Zendesk troubleshooting and FAQs

This page covers issues most often reported with the Zendesk connector. For setup steps, see Choose your Zendesk setup.

Connection and authentication

OAuth authorization fails

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
Zendesk rejects the authorization request or the Connect step cannot complete.	You entered the wrong Zendesk subdomain, or the Zendesk user does not have permission to approve OAuth access.	Confirm the Zendesk domain contains only the subdomain. Ask a Zendesk admin to approve the OAuth request, or confirm that your organization allows the approving user to authorize OAuth access. See Step 2: Connect Zendesk.

Custom OAuth authorization fails

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
The Custom connection fails after you enter the client credentials.	You entered an incorrect Client ID or client secret, or Zendesk saved a different redirect URL.	Compare the Client ID, client secret, and Callback URL with the values in the Zendesk OAuth client. Recreate the client if Zendesk saved a different Redirect URL. See Step 2: Connect Zendesk.

The redirect URL does not match

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
Zendesk reports a redirect URI or callback URL mismatch.	The Redirect URL in Zendesk does not exactly match the Callback URL shown in Glean.	Update the OAuth client in Zendesk so the protocol, host, path, and trailing characters match the Glean Callback URL exactly. Do not reuse a callback URL from another deployment or environment.

Indexing and permissions

Indexing authorization fails

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
The Authorize action in Set up indexing fails.	You entered an invalid domain, selected an unsupported configuration, or the Zendesk user cannot approve access.	Confirm the Zendesk domain, content selections, and QPS value. Ask a Zendesk admin to approve Glean's access, then retry. See Step 3: Set up indexing.

Zendesk content does not appear in search

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
Search returns no Zendesk articles, posts, or tickets after setup.	You did not select the relevant crawl option, or Glean has not finished the initial crawl.	Check Crawl articles, Crawl posts, and Crawl tickets in Set up indexing. Select Begin indexing in Review setup, then wait for Glean to crawl, process, and index the content.

Crawls fail or queues stall

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
The initial crawl fails, or crawl queues make little progress.	The QPS value is below the required minimum, or it exceeds the Zendesk API capacity available to your organization.	Set Queries per second allowed (for API calls) to at least 1.2. Keep the value within your Zendesk API limits.

Users see content they should not access

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
Search results include Zendesk content outside the intended crawl or user scope.	The connector configuration includes content outside the intended scope, or Zendesk permissions have changed.	Review crawl selections and any configured allowlists or denylists. Confirm the user's Zendesk permissions and wait for identity and content crawls to update the index.

Previous setup: API token issues

These issues apply to deployments where indexing uses a Zendesk API token and the token owner's email address instead of an OAuth authorization. This includes the API-token path in Previous setup and any New setup deployment whose Set up indexing step asks for an API token.

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
The connector cannot authenticate, or Save fails on the connector form.	The Zendesk domain, API token, or token-owner email is incorrect, or token access is disabled in Zendesk.	Confirm the Zendesk domain, API Token, and the Email of the account that created the token. In Zendesk Admin Center, go to Apps and integrations > APIs > API configuration and enable Allow API token access.
Zendesk content is missing from search after a successful crawl.	The relevant crawl option is not selected, or the token owner cannot access the content in Zendesk.	Confirm that Crawl articles, Crawl posts, or Crawl tickets is selected for the content you expect. Verify that the token owner can open the same content directly in Zendesk.
Indexing stops working after an employee leaves the organization.	The API token belonged to that employee's Zendesk user account, which is now deactivated.	Create a replacement token owned by a dedicated service account, then update the API Token and Email on the connector. Use a service account from the start so indexing does not depend on an individual employee.

Tools and access

Users cannot invoke Zendesk tools

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
Users cannot use Zendesk tools in Chat, Agents, or Glean MCP Server.	You set User access to None, disabled the tool for the relevant surface, or scoped the tool away from the user.	Review the connector's Tools tab, then check per-tool enablement, surface settings, and visibility scoping.

A tool cannot access expected Zendesk data

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
A tool runs but returns no ticket, article, user, organization, or group data.	The authenticated Zendesk user may not have access to the data, or you may have limited the tool through its surface or department settings.	Confirm that the authenticated Zendesk user can access the data in Zendesk, then review surface settings and visibility scoping. Tool settings cannot grant access that the authenticated user does not have in Zendesk.

A tool works in Agents but not in Chat

Symptoms	Cause	Fix
A Zendesk tool is available in an agent but does not appear in Chat.	You enabled the tool for Agents but not for Chat, or the tool does not support Chat.	Review which surfaces the tool supports and enable Chat when it is available.

FAQs

The setup path depends on your Glean deployment, not when you personally connect Zendesk. Start with Choose your Zendesk setup to compare New setup and Previous setup.

No. The Connect step authorizes Zendesk access for tools. The separate Set up indexing step configures the Zendesk domain, content scope, request rate, and indexing authorization.

Yes. Team members can search Zendesk content and take action through Glean after they authenticate with Zendesk. Zendesk limits each user's actions to the data they can access.

Edit the Zendesk connector and open the Tools tab. Use Advanced settings to enable tools and set department access for Chat, Agents, and Glean MCP Server. See the Tools overview for the broader configuration model.

Still not resolved? Contact Glean Support with the exact Zendesk error message, the affected subdomain, and whether the issue occurs during connection, indexing, or tool use.