Zendesk Exporter

Description

This project connects to the Zendesk API to retrieve tickets (and their comments), then exports the data to a CSV file. It:

• Uses environment variables instead of hard-coding credentials (for security)
• Handles pagination to fetch tickets in batches
• Fetches additional comments for each ticket, beyond the initial description
• Saves the final data to a timestamped CSV file

How to Download This Code

There are two main ways to download the code from this repository: zendesk_exporter_project under the GitHub user rodbland2021.

1. Download as a ZIP File (No Git Required)

1. Open this repository on GitHub:
   https://github.com/rodbland2021/zendesk_exporter_project
2. Click the green "Code" button near the top-right
3. Select "Download ZIP"
4. Unzip the downloaded file on your computer, and you will have all the files from this repository

This method is simplest if you just want a one-time copy without needing Git or version control.

2. Clone with Git

If you want the full Git history (to pull future updates or contribute back), clone the repository using Git.

Option A: Git Command Line

1. Install Git (if you haven't already)
2. Open a terminal (Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Git Bash)
3. Navigate to the folder where you want the repository stored. For example:

   cd C:\path\to\your\folder

4. Run:

   git clone https://github.com/rodbland2021/zendesk_exporter_project.git

This creates a new folder named zendesk_exporter_project containing all the files, commit history, and branches.

Option B: GitHub Desktop

1. Install GitHub Desktop from desktop.github.com
2. Open GitHub Desktop and sign in to your GitHub account
3. Go to File → Clone repository
4. Under the URL tab, enter:

   https://github.com/rodbland2021/zendesk_exporter_project.git
   

5. Choose a local path (the folder on your machine where you'd like to store the repository)
6. Click "Clone" to download it

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• Dependencies:
  • requests
  • pandas
  • tqdm

Install them with:

pip install requests pandas tqdm

Or, if you have a requirements.txt file:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Setup

Environment Variables

Your script relies on three environment variables for Zendesk credentials:

1. ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN

   • The subdomain is the part before .zendesk.com
   • Example: If your Zendesk URL is https://mycompany.zendesk.com, then mycompany is the subdomain

2. ZENDESK_EMAIL

   • The email address associated with your Zendesk account

3. ZENDESK_API_TOKEN

   • The API token you generate from your Zendesk admin settings

Setting Environment Variables

• macOS/Linux (bash/zsh):

export ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN="mycompany"
export ZENDESK_EMAIL="my-email@example.com"
export ZENDESK_API_TOKEN="my-api-token"
python main.py

• Windows (Command Prompt):

set ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN=mycompany
set ZENDESK_EMAIL=my-email@example.com
set ZENDESK_API_TOKEN=my-api-token
python main.py

• Windows (PowerShell):

$env:ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN="mycompany"
$env:ZENDESK_EMAIL="my-email@example.com"
$env:ZENDESK_API_TOKEN="my-api-token"
python main.py

If you use a .env file with python-dotenv, remember to add .env to your .gitignore to prevent committing credentials.

Usage

1. Install dependencies (see above)
2. Set your environment variables as shown
3. Run your script (for example, python main.py)
4. When prompted, enter the number of tickets to export or press Enter to export all

Once complete, the script will create a CSV file with the format:

zendesk_tickets_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.csv

This file will contain all ticket details and comments.

Troubleshooting

• Missing credentials: If the script reports missing ZENDESK_SUBDOMAIN, ZENDESK_EMAIL, or ZENDESK_API_TOKEN, verify that you've set them correctly (see "Setting Environment Variables" above)
• Accidental credential commit: If you accidentally commit an API token to your repository, immediately revoke the token in Zendesk and remove it from your Git history
• Rate limits: Zendesk imposes rate limits; the script uses small time.sleep delays to avoid hitting them too quickly
• Further help: Refer to Zendesk's API documentation for more details on endpoints, parameters, and best practices