The Slack for Zendesk Support is a Built by Zendesk integration that allows you to interact with Zendesk Support tickets in your Slack channels.
The integration includes the following features:
- Ticket event notifications in Slack: Slack users can see information about Zendesk Support ticket events in specified Slack channels. High-level ticket information is displayed (subject, description, priority, assignee, and creation time). Ticket notifications can be filtered based on event type; and based on groups Support groups. See Viewing ticket notifications in Slack for more information.
- Channel configuration: Slack admins can map Zendesk Support groups to Slack channels. This allows tickets to be routed to the right channel. Additionally, it is possible to choose the specific ticket event types to appear in Slack, reducing noise and letting admins prevent sensitive data from being posted in Slack. See Configuring and editing the integration, below, for more information.
- Creating new tickets directly from Slack: This feature is designed to cater to an internal use case where Slack users want to raise a new Support ticket directly from Slack, which they can do using a slash command. See Creating new Support tickets for more information.
- Creating and assigning a requester: When an unrecognized user creates a Zendesk Support ticket in Slack, a new Zendesk Support end-user is created and assgned to them. Similarly, when an agent creates a ticket on behalf of someone else, they can select a requester from a list of existing users, or choose to create a new end-user for them.
- Side conversations: If your Zendesk plan includes side conversations (see Using side conversations in tickets) agents can use side conversations in a ticket to initiate and participate in Slack threads. See Using Slack in side conversations for more information.
- Answer Bot for Slack: This integration is included in the Slack for Zendesk Support integration, and utilises Answer Bot to listen on selected Slack channels. It resolves questions by providing article suggestions from your Guide knowledge base.
This article covers the following subjects:
Related articles:
Installing the integration
To install the Slack for Zendesk integration
- Log in to your company Slack workspace.
- Go to the Slack Zendesk integrations page: http://slack.zendesk-integrations.com/slack/install.
- Click Continue.
- Enter your Zendesk subdomain, accept the terms and conditions, and click Next.
- On the Install page, select the channel rules you want to apply.
Note: We recommend you select All Public Channels, which simplifies the post-installation configuration process. You can configure specific public and private channels later.
- Click Install.
-
Once the installation is complete, you'll be redirected to Slack, and can begin the configuration process.
Configuring and editing the integration
Channel notifications are configured from Slack via direct conversation with the Zendesk app. Only Slack admins can configure channel notifications.
To configure the Slack for Zendesk Support integration
- In your Slack account, view the direct message from the integration, and click Get started.
- Using the drop-down menu, select a channel to configure. If you're configuring the integration from within a channel, that channel is selected by default, and you can scroll through the Channels list, or type a channel name to filter your options.
- Click Next.
Only channels that the Zendesk app has been invited to appears in the drop-down options. To add additional channels, see To add the app to a private channel and To add the app to another public channel.
- Using the Please choose a type drop-down menu, select the types of notifications you want to receive in this channel. You can select multiple notifications. When you’ve selected your notifications, click Done.
- Using the next Choose an option drop-down menu, select the support group(s) that have permission to post notifications in the channel. Support groups are used to categorize tickets, and restrict agent access based on group membership. By mapping groups to channels, administrators can ensure only relevant ticket events are posted to channels, and can exclude groups that have tickets with sensitive data.
By default, no groups are selected . You must select at least one group so they can post to the channel and for updates to be posted in the channel.
- Click Done.
From the Zendesk app’s direct message stream, you can add the app to another channel, edit existing settings, change the subdomain associated with the app, and provide feedback to Zendesk about the app.
To add the app to another public channel
- In Slack, click Zendesk in the Apps section and send a message to start a direct message with the app.
- Click Add channel.
- Follow steps 2-6 in To configure the Slack for Zendesk Support integration.
To add the app to a private channel
- In Slack, select your workspace drop-down menu and click Administration > Manage apps. The Apps page opens in a web browser.
- In the Apps page, click on the Zendesk app icon.
- Click Settings.
- In the Channel access page, under Which channels can Zendesk access? > Zendesk was individually added to, click Add App to Channel. A drop-down list of private channels are listed.
- Select the private channel, and click Allow on the permissions pop-up page.
- In Slack, click Zendesk in the Apps section, and enter /zendesk settings.
- Click Add channel.
- Follow steps 2-6 in To configure the Slack for Zendesk Support integration.
To edit a channel’s app settings
- In Slack, click Zendesk in the Apps section to start a direct message with the app.
- Click Edit existing settings.
- Follow steps 2-6 in To configure the Slack for Zendesk Support integration, above.
You may need to change the subdomain associated with the integration, if, for instance, you are renaming your Zendesk Support subdomain, or moving the integration from a sandbox to a production instance.
To change your subdomain
- In Slack, click Zendesk in the Apps section to start a direct message with the app.
- Click Change subdomain.
- Enter the new subdomain, read and confirm the Zendesk terms and conditions, then click Next.
Zendesk is collecting feedback about the integration. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
To provide feedback on the integration
- In Slack, click Zendesk in the Apps section to start a direct message with the app.
- Click Provide feedback.
- Use the feedback form to enter your comments, and answer any or all of the integration-related questions.
- Click Submit.
FAQ
This section covers the following questions about using and troubleshooting the Slack for Zendesk Support integration.
Installation questions
I've installed the Zendesk app in my Slack account and I don't see the Zendesk actions?
The app needs to be invited to a channel to work. You can invite the Zendesk app to a channel by clicking on the settings cog inside the Slack channel and selecting "Add apps".
Is Enterprise Grid supported?
It is not supported in the current version. If the integration is installed on Enterprise Grid, the Zendesk app will work only one workspace.
Configuring the integration
Can I connect multiple Zendesk accounts to a Slack workspace?
The current version allows connecting a single Zendesk subdomain to a workspace. We are planning to support multiple Zendesk subdomains in the future.
Can the ticket notification information be customized?
Notification information is not customizable.
Can the integration be used in a shared channel in Slack?
Unfortunately our integration isn't supported in shared channels due to the integration method used (workspace tokens). We're in the process of moving to another method which will be released later in 2020.
157 Comments
@Bett: I'd like to use the native app since I'm not a developer.
Hi Anh,
I'm afraid the native app will not allow for you to edit the existing trigger. The only way to restrict certain ticket events is by limiting the Groups that have access to the channel. This is referenced in the above documentation:
Apologies for not being able to provide an alternative solution for you at this time :-/
Hey Anh,
How are these auto replies being added to your tickets? Is this just through the Facebook integration. If so, you may need to set up a trigger that applies a tag based on keywords within this auto-reply.
Then edit your Slack trigger to filter out any tickets that contain that tag.
Let me know if the above doesn't make sense as I'd be happy to help you further.
Cheers!
Would this integration support a Zendesk subdomain to multiple Slack workspaces?
We have a few different Brands within our subdomain, but they use different Slack workspaces for communication. If we were use to this type of Slack integration, we would need to be able to specify which Slack workspace a notification is being sent to.
Hi Harrison,
Yes, the integration supports multiple Slack workspaces to a single Zendesk account.
Thanks,
David
I took me several attempts to get this working. I don't know if that's because we had it partially installed before or what. The issue I was seeing is that the set-up flow inside the private messages with the Zendesk app wasn't starting correctly (see image). What fixed it was uninstalling this and the legacy Slack app from our Zendesk account settings and from Slack, then reinstalling to the Zendesk account, and then installing to Slack.
Thanks for sharing your fix Eben! Sounds like it could have been an issue with the previous install and in that case uninstalling and re-installing is the best option.
The ticket number is too large and I get this in Slack.

Is it possible to solve somehow?
Wow may I ask how many tickets you have daily?
Hi Aleksey,
Thanks for raising this this bug! I've raised a ticket with the team to investigate.
Thanks,
David
Hey all,
there are a lot of messages here, so forgive me if I didn't read them all, but I did catch a glimpse of triggers being mentioned as part of the integration.
Does this mean that I can configure the trigger to share only certain tickets in a slack channel? E.g. tickets tagged in a certain way?
Thanks in advance!
O.
Hey Oliver,
When using the Zendesk/Slack integration you will not be able to customize the triggers that are created. However, while setting up the integration you should be able to set up which channels tickets can be shared with within Slack.
If you only want specific tickets sent over to Slack then you'll most likely need to use a target as mentioned in the following tip: Example: Integrating the HTTP Target with Slack
I hope this points you in the right direction!
Thanks @Brett
On my Zendesk Instance, it shows that Slack is a v1 app that will be disabled and unusable after October 2019. Is that app needed anymore or is everything controlled by the ZenDesk app on the Slack Marketplace?
If that app is still needed, are there plans to update it?
Hey Elis,
If you're using the Zendesk Slack app within the marketplace then you shouldn't need the v1 app any longer. I'd say go ahead and remove that as long as you've set up the new integration.
Cheers!
@Brett - What do you mean when you say "Zendesk Slack App". Are you referring to the Zendesk integration that you can install from the Slack marketplace? I have the same concern as Elis.
Hi Elis and Jimmy,
This is a bug in our apps management page - the Slack integration IS NOT a v1 app and there is no user action required, you will be able to keep using it after October 2019 with no issues.
Apologies for the confusion, we are fixing this.
Thanks,
David
Hi! I just integrated Zendesk to our Slack workspace and I successfully added the bot to several channels, but one (of course the most important one) just refuses to show up as an option in Zendesk. It is a private channel, but the bot is added to it and another private channel shows up… I’ve tried logging in and out of Zendesk and Slack and also reinstalled the app in Slack once. Any thoughts on what can cause this problem?
Hi,
Does this integration support shared channels (shared across multiple Slack workspaces, or accounts). We can not even add the app to the channels like this - seems unsupported.
Hi Emma - sorry to hear about this. Was this channel converted from a Public channel to a Private channel at one point? We have a known bug with the integration where these channels won't appear as an option.
Hi Andrei - thanks for raising this feedback. My team will look into Shared Channels and see if we're compatible or not.
Hi! Thanks for looking into this! Yes, this channel was initially set to public, but is private now. Is there any way to fix this without having to start up a whole new channel? :)
No problems Emma. We're having to make some other major changes to the integration which unfortunately means we may not get around to fixing this specific bug for until 2020. We've had a few customers raise this issue and it's on our backlog. Apologies for the inconvenience until we get it fixed.
Are there plans to support Slack-threading of replies and private notes on a single ZenDesk ticket?
I appreciate the ability to read support messages in Slack, and the ability to reply, but I find myself missing the context of other messages, and not wanting to wait for ZenDesk web app to load to determine my next action.
From https://api.slack.com/docs/message-threading, it looks like fields thread_ts and reply_broadcast are the all that's required (and some thread_ts state per ticket).
Hi David,
Any update regarding my request?
Hi Andrei - thanks for following up. Unfortunately I don't have an update but will try to get back to you by the end of this week.
Hi Loren - thanks for sending through your feedback! Just to clarify, are you looking to view Zendesk ticket information & responses in Slack or send the Slack conversations to Zendesk?
Hi,
I set this integration up by following the steps, yet I'm still unable to receive any notifications to the test channel I have setup.
Hi team.... I've read all the comments I don't think I missed one! There does seem to be an issue. I have removed the zendesk app, removed the slack app and reinstalled from slack. I see the app work as in I can create tickets and use /zendesk settings to create an association for the default existing trigger. Good enough for now right?
But then I go and edit a message... and check the events I see the trigger fire.
When I look at the API, I see an error:
I've tried removing the zendesk app first, and then the slack app to ensure the zendesk app is really gone. Not sure how to fix this. It MAY have bene caused as the first person who tried to load the app was an admin in zendesk, but NOT in slack.. so that might have caused a failed / half install.
But what do I do now?
I could do a webhook and write custom triggers, but this should work and it should be simple right? And yet I see a LOT of old comments with seemingly similar problems...
Thanks in advance!
Mitch
FWIW after I posted this issue, Zendesk confirmed a problem.
The problem has since been reported fixed, however my target is now disabled.
The docucmentation on how to fix this was posted, but the link is not publicly readable.
The agent I was emailing with sent me a copy of the article, but the article doesn't work for me (it involves a curl to make an API call, but curl reports the socket being closed early.
Have granted access / waiting on an update. just posting this in case someone else is stuck like me.
Cheers
m
Hello Mitch & Landre,
I've gone ahead and created a ticket for you both so one of our advocates can look into this issue further. You should expect a response from our team soon.
Best regards.
I have used JSON and it gets validated using these tools https://codebeautify.org/jsonvalidator or https://jsonformatter.org
Please sign in to leave a comment.