| Announced on | Rollout on |
| February 13, 2024 | February 13, 2024 |
Zendesk is pleased to introduce additional API endpoints and parameters that provide more powerful and convenient ways to integrate Zendesk custom objects with your external systems.
This announcement includes the following topics:
What is changing?
We've added several new endpoints to enhance the experience of using APIs to manage custom objects and integrate them with your business systems in two key ways: leveraging the `external_id` of custom object records to keep your data in sync across systems and using bulk actions to synchronize your data more efficiently.
Using `external_id` values to keep your data in sync
The `external_id` must be unique for each custom object record. Therefore, it can be used to associate the records with the data in your external systems through a shared unique value. For example, it could be a Salesforce ID, SAP ID, or Netsuite ID.
When using the `external_id` parameter in this way, you can use the following new endpoints to keep your custom object records in synch with your other business systems:
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Create or Update Custom Object Record by External ID
When using this endpoint, if a custom object record is found with the specified `external_id` value, it is updated; if a matching record isn't found, a new record is created. -
Delete Custom Object Record by External ID
Use this API to delete records in Zendesk when the data is deleted in your external business system. -
Set a Lookup Relationship with External ID
Use this API to set a lookup relationship value using the external ID of the target record. For example, when synchronizing data between external systems and Zendesk custom objects, you could set the lookup relationship in the your custom object record to point to a user's profile by including their external ID.
Synchronizing your custom data in bulk
If you have a high rate of change in your custom data, you might have worried about rate limits. Now, you don't have to worry about that. We've expanded the Custom Object Record Bulk Jobs endpoint to include the following capabilities:
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Bulk delete by external id
Within the job, specify "delete_by_external_id" as the action and provide an array of strings representing the external ids of the records you want to delete for the items. -
Bulk update by external id
Within the job, specify "update" as the action and provide an array of JSON objects representing the custom object records you want to update for the items. -
Bulk create or update by external id
Within the job, specify "create_or_update_by_external_id" as the action and provide an array of JSON objects representing the custom object records you want to create or update for the items.
Why is Zendesk making this change?
Zendesk continues to strive to make custom objects easy to use and highly valuable to your business. We think these enhancements to the custom object APIs will empower you to integrate your business systems with Zendesk custom objects and use your business data to deliver great customer experiences.
What do I need to do?
These API enhancements are available to all accounts eligible to use custom objects.
If you have questions or need assistance, contact Zendesk Customer Support. If you have product feedback or feature requests related to this announcement, visit our community forum where we collect and manage customer product feedback.