Imported from davepoon/buildwithclaude (plugins/all-skills/skills/zendesk-automation/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill zendesk-automation. Copyright stays with the author.

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.

1. Verify Rube MCP is available by confirming RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS responds
2. Call RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS with toolkit zendesk
3. If connection is not ACTIVE, follow the returned auth link to complete Zendesk auth
4. 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:

1. ZENDESK_LIST_ZENDESK_TICKETS - List all tickets with pagination [Required]
2. 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:

1. ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS - Find requester/assignee [Prerequisite]
2. ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_TICKET - Create a new ticket [Required]
3. ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_TICKET - Update ticket fields [Optional]
4. 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:

1. ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_TICKET_BY_ID - Get current ticket state [Prerequisite]
2. 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:

1. ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS - Search for users [Required]
2. ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_USER - Create a new user [Optional]
3. 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:

1. ZENDESK_GET_ALL_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATIONS - List all organizations [Required]
2. ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION - Get specific organization [Optional]
3. ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION - Create organization [Optional]
4. ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION - Update organization [Optional]
5. 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

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