You can authenticate with Zendesk to create your own instance of the Zendesk element through the UI or through APIs. Once authenticated, you can use the element instance to access the different functionality offered by the Zendesk platform.
Authenticate Through the UI
Use the UI to authenticate with Zendesk and create an element instance. Because you authenticate with Zendesk via OAuth 2.0, all you need to do is add a name for the instance and provide your unique Zendesk subdomain. After you create the instance, you'll log in to Zendesk to authorize Cloud Elements access to your account. For more information about authenticating an element instance, see Authenticate an Element Instance (UI).
After successfully authenticating, we give you several options for next steps. Make requests using the API docs associated with the instance, map the instance to a virtual data resource, or use it in a formula template.
Authenticate Through API
Authenticating through API is a multi-step process that involves:
- Getting a redirect URL. This URL sends users to the vendor to log in to their account.
- Authenticating users and receiving the authorization grant code. After the user logs in, the vendor makes a callback to the specified url with an authorization grant code.
- Authenticating the an element instance. Using the authorization code from the vendor, authenticate with the vendor to create an element instance at Cloud Elements.
Getting a Redirect URL
Use the following API call to request a redirect URL where the user can authenticate with the API provider. Replace {keyOrId}
with the element key, zendesk
.
curl -X GET /elements/{keyOrId}/oauth/url?apiKey=<api_key>&apiSecret=<api_secret>&callbackUrl=<url>&siteAddress=<zendesk_subdomain>
Query Parameters
Query Parameter | Description |
---|---|
apiKey | The key obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the Unique Identifier that you recorded in Zendesk API Provider Setup. |
apiSecret | The secret obtained from registering your app with the provider. This is the Secret that you recorded in Zendesk API Provider Setup. |
callbackUrl | The URL that will receive the code from the vendor to be used to create an element instance. This is the Callback URL that you recorded in Zendesk API Provider Setup. |
siteAddress | Your unique Zendesk subdomain (i.e. - https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com) |
Example cURL
curl -X GET "https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/elements/zendesk/oauth/url?apiKey=fake_zendesk_unique_identifier&apiSecret=fake_api_secret&callbackUrl=https://www.mycoolapp.com/auth&siteAddress=zendesk_subdomain" -H "accept: application/json" -H "content-type: application/json"
Example Response
Use the oauthUrl
in the response to allow users to authenticate with the vendor.
{
"element": "zendesk",
"oauthUrl": "https://zendesk_subdomain.zendesk.com/oauth/authorizations/new?scope=read+write&response_type=code&redirect_uri=https://www.mycool.app.com/auth&state=zendesk&client_id=zendesk_unique_identifier"
}
Authenticating Users and Receiving the Authorization Grant Code
Provide the response from the previous step to the users. After they authenticate, Zendesk provides the following information in the response:
- code
- state
Response Parameter | Description |
---|---|
code | The Authorization Grant Code required by Cloud Elements to retrieve the OAuth access and refresh tokens from the endpoint. |
state | A customizable identifier, typically the element key (zendesk ) . |
error
instead of the code
parameter. In this case, your application can handle the error gracefully.Authenticating the Element Instance
Use the /instances
endpoint to authenticate with Zendesk and create an element instance. If you are configuring events, see the Events section.
To create an element instance:
Construct a JSON body as shown below (see Parameters):
{ "name": "<INSTANCE_NAME>", "element": { "key": "zendesk" }, "providerData": { "code": "<AUTHORIZATION_GRANT_CODE>" }, "configuration": { "oauth.callback.url": "<CALLBACK_URL>", "oauth.api.key": "<CONSUMER_KEY>", "oauth.api.secret": "<CONSUMER_SECRET>", "zendesk.subdomain": "zendesk_subdomain" }, "tags": [ "<Add_Your_Tag>" ] }
Call the following, including the JSON body you constructed in the previous step:
POST /instances
Note: Make sure that you include the User and Organization keys in the header. For more information, see Authorization Headers, Organization Secret, and User Secret.Locate the
token
andid
in the response and save them for all future requests using the an element instance.
Example cURL
curl -X POST \
https://api.cloud-elements.com/elements/api-v2/instances \
-H 'authorization: User <USER_SECRET>, Organization <ORGANIZATION_SECRET>' \
-H 'content-type: application/json' \
-d '{
"name": "Zendesk_Instance"
"element": {
"key": "zendesk"
},
"providerData": {
"code": "xoz8AFqScK2ngM04kSSM"
},
"configuration": {
"oauth.callback.url": "https://www.mycoolapp.com/auth",
"oauth.api.key": "zendesk_unique_identifier",
"oauth.api.secret": "fake_api_secret",
"zendesk.subdomain": "mycoolapp"
},
"tags": [
"For Docs"
]
}'
Parameters
API parameters not shown in Cloud Elements are in code formatting
.
Parameter | Description | Data Type |
---|---|---|
key | The an element key. zendesk | string |
name | The name for the an element instance created during authentication. | Body |
oauth.callback.url | The Callback URL from Zendesk. This is the Callback URL that you noted at the end of Zendesk API Provider Setup. | |
oauth.api.key | The Unique Identifier from Zendesk. This is the Unique Identifier that you noted at the end of Zendesk API Provider Setup. | string |
oauth.api.secret | The Secret from Zendesk. This is the Secret that you noted at the end of Zendesk API Provider Setup. | string |
zendesk.subdomain | Your unique Zendesk subdomain | string |
tags | Optional. User-defined tags to further identify the instance. | string |
Example Response
{
"id": 123,
"name": "test",
"token": "3sU/S/kZD36BaABPS7EAuSGHF+1wsthT+mvoukiE",
"element": {
"id": 41,
"name": "Zendesk",
"key": "zendesk",
"description": "",
"active": true,
"deleted": false
},
"valid": true,
"disabled": false
}