Zendesk MCP

io.github.markusvankempenPublished by GitHub account markusvankempenv1.0.2Updated Oct 25, 2026

Zendesk MCP: 14 tools for AI agents — create, search, assign, comment, and close support tickets.

Overview

AI-generated overview

A local MCP server that connects AI assistants to Zendesk Support, exposing 14 tools to create, search, update, comment on, assign and close support tickets.

What you can do
Create and update tickets, including requester attribution so replies reach the real customer rather than the API account, plus status, priority, tags and comments. Search and list tickets by query, recency, requester email or admin-wide listing. Read conversations and add public replies or internal notes. Look up users by email. Close, reopen and assign tickets to a group or agent. Retrieve SLA and timing metrics.
When to use it
Useful when an assistant should handle helpdesk work in Zendesk: drafting and filing tickets from a conversation, triaging and assigning a queue, answering with internal notes, or checking SLA metrics, without switching to the Zendesk web UI.
Requirements
Runs locally over stdio, typically via npx for the npm package or pip for the Python package. Needs a Zendesk subdomain, a service account email and an API token, supplied through the ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN, ZENDESK_EMAIL and ZENDESK_API_TOKEN environment variables. Network access to the Zendesk REST API v2 is required.
Before you install
Requires a Zendesk API token and service account credentials; keep them out of committed files and prefer the extension's OS keychain storage. The tools write to a live helpdesk: they create and update tickets, post public replies or internal notes, close, reopen and reassign tickets, which customers may see. Ticket data is sent to the Zendesk API and to whichever AI client is connected.

Installation

In SourceWeft

  1. Open Zendesk MCP in the dashboard and add it to a workspace.
  2. Enable the server for the chats that should use its tools.

Desktop only via STDIO. STDIO servers start a local process, so they need the SourceWeft desktop host.

Other MCP clients

Follow the launch instructions in the repository.

README

Zendesk MCP

[npm version] [npm downloads] [PyPI] [VS Code Extension] [MCP Registry] [CI] [License]

[Zendesk MCP]

[Add MCP server to Cursor]   [Add MCP server to VS Code]   [Add MCP server to IBM Bob]   [Add MCP server to Antigravity]

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Zendesk Support — connect AI agents in Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop, watsonx Orchestrate, and IBM Code Engine to 14 ticket tools (create, search, assign, close, comments, metrics). Install: npx @markusvankempen/zendesk-mcp-server · pip install zendesk-mcp-server-py

zendesk · mcp · cursor · github-copilot · claude · ai-agents · customer-support · helpdesk · watsonx-orchestrate · typescript · python

Generic Zendesk integration for AI agents via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Ships TypeScript and Python server implementations plus deployment examples for IDEs, IBM Code Engine, and watsonx Orchestrate.

Author: Markus van Kempen
Email: [email protected] · [email protected]
Website: markusvankempen.github.io
No bug too small, no syntax too weird.


Overview

Zendesk MCP exposes 14 support-ticket operations as MCP tools so AI agents in Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop, watsonx Orchestrate, and IBM Code Engine can manage tickets through natural language.

The core design solves requester attribution: tickets are created with the real customer as requester (not the API service account), so Zendesk email replies route correctly.

mermaid
graph TB    subgraph clients [MCP Clients]        Cursor[Cursor / VS Code]        WxO[watsonx Orchestrate]        CE[Code Engine / Remote]    end
    subgraph servers [Servers]        TS["TypeScript npm"]        PY["Python FastMCP"]    end
    ZD[Zendesk REST API v2]
    Cursor -->|stdio| TS    WxO -->|stdio| PY    CE -->|SSE| TS    CE -->|SSE| PY    TS --> ZD    PY --> ZD

📖 Documentation hub → docs/ · MCP config examples → examples/mcp/ · Public vs private repo → docs/PUBLIC_REPO.md · Contributing → CONTRIBUTING.md · Security → docs/SECURITY.md


Documentation reference

Complete index of every markdown file in this repository.

Root

DocumentDescription
README.mdProject overview, quick starts, deployments summary (this file)
task.mdOriginal project requirements and reference notes

Core documentation (docs/)

DocumentDescription
docs/README.mdDocumentation hub — start here
docs/ide/README.mdIDE setup — local npx + remote Code Engine
docs/reference/ARCHITECTURE.mdSystem design, stdio/SSE/WxO topologies, auth flow
docs/reference/TOOLS.mdAll 14 MCP tools — parameters, returns, examples
docs/guides/SCENARIOS.mdRequester modes, role agents, 17 scenarios, E2E
docs/reference/FILES.mdComplete file inventory
docs/deployments/README.mdDeployment docs index

Package READMEs (packages/)

DocumentDescription
packages/zendesk-mcp-server/README.mdTypeScript/npm server — install, env vars, SSE mode, build from source
packages/zendesk-mcp-server-py/README.mdPython FastMCP server — setup, SSE mode, WxO import pointer

Deployment READMEs (deployments/)

DocumentDescription
deployments/vscode-extension/README.mdVS Code / Cursor / Open VSX extension — commands, settings, publish
deployments/code-engine/README.mdIBM Code Engine — Dockerfiles, SSE endpoints, remote MCP client config
deployments/code-engine/DEPLOYMENT-GUIDE.mdCode Engine — live deploy, test/admin UI, local vs deployed mcp.json
deployments/watsonx-orchestrate/README.mdWxO toolkit deploy, 4 role agents, scenario runner, CLI test commands

Quick navigation by topic

TopicStart here
IDE setup (local npx)docs/ide/README-local.md
IDE setup (Code Engine)docs/ide/README-remote.md
Architecture & transportsdocs/reference/ARCHITECTURE.md
Tool parameters & examplesdocs/reference/TOOLS.md
WxO agents & test scenariosdocs/guides/SCENARIOS.md
Every file explaineddocs/reference/FILES.md
npm / TypeScript serverpackages/zendesk-mcp-server/README.md
Python / FastMCP serverpackages/zendesk-mcp-server-py/README.md
IDE extension setupdeployments/vscode-extension/README.md
Code Engine deploydeployments/code-engine/README.md
WxO deploy & E2Edeployments/watsonx-orchestrate/README.md

Repository layout

zendesk-mcp/├── docs/                         # Documentation hub│   ├── README.md                 # Start here│   ├── ide/                      # IDE setup guides (local + remote)│   ├── reference/                # ARCHITECTURE, TOOLS, FILES│   ├── guides/                   # SCENARIOS│   └── deployments/              # Deployment index├── packages/│   ├── zendesk-mcp-server/       # TypeScript MCP server (npm)│   └── zendesk-mcp-server-py/    # Python MCP server (FastMCP)├── deployments/│   ├── vscode-extension/         # VS Code / Cursor / Open VSX extension│   ├── code-engine/              # IBM Code Engine (SSE) + mcp-client JSON│   └── watsonx-orchestrate/      # WxO toolkit + 4 role agents└── .github/workflows/            # CI + npm/marketplace publish

Quick start (TypeScript / npm)

bash
export ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN=your-subdomainexport [email protected]export ZENDESK_API_TOKEN=your_token
npx @markusvankempen/zendesk-mcp-server

One-click install: Cursor · VS Code — then set your ZENDESK_* credentials in MCP settings.

Copy-paste setup: Bob · Antigravity (no install deeplink yet — use examples/mcp/):

Add to your IDE config — copy from examples/mcp/:

Or use the VS Code extension — it stores your API token in OS keychain and writes MCP config automatically. See deployments/vscode-extension/README.md.

Before pushing to GitHub, run npm run check:secrets — see docs/SECURITY.md.


Quick start (Python)

bash
pip install zendesk-mcp-server-py
export ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN=your-subdomainexport [email protected]export ZENDESK_API_TOKEN=your_token
zendesk-mcp-server-py

MCP tools (14)

ToolDescription
create_ticketCreate ticket with correct requester attribution
get_ticketGet ticket by ID
update_ticketUpdate status, priority, tags, or comment
search_ticketsZendesk search query syntax
list_recent_ticketsRecently updated tickets
list_all_ticketsAdmin-wide ticket listing
list_tickets_for_requesterTickets for a requester email
get_ticket_commentsRead ticket conversation
add_ticket_commentAdd public reply or internal note
get_user_by_emailLook up Zendesk user
close_ticketMark ticket solved
reopen_ticketReopen solved/closed ticket
get_ticket_metricsSLA / timing metrics
assign_ticketAssign to group or agent

→ Full tool reference with parameters & examples


Deployments

ScenarioDirectoryTransportDocs
VS Code / Cursor / Open VSXdeployments/vscode-extension/stdio via npxREADME
IBM Code Enginedeployments/code-engine/SSEREADME
watsonx Orchestratedeployments/watsonx-orchestrate/stdio subprocessREADME · Scenarios

watsonx Orchestrate — role agents

AgentRole
zendesk_end_user_agentSelf-service — create/list/comment on own tickets
zendesk_support_agentAnalyst — triage, investigate, metrics, assign
zendesk_admin_agentAdmin — queue overview, SLA, assignment
zendesk_mcp_agentGeneralist — all tools, prototyping
bash
cd deployments/watsonx-orchestrate./deploy_and_test.sh                              # full deploy + E2ERUN_LIVE=1 ./run_agent_scenarios.sh               # 17 role scenarios

Requester attribution (key design)

mermaid
sequenceDiagram    autonumber    actor User    participant WxO as WxO Agent    participant MCP as MCP Server    participant ZD as Zendesk
    User->>WxO: "Create a ticket — account locked"    Note over WxO: wxo_email_id available    WxO->>MCP: create_ticket(requester_email=wxo_email_id)    MCP->>ZD: Find/create user + create ticket    ZD-->>MCP: ticket_id=42, requester=real customer    MCP-->>WxO: JSON result    WxO-->>User: "Ticket #42 created"

Connection credentials (ZENDESK_*) authenticate the API. User identity (wxo_email_id) is mapped by the agent into tool arguments — the MCP server never sees WxO session context directly.

→ Full scenarios documentation


Development

bash
npm installnpm run build          # TypeScript server + VS Code extensionnpm run build:server   # TypeScript server onlynpm run build:extension

Credentials

Never commit .env files or API tokens.

DeploymentSecret storage
IDE extensionVS Code SecretStorage (OS keychain)
Code Engineibmcloud ce secrets / env vars
WxOorchestrate connections set-credentials
Local devpackages/zendesk-mcp-server-py/.env
VariablePurpose
ZENDESK_SUBDOMAINTenant prefix (mycompany → mycompany.zendesk.com)
ZENDESK_EMAILService account email for API auth
ZENDESK_API_TOKENZendesk API token

Reference implementation

Extracted and generalized from WxO-ToolBox/vsc/test_tools/zendesk_mcp_server. See docs/reference/FILES.md for lineage mapping.

→ All documentation · task.md (original requirements)


Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

License

Apache License 2.0


Links

More from the author

Part of the open-source toolkit at markusvankempen.github.io — alongside WxO Agent MCP, Maximo MCP Server, Code Engine MCP Server, and WxO Builder MCP Server.


Topics & keywords

zendesk · zendesk-api · zendesk-mcp · zendesk-support · zendesk-tickets · mcp · mcp-server · model-context-protocol · cursor · claude · claude-desktop · github-copilot · vscode · vscode-extension · open-vsx · ai-agent · ai-agents · tool-calling · function-calling · llm-tools · customer-support · customer-service · helpdesk · help-desk · service-desk · support-tickets · ticketing · crm · watsonx · watsonx-orchestrate · ibm-cloud · ibm-code-engine · typescript · python · fastmcp · stdio · sse · npx · npm-package · automation


Author: Markus van Kempen
Email: [email protected] · [email protected]
Website: markusvankempen.github.io
No bug too small, no syntax too weird.


Public distribution repo — server source is not included. Install via npx -y @markusvankempen/zendesk-mcp-server or pip install zendesk-mcp-server-py. See docs/PUBLIC_REPO.md for the private dev workflow.

Source: README.md at commit 02aaebe

Tools

0
SourceWeft has not started this package in its sandbox yet, so its tools are not known.

Version history

1
  1. v1.0.2LatestSep 16, 2026

Score

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