Import from Zendesk
The new option to import data from Zendesk lets you migrate data including tickets, attachments, and users from Zendesk to YouTrack.
A setup wizard navigates you through the import configuration process. It prompts you to enter the connection settings and lets you map projects in YouTrack to brands in Zendesk. If your Zendesk instance has a custom set of fields for tickets, you can use an option to edit a client Zendesk import script in YouTrack itself directly.
Import Details
If the Zendesk database contains references to entities that do not already exist in YouTrack, they are created. The YouTrack user account you use to run the import should have permissions to create all imported entities. We recommend using an account with a System Admin role or the Low-level Admin Write permission to run the import.
Imported Entities
Entity in Zendesk | Entity in YouTrack |
|---|---|
Brand | Project |
Ticket | Issue |
Ticket fields | Custom fields |
Users | Users |
Agents | Users |
Groups | Groups |
Ticket attachments | Issue attachments |
Comments | Comments |
The first comment in a ticket and its subject | Issue description and summary |
Tags | Tags |
Linked tickets | Linked issues |
Import Limitations
YouTrack imports some entities partially or doesn't import at all. Some of the restrictions set up in Zendesk are ignored during import.
The following import limitations are in place:
Entity in Zendesk | Details |
|---|---|
Ticket history | YouTrack imports only the comments to the tickets. YouTrack doesn't import historical events such as changes in status, tags, fields, or other changes. |
Knowledge base | YouTrack does not import any articles from the Knowledge base in Zendesk. |
Internal comments | YouTrack imports internal comments along with the public ones without any visibility restrictions. |
User types | YouTrack imports users of all types equally. YouTrack administrator needs to configure user permissions separately after the import. For details, see Manage User Access |
Set up an Import from Zendesk
Before you add a new import configuration, you need to create an API token that will grant access to Zendesk. Then you can use the token for authorization when setting up the import in YouTrack.
Create an API Token in Zendesk
To set up an import of tickets from Zendesk, first, you need to create an API token for the Zendesk service.
To create an API token in Zendesk, please follow the instructions in the Zendesk documentation.
Configure Import from Zendesk in YouTrack
The setup wizard guides you through the setup process.
To configure import from Zendesk:
From the Administration menu, select .
Click New import to open the setup dialog.
Select Zendesk.
Configure the import settings:
Setting
Description
Zendesk URL
The URL of your Zendesk.
Token
The API token that you have generated in Zendesk to access the target tickets.
If required by your Zendesk service, enable the Use SSL key for client authentication option.
When done, click Next.
Review the settings that you have provided.
Select the Zendesk brands and the target Youtrack projects for the import. For more details about the project mapping configuration, see Project Mapping.
Optionally, enable the Continuous import. When enabled, YouTrack will periodically poll the tickets in the selected Zendesk brand and import updates made since the last sync.
When done, click Start import.
YouTrack will create a project of the same name as the target brand in Zendesk and import found tickets, comments, and users.
If you have configured a project mapping, YouTrack will create new projects and import data to the existing ones according to the mapping.
The YouTrack issues created from tickets will display a link to the source ticket in Zendesk. This link will be shown under the custom field panel in the YouTrack issue.
If the Continuous import option is enabled, YouTrack will periodically check target Zendesk brands for updated and new tickets.
When you have set up an import, it appears in the imports list. To view configuration and import details, select the import configuration from the list.
In the details sidebar, YouTrack shows import status and details on the data that was imported. Click the Resume button in the toolbar to explicitly start polling for changes and importing updates from the target Zendesk brand.
You can also download the import log file to study and investigate when needed.
Project Mapping
On the final step of the import setup, you can select those brands you want to import to YouTrack. You can also choose whether to create a new project for the import or import data into an existing project in YouTrack.
To configure project mapping:
Locate those Zendesk brands that you want to import.
Use the filter bar on the right to filter Zendesk brands by name.
Select the brands that you want to import. Check the box on the top of the list to import all available Zendesk brands.
Select a target YouTrack project for each Zendesk brand.
When loading the list of Zendesk brands for mapping, YouTrack checks for existing YouTrack projects with corresponding names. If it finds a YouTrack project with the same name as the Zendesk brand, YouTrack suggests it as the target project.
If there is no existing YouTrack project with the corresponding name, YouTrack suggests creating a new one.
If you want to change a target project, select another option from the corresponding dropdown on the list.
Click Next to start import.
Import starts.
Import Options
After the initial import, the following controls are available in the sidebar:
Control | Description |
|---|---|
Resume | Immediately imports any changes made in the selected Zendesk brands after the previous import. |
Edit | Opens the integration settings page in edit mode. Use this option to connect to a different Zendesk instance, update the login credentials, or update project mapping. |
Delete | Deletes the current import settings. Zendesk ticket numbers that are attached to imported issues are also removed. Projects, issues, comments, users, and groups that were imported from the connected Zendesk instance are not affected. If you delete the import settings and connect to the same Zendesk instance, the tickets are re-imported into existing projects with new issue IDs. |