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Connect Zendesk to Fondoo

Live5 min readUpdated

This connection makes Zendesk the helpdesk behind Fondoo's support tools for one site. New tickets that reach Fondoo are copied into Zendesk, and your AI agent can read, reply to and update Zendesk tickets, while complaints and refunds stay with a human.

Read this first. Zendesk is removing API tokens, the only sign-in method this connector supports. New tokens cannot be created from October 27, 2026, accounts created on or after July 28, 2026 cannot use tokens at all, tokens unused for 30 days are deactivated, and every token stops working on April 30, 2027. Fondoo's Zendesk connector does not support OAuth yet. See Zendesk's announcement.

What Fondoo can do with it

The connector id is zendesk, with five capabilities: tickets.list, tickets.get and tickets.comments (read), and tickets.create and tickets.update (write). There is no delete, refund or payment action.

You normally use it through the support switch. After the owner runs set_provider({ siteId, capability: "support", provider: "zendesk" }), these operations go to Zendesk for that site:

  • support_list_tickets: returns the first page Zendesk gives (up to 100 tickets, sorted oldest first by Zendesk's default). Fondoo's status, category, priority, tag, limit and offset filters are not applied.
  • support_get_ticket: the ticket plus its comments.
  • support_create_ticket: creates the Fondoo ticket and forwards it.
  • support_reply (public comment), support_add_note (private comment), support_update_ticket (status, priority, tags), support_assign (Zendesk agent id).
  • support_draft_reply: saves a draft in Fondoo from your text or your own AI key.

support_merge, support_split, support_request_csat and support_triage are refused while Zendesk is selected; do those in Zendesk.

New Fondoo tickets (help widget, support email, support_create_ticket) are created in Zendesk with the subject, first message, requester name and email, priority, and tags fondoo, the ticket category, and fondoo_human_required when a human must handle it. Fondoo stores the Zendesk ticket id.

Approvals and protected topics:

  • With Zendesk selected, agent calls to support_reply, support_update_ticket and support_assign count as destructive, so they need owner approval.
  • Fondoo checks each ticket with its protected-category rules (complaint, refund, legal, threat). Protected tickets, and tickets with more comments than fit on one page, need a human or owner approval, and can only be assigned to a human.
  • Tags you send replace the ticket's tags in Zendesk.

Before you start

  • A Zendesk Support or Suite account created before July 28, 2026 (see Zendesk pricing).
  • Zendesk admin rights.
  • Your Fondoo site id. The connection must be stored with the same siteId you switch, or support operations will ask you to connect the helpdesk.
  • Workspace owner access in Fondoo for set_provider.

Step by step: get your credentials

  1. In Zendesk Admin Center, go to Apps and integrations → APIs → API configuration. Tick Allow API token access and click Save (guide).
  2. Go to Apps and integrations → APIs → API tokens and click Add API token (guide). Some Zendesk pages still call this area "Zendesk API".
  3. Enter a description such as Fondoo, click Save, copy the token, then click Save again. Zendesk never shows it again.
  4. Note three values:
    • subdomain: the part before .zendesk.com, for example acme. Lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens only.
    • email: the Zendesk user the token acts as. Use an admin or agent email; requests run with that user's rights.
    • apiKey: the token.

Tokens carry no scopes. Anyone holding one can act as any user, so keep it out of chat.

Connect it in Fondoo

In the dashboard

  1. With the right site selected in the dashboard, go to Connections in the sidebar and click Connect a tool. The key is saved for the selected site.
  2. In Find a tool, type Zendesk, then click Use a key and Open secure key entry.
  3. On "Connect zendesk", fill in subdomain, email and apiKey, then click Save connection securely (one use, 15 minutes).

There is no dashboard control for set_provider; ask your agent or use REST.

By asking your agent

Example prompt: "Connect Zendesk for this site with a secure key link, then switch our support to Zendesk."

add_connection_key({ provider: "zendesk", siteId: "YOUR-SITE-ID" })
set_provider({ siteId: "YOUR-SITE-ID", capability: "support", provider: "zendesk" })

set_provider needs the owner scope. Keys passed in fields trigger a chat-log warning; use the link.

REST equivalent:

curl -X POST https://api.getfondoo.com/v1/ops/add_connection_key \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FONDOO_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"provider":"zendesk","siteId":"YOUR-SITE-ID","expiresAt":"2027-04-30T00:00:00Z"}'

Setting expiresAt makes check_connection_reminders warn you in the week before Zendesk switches tokens off. Then call POST /v1/ops/set_provider with an owner key. Switch back any time with provider: "builtin".

Webhooks

There are none for Zendesk. get_helpdesk_webhook supports Intercom, Help Scout, Crisp and Freshdesk only. Tickets created directly in Zendesk raise no Fondoo events; Fondoo sees them only when it reads Zendesk.

Test that it works

  1. Click Check connection or run test_connection({ connectionId }). Fondoo calls GET /api/v2/users/me.json. A pass shows connected with all capabilities unknown; it does not prove ticket access.
  2. Run support_list_tickets({ siteId }) and check that Zendesk tickets appear.
  3. Submit a test message through your help widget and confirm a Zendesk ticket tagged fondoo appears.

Troubleshooting

  • Test fails. Check that token access is on, the token is active (not auto-deactivated after 30 days unused; reactivate it in API tokens), and email matches a real agent.
  • "Credential fields do not match the connector manifest". subdomain must be just acme, not a URL; all three fields are required.
  • "Connect the selected helpdesk for this site". The connection has no siteId or a different one. Reconnect with the right siteId.
  • "This ticket belongs to the previous provider; switch back to handle it". The ticket was created before the switch.
  • "Protected tickets require human review". Expected for complaints and refunds; a human must handle it.
  • Rate limit errors. Wait and retry; see below.

Limits, data and security

  • Zendesk limits: per plan, for example Team 200, Growth and Professional 400, Enterprise 700 requests per minute; List Tickets 100 per minute; 30 updates per ticket per user per 10 minutes. See rate limits.
  • Fondoo limit: 60 requests per minute per connection; Zendesk's Retry-After stays authoritative.
  • Stored: the three fields, encrypted in Fondoo's connector vault; list_connections masks them. Forwarded tickets keep the Zendesk id.
  • Rotate: rotate_connection_key({ connectionId }) gives a new secure link (no new tokens after October 27, 2026).
  • Disconnect: run set_provider back to builtin, then delete_connection({ connectionId }) (owner approval for agents). Deactivate and delete the token in Zendesk too.