How to export tickets, users and organizations from Zendesk

Zendesk has three ways to get your data out: the account data export, a CSV of a ticket view, and its API. Which one you can use depends on your plan, and only some of them include the conversations. This guide shows what each one gives you.

• Tickets
• Ticket conversations
• Users
• Organizations
• Plans and permissions

Which export gives you what

• JSON (account export): tickets, users or organizations, including ticket comments. The most complete file.
• CSV (account export): tickets only, without comments or descriptions.
• XML (account export): tickets with comments, users, organizations and groups, but without custom fields, and no longer available above about 500 MB.
• View CSV: the tickets of one view with the view's columns. Available on every plan.
• API: everything, including full conversations, for someone comfortable with scripts.

Turn on the account export

The account export is available on Suite Growth, Professional, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus, and on Support Professional and Enterprise. It is off by default: the account owner asks Zendesk Customer Support to turn it on, giving the account's subdomain. Team plans cannot use it, but can use a view export or the API.

Run the account export

1. In Admin Center, click the Account icon, then Tools, then Reports.
2. Open the Export tab.
3. For JSON, choose a date range and Tickets, Users or Organizations, then click Export. Run it once for each.
4. For CSV, choose a date range and click Export.
5. For XML, click request file next to the option (no date range or type to choose).
6. Zendesk emails a link to a zip file. The link works for at least three days.

Export a view as CSV

1. Open Views and choose a view with every ticket you need (with no filters applied).
2. Click Export CSV, or Actions then Export as CSV.
3. The link goes to the primary email address of your profile. You can export a view once every 10 minutes.

What the exports leave out

• Conversations in CSV: neither the account CSV nor a view CSV contains comments. Use JSON, XML or the API for the conversations.
• Large tickets in JSON: a ticket over 1 MB comes without its comments, and the zip says so in an extra file.
• Custom fields in XML are not exported.
• Attachments are not documented as part of the bulk exports. Through the API each comment lists its attachments with a download address.
• Tickets handled by an AI agent cannot be exported.

Troubleshooting

• The export fails or times out: exports over about 100,000 records can time out. Split the date range.
• No email arrived: use latest next to the export type to download the last file generated.
• No Reports option, although your plan includes it: the export has not been turned on yet; contact Zendesk Support.
• No export button on a view: remove the view's filters and check that your role allows CSV export.

Moving your support to EVORIV

EVORIV does not import Zendesk tickets or their conversations, and it reads CSV and Excel files, not Zendesk's JSON or XML. Keep the Zendesk export as your archive, bring your customer companies and contacts across as a spreadsheet, and let new conversations start in EVORIV. EVORIV Support is rolling out during Early Access.