and Search Tickets

When to use: User wants to view, filter, or search support tickets

Tool sequence:

• ZENDESK_LIST_ZENDESK_TICKETS

• List all tickets with pagination [Required]

• ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_TICKET_BY_ID

• Get specific ticket details [Optional]

Key parameters:

• page : Page number (1-based)

• per_page : Results per page (max 100)

• sort_by : Sort field ('created_at', 'updated_at', 'priority', 'status')

• sort_order : 'asc' or 'desc'

• ticket_id : Ticket ID for single retrieval

Pitfalls:

• LIST uses page /per_page pagination, NOT offset-based; check next_page in response

• Maximum 100 results per page; iterate with page numbers until next_page is null

• Deleted tickets are not returned by LIST; use GET_BY_ID which returns status 'deleted'

• Ticket comments and audits are included in GET_BY_ID but not in LIST responses

2. Create and Update Tickets

When to use: User wants to create new tickets or modify existing ones

Tool sequence:

• ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS

• Find requester/assignee [Prerequisite]

• ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_TICKET

• Create a new ticket [Required]

• ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_TICKET

• Update ticket fields [Optional]

• ZENDESK_DELETE_ZENDESK_TICKET

• Delete a ticket [Optional]

Key parameters:

• subject : Ticket subject line

• description : Ticket body (for creation; becomes first comment)

• priority : 'urgent', 'high', 'normal', 'low'

• status : 'new', 'open', 'pending', 'hold', 'solved', 'closed'

• type : 'problem', 'incident', 'question', 'task'

• assignee_id : Agent user ID to assign

• requester_id : Requester user ID

• tags : Array of tag strings

• ticket_id : Ticket ID (for update/delete)

Pitfalls:

• Tags on UPDATE REPLACE existing tags entirely; merge with current tags to preserve them

• Use safe_update with updated_stamp to prevent concurrent modification conflicts

• DELETE is permanent and irreversible; tickets cannot be recovered

• description is only used on creation; use REPLY_ZENDESK_TICKET to add comments after creation

• Closed tickets cannot be updated; create a follow-up ticket instead

3. Reply to Tickets

When to use: User wants to add comments or replies to tickets

Tool sequence:

• ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_TICKET_BY_ID

• Get current ticket state [Prerequisite]

• ZENDESK_REPLY_ZENDESK_TICKET

• Add a reply/comment [Required]

Key parameters:

• ticket_id : Ticket ID to reply to

• body : Reply text content

• public : Boolean; true for public reply, false for internal note

• author_id : Author user ID (defaults to authenticated user)

Pitfalls:

• Set public: false for internal notes visible only to agents

• Default is public reply which sends email to requester

• HTML is supported in body text

• Replying can also update ticket status simultaneously

4. Manage Users

When to use: User wants to find or create Zendesk users (agents, end-users)

Tool sequence:

• ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS

• Search for users [Required]

• ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_USER

• Create a new user [Optional]

• ZENDESK_GET_ABOUT_ME

• Get authenticated user info [Optional]

Key parameters:

• query : Search string (matches name, email, phone, etc.)

• name : User's full name (required for creation)

• email : User's email address

• role : 'end-user', 'agent', or 'admin'

• verified : Whether email is verified

Pitfalls:

• User search is fuzzy; may return partial matches

• Creating a user with an existing email returns the existing user (upsert behavior)

• Agent and admin roles may require specific plan features

5. Manage Organizations

When to use: User wants to list, create, or manage organizations

Tool sequence:

• ZENDESK_GET_ALL_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATIONS

• List all organizations [Required]

• ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION

• Get specific organization [Optional]

• ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION

• Create organization [Optional]

• ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION

• Update organization [Optional]

• ZENDESK_COUNT_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATIONS

• Get total count [Optional]

Key parameters:

• name : Organization name (unique, required for creation)

• organization_id : Organization ID for get/update

• details : Organization details text

• notes : Internal notes

• domain_names : Array of associated domains

• tags : Array of tag strings

Pitfalls:

• Organization names must be unique; duplicate names cause creation errors

• Tags on UPDATE REPLACE existing tags (same behavior as tickets)

• Domain names can be used for automatic user association

Common Patterns

Pagination

List endpoints:

• Use page (1-based) and per_page (max 100)

• Check next_page URL in response; null means last page

• count field gives total results

Ticket Lifecycle

new -> open -> pending -> solved -> closed | ^ v | hold --------+

• new : Unassigned ticket

• open : Assigned, being worked on

• pending : Waiting for customer response

• hold : Waiting for internal action

• solved : Resolved, can be reopened

• closed : Permanently closed, cannot be modified

User Search for Assignment

1. Call ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS with query (name or email)
2. Extract user ID from results
3. Use user ID as assignee_id in ticket creation/update

Known Pitfalls

Tags Behavior:

• Tags on update REPLACE all existing tags

• Always fetch current tags first and merge before updating

• Tags are lowercase, no spaces (use underscores)

Safe Updates:

• Use safe_update: true with updated_stamp (ISO 8601) to prevent conflicts

• Returns 409 if ticket was modified since the stamp

Deletion:

• Ticket deletion is permanent and irreversible

• Consider setting status to 'closed' instead of deleting

• Deleted tickets cannot be recovered via API

Rate Limits:

• Default: 400 requests per minute

• Varies by plan tier

• 429 responses include Retry-After header

Quick Reference

Task Tool Slug Key Params

List tickets ZENDESK_LIST_ZENDESK_TICKETS page, per_page, sort_by

Get ticket ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_TICKET_BY_ID ticket_id

Create ticket ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_TICKET subject, description, priority

Update ticket ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_TICKET ticket_id, status, tags

Reply to ticket ZENDESK_REPLY_ZENDESK_TICKET ticket_id, body, public

Delete ticket ZENDESK_DELETE_ZENDESK_TICKET ticket_id

Search users ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS query

Create user ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_USER name, email

My profile ZENDESK_GET_ABOUT_ME (none)

List orgs ZENDESK_GET_ALL_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATIONS page, per_page

Get org ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION organization_id

Create org ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION name

Update org ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION organization_id, name

Count orgs ZENDESK_COUNT_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATIONS (none)

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