Zendesk Support MCP server

Zendesk Support is a cloud-based customer service platform that manages support tickets, customers, and helpdesk operations across multiple channels. An MCP server for Zendesk Support lets AI agents create and manage tickets, organize customer data, and automate support workflows.

Setting up an MCP server

This article covers the standard steps for creating an MCP server in AI Gateway and connecting it to an AI client. The steps are the same for every integration — application-specific details (API credentials, OAuth endpoints, and scopes) are covered in the individual application pages.

Before you begin

You'll need:

• Access to AI Gateway with permission to create MCP servers
• API credentials for the application you're connecting (see the relevant application page for what to collect)

Create an MCP server

Find the API in the catalog

1. Sign in to AI Gateway and select MCP Servers from the left navigation.
2. Select New MCP Server.
3. Search for the application you want to connect, then select it from the catalog.

Configure the server

1. Enter a Name for your server — something descriptive that identifies both the application and its purpose (for example, "Zendesk Support — Prod").
2. Enter a Description so your team knows what the server is for.
3. Set the Timeout value. 30 seconds works for most APIs; increase to 60 seconds for APIs that return large payloads.
4. Toggle Production mode on if this server will be used in a live workflow.
5. Select Next.

Configure authentication

Enter the authentication details for the application. This varies by service — see the Authentication section of the relevant application page for the specific credentials, OAuth URLs, and scopes to use.

Configure security

1. Set any Rate limits appropriate for your use case and the API's own limits.
2. Enable Logging if you want AI Gateway to record requests and responses for auditing.
3. Select Next.

Deploy

Review the summary, then select Deploy. AI Gateway provisions the server and provides a server URL you'll use when configuring your AI client.

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Connect to an AI client

Once your server is deployed, you'll need to add it to the AI client your team uses. Select your client for setup instructions:

• Claude Desktop
• Claude Code
• Cursor
• VS Code
• Windsurf

Tips

• You can create multiple MCP servers for the same application — for example, a read-only server for reporting agents and a read-write server for automation workflows.
• If you're unsure which OAuth scopes to request, start with the minimum read-only set and add write scopes only when needed. Most application pages include scope recommendations.
• You can edit a server's name, description, timeout, and security settings after deployment without redeploying.

Authentication

Zendesk Support uses OAuth 2.0 authentication. To set up the MCP server, you'll need to create an OAuth application in your Zendesk account and obtain a Client ID and Client Secret. The OAuth endpoints are subdomain-specific: https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/oauth/authorizations/new for authorization and https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/oauth/tokens for token exchange. Common scopes include read (read access to all resources), write (create and update resources), tickets:read (view tickets), tickets:write (manage tickets), users:read (view users), and users:write (manage users).

Available tools

The Zendesk Support MCP server provides tools for managing tickets, users, organizations, and support workflows.

Ticket Management

Tool	Description
create	Create a new support ticket
get	Retrieve ticket details by ID
update	Update ticket properties (status, priority, assignee)
delete	Delete a ticket
list	List tickets with filtering and pagination
merge	Merge duplicate tickets

User Management

Tool	Description
create_user	Create a new user (customer or agent)
get_user	Retrieve user details by ID
update_user	Update user profile information
delete_user	Delete a user
list_users	List users with filtering
merge_users	Merge duplicate user accounts

Organization Management

Tool	Description
create_organization	Create a new customer organization
get_organization	Retrieve organization details
update_organization	Update organization information
delete_organization	Delete an organization
list_organizations	List organizations with filtering

Ticket Comments & Communication

Tool	Description
create_comment	Add a comment to a ticket
list_comments	Retrieve all comments on a ticket
get_comment	Retrieve a specific comment by ID

Automation & Bulk Operations

Tool	Description
create_trigger	Create automation triggers
list_triggers	List configured triggers
create_view	Create custom ticket views
list_views	List available ticket views
bulk_update	Update multiple tickets at once

Search & Reporting

Tool	Description
search	Search tickets using advanced query syntax
list_ticket_fields	List custom fields available for tickets
get_ticket_field	Retrieve specific field configuration

Tips

Use the list and search tools with filters to find tickets efficiently rather than retrieving all tickets at once.

Validate that required custom fields are included when creating tickets programmatically to avoid validation errors.

Use the bulk_update tool instead of updating tickets individually to respect API rate limits for large-scale operations.

Monitor token expiration in production systems — the OAuth token automatically refreshes, but monitoring prevents authentication failures.

Cache frequently accessed data like organizations and user IDs to minimize API calls.