Zendesk Support MCP server

This MCP server provides integration with Zendesk through the Model Context Protocol, allowing AI assistants to interact with Zendesk tickets directly. It enables ticket retrieval, creation, updates, and searching functionality through a standardized API interface.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js installed on your system
• Zendesk account with API access
• API token from your Zendesk Admin Center

Step 1: Clone and Setup

git clone https://your-repo-url/mcp-experiments.git
cd mcp-experiments/zd-mcp-server
npm install

Step 2: Configure Environment Variables

Set up the required environment variables:

export ZENDESK_EMAIL="[email protected]"
export ZENDESK_TOKEN="your-zendesk-api-token"
export ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN="your-zendesk-subdomain"

Step 3: Build the Project

Compile the TypeScript code:

npm run build

Configuration with Claude Desktop

To use the Zendesk MCP server with Claude Desktop:

Update Claude Desktop Configuration

Modify your claude_desktop_config.json file:

{
  "tools": {
    "zendesk": {
      "command": "node",
      "env": {
        "ZENDESK_EMAIL": "[email protected]",
        "ZENDESK_TOKEN": "your-zendesk-api-token",
        "ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN": "your-zendesk-subdomain"
      },
      "args": [
        "/path/to/mcp-experiments/zd-mcp-server/dist/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Ensure you:

• Replace environment variables with your actual Zendesk credentials
• Update the path to match your built index.js file location
• Restart the Claude Desktop application after making changes

Available Functions

The MCP Zendesk integration provides these capabilities:

Ticket Retrieval

• zendesk_get_ticket - Retrieves a ticket by ID
• zendesk_get_ticket_details - Gets comprehensive ticket information including comments
• zendesk_get_linked_incidents - Retrieves all incident tickets linked to a specific ticket

Ticket Management

• zendesk_create_ticket - Creates a new Zendesk ticket
• zendesk_update_ticket - Updates ticket properties
• zendesk_add_private_note - Adds an internal note to a ticket
• zendesk_add_public_note - Adds a public comment to a ticket

Search

• zendesk_search - Searches tickets using Zendesk query syntax

Authentication Setup

Generate an API token for Zendesk:

1. Navigate to Admin Center > Apps and Integrations > APIs > Zendesk API
2. Create a new API token and copy it
3. Use your email address and this API token in your MCP configuration

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

• Verify your API token is valid and active
• Double-check your Zendesk subdomain spelling
• Ensure environment variables are correctly set
• Try restarting the MCP server after configuration changes

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.