Zendesk Automation Agent Skill

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.

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

• ZENDESK_LIST_ZENDESK_TICKETS - List all tickets with pagination [Required]
• 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:

• ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS - Find requester/assignee [Prerequisite]
• ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_TICKET - Create a new ticket [Required]
• ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_TICKET - Update ticket fields [Optional]
• 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:

• ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_TICKET_BY_ID - Get current ticket state [Prerequisite]
• 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:

• ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS - Search for users [Required]
• ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_USER - Create a new user [Optional]
• 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:

• ZENDESK_GET_ALL_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATIONS - List all organizations [Required]
• ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION - Get specific organization [Optional]
• ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION - Create organization [Optional]
• ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION - Update organization [Optional]
• 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

| Task | Tool Slug | Key Params |

|------|-----------|------------|

| List tickets | ZENDESK_LIST_ZENDESK_TICKETS | page, per_page, sort_by |

| Get ticket | ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_TICKET_BY_ID | ticket_id |

| Create ticket | ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_TICKET | subject, description, priority |

| Update ticket | ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_TICKET | ticket_id, status, tags |

| Reply to ticket | ZENDESK_REPLY_ZENDESK_TICKET | ticket_id, body, public |

| Delete ticket | ZENDESK_DELETE_ZENDESK_TICKET | ticket_id |

| Search users | ZENDESK_SEARCH_ZENDESK_USERS | query |

| Create user | ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_USER | name, email |

| My profile | ZENDESK_GET_ABOUT_ME | (none) |

| List orgs | ZENDESK_GET_ALL_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATIONS | page, per_page |

| Get org | ZENDESK_GET_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION | organization_id |

| Create org | ZENDESK_CREATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION | name |

| Update org | ZENDESK_UPDATE_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATION | organization_id, name |

| Count orgs | ZENDESK_COUNT_ZENDESK_ORGANIZATIONS | (none) |

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