Zendesk API

Manage customer support tickets, users, organizations, and support operations via the Zendesk Support REST API.

Official docs: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

Manage tickets - Create, update, search, and close support tickets
Handle users - Create end-users, agents, and manage user profiles
Organize accounts - Manage organizations and their members
Support groups - Create and manage agent groups for ticket routing
Search data - Find tickets, users, and organizations with powerful search
Bulk operations - Create or update multiple resources at once
Automate support - Build integrations and automate workflows
Track metrics - Access ticket data for reporting and analytics

Prerequisites

Getting Your API Token

⚠️ Important: You must enable Token Access before creating tokens.

Log in to Zendesk Admin Center (admin access required)
Navigate to Apps and integrations → APIs → Zendesk API
Click the Settings tab
Under Token Access, toggle Enabled (this is required!)
Click Add API token
Enter a description (e.g., "VM0 Integration")
Click Save and copy the token immediately (shown only once)

export ZENDESK_EMAIL="your-email@company.com"
export ZENDESK_API_TOKEN="your_api_token"
export ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN="yourcompany"

Find Your Subdomain

Your subdomain is in your Zendesk URL:

https://yourcompany.zendesk.com
         ^^^^^^^^^^^
         subdomain

Verify Token

Test your credentials:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" | jq '{count: .count, tickets: .tickets | length}

Expected response: Ticket count and list

Alternative verification (list users):

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/users.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" | jq '.users[] | {id, name, email, role}

Note: The /users/me.json endpoint may return anonymous user for API token authentication. Use /tickets.json or /users.json to verify token validity.

✅ This skill has been tested and verified with a live Zendesk workspace. All core endpoints work correctly.

How to Use

All examples assume environment variables are set.

Base URL: https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/

Authentication: API Token via -u flag

-u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)"

Note: The -u flag automatically handles Base64 encoding for you.

Core APIs

1. List Tickets

Get all tickets (paginated):

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" | jq '.tickets[] | {id, subject, status, priority}

With pagination:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets.json?page=1&per_page=50" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)"

2. Get Ticket

Retrieve a specific ticket:

TICKET_ID="123"

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/${TICKET_ID}.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)"

3. Create Ticket

Create a new support ticket:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "subject": "My printer is on fire!",
    "comment": {
      "body": "The smoke is very colorful."
    },
    "priority": "urgent"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

Create ticket with more details:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "subject": "Need help with account",
    "comment": {
      "body": "I cannot access my account settings."
    },
    "priority": "high",
    "status": "open",
    "type": "problem",
    "tags": ["account", "access"]
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

4. Update Ticket

Update an existing ticket:

TICKET_ID="123"

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "status": "solved",
    "comment": {
      "body": "Issue has been resolved. Thank you!",
      "public": true
    }
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PUT "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/${TICKET_ID}.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

Change priority and assignee:

TICKET_ID="123"
ASSIGNEE_ID="456"

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "priority": "high",
    "assignee_id": ASSIGNEE_ID_PLACEHOLDER
  }
}

Then run:

sed -i '' "s/ASSIGNEE_ID_PLACEHOLDER/${ASSIGNEE_ID}/" /tmp/zendesk_request.json

curl -s -X PUT "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/${TICKET_ID}.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

5. Delete Ticket

Permanently delete a ticket:

TICKET_ID="123"

curl -s -X DELETE "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/${TICKET_ID}.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)"

6. Create Multiple Tickets

Bulk create tickets:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "tickets": [
    {
      "subject": "Ticket 1",
      "comment": {
        "body": "First ticket"
      }
    },
    {
      "subject": "Ticket 2",
      "comment": {
        "body": "Second ticket"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/create_many.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

7. List Users

Get all users:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/users.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" | jq '.users[] | {id, name, email, role}

8. Get Current User

Get authenticated user details:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/users/me.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)"

9. Create User

Create an end-user:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "user": {
    "name": "John Customer",
    "email": "john@example.com",
    "role": "end-user"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/users.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

Create an agent:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "user": {
    "name": "Jane Agent",
    "email": "jane@company.com",
    "role": "agent"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/users.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

10. Update User

Update user information:

USER_ID="456"

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "user": {
    "name": "Updated Name",
    "phone": "+1234567890"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PUT "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/users/${USER_ID}.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

11. Search Users

Search for users by query:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/users/search.json?query=john" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" | jq '.users[] | {id, name, email}

12. List Organizations

Get all organizations:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/organizations.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" | jq '.organizations[] | {id, name, domain_names}

13. Create Organization

Create a new organization:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "organization": {
    "name": "Acme Inc",
    "domain_names": ["acme.com", "acmeinc.com"],
    "details": "Important customer"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/organizations.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

14. Update Organization

Update organization details:

ORG_ID="789"

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "organization": {
    "name": "Acme Corporation",
    "notes": "Premium customer since 2020"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PUT "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/organizations/${ORG_ID}.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

15. List Groups

Get all agent groups:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/groups.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" | jq '.groups[] | {id, name}

16. Create Group

Create a new agent group:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "group": {
    "name": "Support Team"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X POST "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/groups.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

17. Search API

Search for open tickets:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_query.txt:

type:ticket status:open

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/search.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -G --data-urlencode "query@/tmp/zendesk_query.txt" | jq '.results[] | {id, subject, status}

Search for high priority tickets:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/search.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -G --data-urlencode "query@/tmp/zendesk_query.txt" | jq '.results[]

Search tickets with keywords:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/search.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -G --data-urlencode "query@/tmp/zendesk_query.txt" | jq '.results[]

Search users by email domain:

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/search.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -G --data-urlencode "query@/tmp/zendesk_query.txt" | jq '.results[]

18. Get Ticket Comments

List all comments on a ticket:

TICKET_ID="123"

curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/${TICKET_ID}/comments.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" | jq '.comments[] | {id, body, author_id, public}

19. Assign Ticket to Group

Assign a ticket to a group:

TICKET_ID="123"
GROUP_ID="456"

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "group_id": GROUP_ID_PLACEHOLDER
  }
}

Then run:

sed -i '' "s/GROUP_ID_PLACEHOLDER/${GROUP_ID}/" /tmp/zendesk_request.json

curl -s -X PUT "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/${TICKET_ID}.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

20. Bulk Update Tickets

Update multiple tickets at once:

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "status": "solved"
  }
}

Then run:

curl -s -X PUT "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/update_many.json?ids=123,124,125" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

Common Workflows

Create Ticket and Assign to Agent

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "subject": "New issue",
    "comment": {
      "body": "Need help"
    }
  }
}

Then run:

# Create ticket
TICKET_RESPONSE=$(curl -s -X POST "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json)

TICKET_ID=$(echo $TICKET_RESPONSE | jq -r '.ticket.id')

# Assign to agent
ASSIGNEE_ID="789"

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "assignee_id": ASSIGNEE_ID_PLACEHOLDER,
    "status": "open"
  }
}

Then run:

sed -i '' "s/ASSIGNEE_ID_PLACEHOLDER/${ASSIGNEE_ID}/" /tmp/zendesk_request.json

curl -s -X PUT "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/${TICKET_ID}.json" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

Find and Close Old Tickets

# Search for old open tickets (30+ days)
OLD_TICKETS="$(curl -s "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/search.json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -G --data-urlencode "query@/tmp/zendesk_query.txt" | jq -r '.results[].id' | paste -sd "," -)"

Write to /tmp/zendesk_request.json:

{
  "ticket": {
    "status": "closed"
  }
}

Then run:

# Bulk close them
curl -s -X PUT "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets/update_many.json?ids=${OLD_TICKETS}" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" -d @/tmp/zendesk_request.json

Search Query Syntax

Ticket Search Operators

type:ticket - Search tickets only
status:open - Filter by status (open, pending, solved, closed)
priority:high - Filter by priority (low, normal, high, urgent)
assignee:name - Find tickets assigned to specific agent
group:name - Find tickets in specific group
tags:keyword - Search by tag
created>2024-01-01 - Created after date
created<30 - Created in last 30 days
"exact phrase" - Search exact text

User Search Operators

type:user - Search users only
role:agent - Filter by role (end-user, agent, admin)
email:*@domain.com - Search by email domain
name:john - Search by name

Combining Operators

Use spaces for AND logic:

query=type:ticket status:open priority:high

Rate Limits

Plan	Requests/Minute
Team	200
Growth	400
Professional	400
Enterprise	700
Enterprise Plus	2,500

Special Limits:

Update Ticket: 30 updates per 10 minutes per user per ticket
Account-wide ceiling: 100,000 requests/minute

Rate Limit Headers

X-Rate-Limit: 700                    # Your account's limit
X-Rate-Limit-Remaining: 685          # Requests remaining
Retry-After: 45                      # Seconds to wait if exceeded

Handling Rate Limits

# Use curl retry flags
curl "https://$(printenv ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN).zendesk.com/api/v2/tickets.json" \
  -u "$(printenv ZENDESK_EMAIL)/token:$(printenv ZENDESK_API_TOKEN)" \
  --retry 3 --retry-delay 5

Guidelines

Enable API token access first: In Admin Center, ensure Token Access is enabled before using tokens
Always use HTTPS: TLS 1.2+ required
Monitor rate limits: Check X-Rate-Limit-Remaining header
Use bulk operations: create_many, update_many endpoints save API calls
Implement exponential backoff: Honor Retry-After header on 429 responses
Paginate large datasets: Default limit is 100, max per_page is 100
Secure your tokens: Store in environment variables, never in code
Use specific searches: Narrow queries with filters to reduce response size
Verify with reliable endpoints: Use /tickets.json or /users.json to test tokens (not /users/me.json)
Status values: open, pending, hold, solved, closed
Priority values: low, normal, high, urgent
User roles: end-user, agent, admin (need agent or admin role for API access)
Ticket types: problem, incident, question, task
Authentication format: email/token:api_token (curl -u handles encoding)
New workspaces: Fresh Zendesk accounts come with sample tickets for testing

API Reference

Main Documentation: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/
Tickets API: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/tickets/tickets/
Users API: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/users/users/
Organizations API: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/organizations/organizations/
Groups API: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/groups/groups/
Search API: https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/ticketing/using-the-zendesk-api/searching-with-the-zendesk-api/
Rate Limits: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/introduction/rate-limits/
Authentication: https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/introduction/security-and-auth/
Admin Center: https://www.zendesk.com/admin/

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Zendesk API

When to Use

Prerequisites

Getting Your API Token

Find Your Subdomain

Verify Token

How to Use

Core APIs

1. List Tickets

2. Get Ticket

3. Create Ticket

4. Update Ticket

5. Delete Ticket

6. Create Multiple Tickets

7. List Users

8. Get Current User

9. Create User

10. Update User

11. Search Users

12. List Organizations

13. Create Organization

14. Update Organization

15. List Groups

16. Create Group

17. Search API

18. Get Ticket Comments

19. Assign Ticket to Group

20. Bulk Update Tickets

Common Workflows

Create Ticket and Assign to Agent

Find and Close Old Tickets

Search Query Syntax

Ticket Search Operators

User Search Operators

Combining Operators

Rate Limits

Rate Limit Headers

Handling Rate Limits

Guidelines

API Reference

Source Transparency

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