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DocumentationExperience PlatformSource Connectors Guide

Create a dataflow for Zendesk using the Flow Service API

Last update: Mon Jun 12 2023 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

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  • Developer

The following tutorial walks you through the steps to create a source connection and a dataflow to bring Zendesk data to Platform using the .

Getting started

This guide requires a working understanding of the following components of Experience Platform:

  • Sources: Experience Platform allows data to be ingested from various sources while providing you with the ability to structure, label, and enhance incoming data using Platform services.
  • Sandboxes: Experience Platform provides virtual sandboxes which partition a single Platform instance into separate virtual environments to help develop and evolve digital experience applications.

The following sections provide additional information that you will need to know in order to successfully connect to Zendesk using the Flow Service API.

Gather required credentials

In order to access your Zendesk account on Platform, you must provide values for the following credentials:

Credential
Description
Example
subdomain
The unique domain associated with your account.
https://yoursubdomain.zendesk.com
accessToken
Zendesk API token.
0lZnClEvkJSTQ7olGLl7PMhVq99gu26GTbJtf

For more information on authenticating your Zendesk source, see the Zendesk source overview.

Connect Zendesk to Platform using the Flow Service API

The following tutorial walks you through the steps to create a Zendesk source connection and create a dataflow to bring Zendesk data to Platform using the .

Create a base connection base-connection

A base connection retains information between your source and Platform, including your source’s authentication credentials, the current state of the connection, and your unique base connection ID. The base connection ID allows you to explore and navigate files from within your source and identify the specific items that you want to ingest, including information regarding their data types and formats.

To create a base connection ID, make a POST request to the /connections endpoint while providing your Zendesk authentication credentials as part of the request body.

API format

POST /connections

Request

The following request creates a base connection for Zendesk:

curl -X POST \
    'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
    -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
    -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {IMS_ORG}' \
    -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
        "name": "Zendesk base connection",
        "description": "Zendesk base connection to authenticate to Platform",
        "connectionSpec": {
            "id": "0a27232b-2c6e-4396-b8c6-c9fc24e37ba4",
            "version": "1.0"
        },
        "auth": {
            "specName": "OAuth2 Refresh Code",
            "params": {
                "subdomain": "{SUBDOMAIN}",
                "accessToken": "{ACCESS_TOKEN}"
            }
        }
    }'
Property
Description
name
The name of your base connection. Ensure that the name of your base connection is descriptive as you can use this to look up information on your base connection.
description
An optional value that you can include to provide more information on your base connection.
connectionSpec.id
The connection specification ID of your source. This ID can be retrieved after your source is registered and approved through the Flow Service API.
auth.specName
The authentication type that you are using to authenticate your source to Platform.
auth.params.
Contains the credentials required to authenticate your source.
auth.params.subdomain
The unique domain associated with your account. The format for subdomain is https://yoursubdomain.zendesk.com.
auth.params.accessToken
The corresponding access token used to authenticate your source. This is required for OAuth-based authentication.

Response

A successful response returns the newly created base connection, including its unique connection identifier (id). This ID is required to explore your source’s file structure and contents in the next step.

{
     "id": "70383d02-2777-4be7-a309-9dd6eea1b46d",
     "etag": "\"d64c8298-add4-4667-9a49-28195b2e2a84\""
}

Explore your source explore

Using the base connection ID you generated in the previous step, you can explore files and directories by performing GET requests.
Use the following calls to find the path of the file you wish to bring into Platform:

API format

GET /connections/{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}/explore?objectType=rest&object={OBJECT}&fileType={FILE_TYPE}&preview={PREVIEW}&sourceParams={SOURCE_PARAMS}

When performing GET requests to explore your source’s file structure and contents, you must include the query parameters that are listed in the table below:

Parameter
Description
{BASE_CONNECTION_ID}
The base connection ID generated in the previous step.
objectType=rest
The type of object that you wish to explore. Currently, this value is always set to rest.
{OBJECT}
This parameter is required only when viewing a specific directory. Its value represents the path of the directory you wish to explore.
fileType=json
The file type of the file you want to bring to Platform. Currently, json is the only supported file type.
{PREVIEW}
A boolean value that defines whether the contents of the connection supports preview.
{SOURCE_PARAMS}
Defines parameters for the source file you want to bring to Platform. To retrieve the accepted format-type for {SOURCE_PARAMS}, you must encode the entire parameter string in base64. In the example below, "{}" encoded in base64 equates to e30.

Request

curl -X GET \
    'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/connections/70383d02-2777-4be7-a309-9dd6eea1b46d/explore?objectType=rest&object=json&fileType=json&preview=true&sourceParams=e30' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
    -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
    -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {IMS_ORG}' \
    -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}'

Response

A successful response returns the structure of the queried file. In the example below within the data[] payload only a single record is shown, however there could be multiple records.

{
    "format": "hierarchical",
    "schema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
            "result": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "organization_id": {
                        "type": "integer",
                        "minimum": -9007199254740992,
                        "maximum": 9007199254740991
                    },
                    "external_id": {
                        "type": "integer",
                        "minimum": -9007199254740992,
                        "maximum": 9007199254740991
                    },
                    "role_type": {
                        "type": "integer",
                        "minimum": -9007199254740992,
                        "maximum": 9007199254740991
                    },
                    "custom_role_id": {
                        "type": "integer",
                        "minimum": -9007199254740992,
                        "maximum": 9007199254740991
                    },
                    "default_group_id": {
                        "type": "integer",
                        "minimum": -9007199254740992,
                        "maximum": 9007199254740991
                    },
                    "phone": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "shared_phone_number": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "alias": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "last_login_at": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "signature": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "details": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "notes": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "photo": {
                        "type": "string",
                        "media": {
                            "binaryEncoding": "base64",
                            "type": "image/png"
                        }
                    },
                    "active": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "created_at": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "email": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "iana_time_zone": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "id": {
                        "type": "integer"
                    },
                    "locale": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "locale_id": {
                        "type": "integer"
                    },
                    "moderator": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "name": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "only_private_comments": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "report_csv": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "restricted_agent": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "result_type": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "role": {
                        "type": "integer"
                    },
                    "shared": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "shared_agent": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "suspended": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "ticket_restriction": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "time_zone": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "two_factor_auth_enabled": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "updated_at": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "url": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "verified": {
                        "type": "boolean"
                    },
                    "tags": {
                        "type": "array",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "data": [
        {
            "result": {
                "id": 6106699702801,
                "url": "https://{YOURSUBDOMAIN}.zendesk.com/api/v2/users/6106699702801.json",
                "name": "test",
                "email": "test@org.com",
                "created_at": "2022-05-13T08:04:22Z",
                "updated_at": "2022-05-13T08:04:22Z",
                "time_zone": "Asia/Kolkata",
                "iana_time_zone": "Asia/Kolkata",
                "locale_id": 1,
                "locale": "en-US",
                "role": "end-user",
                "verified": false,
                "active": true,
                "shared": false,
                "shared_agent": false,
                "two_factor_auth_enabled": false,
                "moderator": false,
                "ticket_restriction": "requested",
                "only_private_comments": false,
                "restricted_agent": true,
                "suspended": false,
                "report_csv": false,
                "result_type": "user"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Create a source connection source-connection

You can create a source connection by making a POST request to the Flow Service API. A source connection consists of a connection ID, a path to the source data file, and a connection spec ID.

API format

POST /sourceConnections

Request

The following request creates a source connection for Zendesk:

curl -X POST \
    'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/sourceConnections' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
    -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
    -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {IMS_ORG}' \
    -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
        "name": "Zendesk Source Connection",
        "description": "Zendesk Source Connection",
        "baseConnectionId": "70383d02-2777-4be7-a309-9dd6eea1b46d",
        "connectionSpec": {
            "id": "0a27232b-2c6e-4396-b8c6-c9fc24e37ba4",
            "version": "1.0"
        },
        "data": {
            "format": "json"
        },
        "params": {}
    }'
Property
Description
name
The name of your source connection. Ensure that the name of your source connection is descriptive as you can use this to look up information on your source connection.
description
An optional value that you can include to provide more information on your source connection.
baseConnectionId
The base connection ID of Zendesk. This ID was generated in an earlier step.
connectionSpec.id
The connection specification ID that corresponds to your source.
data.format
The format of the Zendesk data that you want to ingest. Currently, the only supported data format is json.

Response

A successful response returns the unique identifier (id) of the newly created source connection. This ID is required in a later step to create a dataflow.

{
     "id": "246d052c-da4a-494a-937f-a0d17b1c6cf5",
     "etag": "\"712a8c08-fda7-41c2-984b-187f823293d8\""
}

Create a target XDM schema target-schema

In order for the source data to be used in Platform, a target schema must be created to structure the source data according to your needs. The target schema is then used to create a Platform dataset in which the source data is contained.

A target XDM schema can be created by performing a POST request to the .

For detailed steps on how to create a target XDM schema, see the tutorial on creating a schema using the API.

Create a target dataset target-dataset

A target dataset can be created by performing a POST request to the , providing the ID of the target schema within the payload.

For detailed steps on how to create a target dataset, see the tutorial on creating a dataset using the API.

Create a target connection target-connection

A target connection represents the connection to the destination where the ingested data is to be stored. To create a target connection, you must provide the fixed connection specification ID that corresponds to the data lake. This ID is: c604ff05-7f1a-43c0-8e18-33bf874cb11c.

You now have the unique identifiers a target schema a target dataset and the connection spec ID to the data lake. Using these identifiers, you can create a target connection using the Flow Service API to specify the dataset that will contain the inbound source data.

API format

POST /targetConnections

Request

The following request creates a target connection for Zendesk:

curl -X POST \
    'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/targetConnections' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
    -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
    -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {IMS_ORG}' \
    -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
        "name": "Zendesk Target Connection",
        "description": "Zendesk Target Connection",
        "connectionSpec": {
            "id": "c604ff05-7f1a-43c0-8e18-33bf874cb11c",
            "version": "1.0"
        },
        "data": {
            "format": "json"
        },
        "params": {
            "dataSetId": "624bf42e16519d19496e3f67"
        }
    }'
Property
Description
name
The name of your target connection. Ensure that the name of your target connection is descriptive as you can use this to look up information on your target connection.
description
An optional value that you can include to provide more information on your target connection.
connectionSpec.id
The connection specification ID that corresponds to data lake. This fixed ID is: c604ff05-7f1a-43c0-8e18-33bf874cb11c.
data.format
The format of the Zendesk data that you want to bring to Platform.
params.dataSetId
The target dataset ID retrieved in a previous step.

Response

A successful response returns the new target connection’s unique identifier (id). This ID is required in later steps.

{
     "id": "7c96c827-3ffd-460c-a573-e9558f72f263",
     "etag": "\"a196f685-f5e8-4c4c-bfbd-136141bb0c6d\""
}

Create a mapping mapping

In order for the source data to be ingested into a target dataset, it must first be mapped to the target schema that the target dataset adheres to. This is achieved by performing a POST request to with data mappings defined within the request payload.

API format

POST /conversion/mappingSets

Request

curl -X POST \
    'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/conversion/mappingSets' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
    -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
    -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {IMS_ORG}' \
    -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
        "version": 0,
        "xdmSchema": "https://ns.adobe.com/{TENANT_ID}/schemas/995dabbea86d58e346ff91bd8aa741a9f36f29b1019138d4",
        "xdmVersion": "1.0",
        "mappings": [
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.id",
                "destination": "_extconndev.id",
                "name": "id",
                "description": "Zendesk"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.external_id",
                "destination": "_extconndev.external_id"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.role_type",
                "destination": "_extconndev.role_type"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.custom_role_id",
                "destination": "_extconndev.custom_role_id"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.default_group_id",
                "destination": "_extconndev.default_group_id"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.phone",
                "destination": "_extconndev.phone"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.shared_phone_number",
                "destination": "_extconndev.shared_phone_number"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.verified",
                "destination": "_extconndev.verified"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.alias",
                "destination": "_extconndev.alias"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.last_login_at",
                "destination": "_extconndev.last_login_at"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.signature",
                "destination": "_extconndev.signature"
            },        {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.details",
                "destination": "_extconndev.details"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.notes",
                "destination": "_extconndev.notes"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.active",
                "destination": "_extconndev.active"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.created_at",
                "destination": "_extconndev.created_at"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.email",
                "destination": "_extconndev.email"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.iana_time_zone",
                "destination": "_extconndev.iana_time_zone"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.organization_id",
                "destination": "_extconndev.organization_id"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.locale",
                "destination": "_extconndev.locale"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.locale_id",
                "destination": "_extconndev.locale_id"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.moderator",
                "destination": "_extconndev.moderator"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.name",
                "destination": "_extconndev.name"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.only_private_comments",
                "destination": "_extconndev.only_private_comments"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.report_csv",
                "destination": "_extconndev.report_csv"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.restricted_agent",
                "destination": "_extconndev.restricted_agent"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.result_type",
                "destination": "_extconndev.result_type"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.role",
                "destination": "_extconndev.role"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.shared",
                "destination": "_extconndev.shared"
            },        {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.shared_agent",
                "destination": "_extconndev.shared_agent"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.time_zone",
                "destination": "_extconndev.time_zone"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.two_factor_auth_enabled",
                "destination": "_extconndev.two_factor_auth_enabled"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.suspended",
                "destination": "_extconndev.suspended"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.updated_at",
                "destination": "_extconndev.updated_at"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.url",
                "destination": "_extconndev.url"
            },
            {
                "sourceType": "ATTRIBUTE",
                "source": "result.verified",
                "destination": "_extconndev.verified"
            }
        ]
    }'
Property
Description
xdmSchema
The ID of the target XDM schema generated in an earlier step.
mappings.destinationXdmPath
The destination XDM path where the source attribute is being mapped to.
mappings.sourceAttribute
The source attribute that needs to be mapped to a destination XDM path.
mappings.identity
A boolean value that designates whether the mapping set will be marked for Identity Service.

Response

A successful response returns details of the newly created mapping including its unique identifier (id). This value is required in a later step to create a dataflow.

{
    "id": "bf5286a9c1ad4266baca76ba3adc9366",
    "version": 0,
    "createdDate": 1597784069368,
    "modifiedDate": 1597784069368,
    "createdBy": "{CREATED_BY}",
    "modifiedBy": "{MODIFIED_BY}"
}

Create a flow flow

The last step towards bringing data from Zendesk to Platform is to create a dataflow. By now, you have the following required values prepared:

A dataflow is responsible for scheduling and collecting data from a source. You can create a dataflow by performing a POST request while providing the previously mentioned values within the payload.

To schedule an ingestion, you must first set the start time value to epoch time in seconds. Then, you must set the frequency value to one of the five options: once, minute, hour, day, or week. The interval value designates the period between two consecutive ingestions however, creating a one-time ingestion does not require an interval to be set. For all other frequencies, the interval value must be set to equal or greater than 15.

API format

POST /flows

Request

curl -X POST \
    'https://platform.adobe.io/data/foundation/flowservice/flows' \
    -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
    -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {IMS_ORG}' \
    -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
        "name": "Zendesk dataflow",
        "description": "Zendesk dataflow",
        "flowSpec": {
            "id": "6499120c-0b15-42dc-936e-847ea3c24d72",
            "version": "1.0"
        },
        "sourceConnectionIds": [
            "246d052c-da4a-494a-937f-a0d17b1c6cf5"
        ],
        "targetConnectionIds": [
            "7c96c827-3ffd-460c-a573-e9558f72f263"
        ],
        "transformations": [
            {
                "name": "Mapping",
                "params": {
                    "mappingId": "bf5286a9c1ad4266baca76ba3adc9366",
                    "mappingVersion": "0"
                }
            }
        ],
        "scheduleParams": {
            "startTime": "1625040887",
            "frequency": "minute",
            "interval": 15
        }
    }'
Property
Description
name
The name of your dataflow. Ensure that the name of your dataflow is descriptive as you can use this to look up information on your dataflow.
description
An optional value that you can include to provide more information on your dataflow.
flowSpec.id
The flow specification ID required to create a dataflow. This fixed ID is: 6499120c-0b15-42dc-936e-847ea3c24d72.
flowSpec.version
The corresponding version of the flow specification ID. This value defaults to 1.0.
sourceConnectionIds
The source connection ID generated in an earlier step.
targetConnectionIds
The target connection ID generated in an earlier step.
transformations
This property contains the various transformations that are needed to be applied to your data. This property is required when bringing non-XDM-compliant data to Platform.
transformations.name
The name assigned to the transformation.
transformations.params.mappingId
The mapping ID generated in an earlier step.
transformations.params.mappingVersion
The corresponding version of the mapping ID. This value defaults to 0.
scheduleParams.startTime
This property contains information on the ingestion scheduling of the dataflow.
scheduleParams.frequency
The frequency at which the dataflow will collect data. Acceptable values include: once, minute, hour, day, or week.
scheduleParams.interval
The interval designates the period between two consecutive flow runs. The interval’s value should be a non-zero integer. Interval is not required when frequency is set as once and should be greater than or equal to 15 for other frequency values.

Response

A successful response returns the ID (id) of the newly created dataflow. You can use this ID to monitor, update, or delete your dataflow.

{
     "id": "993f908f-3342-4d9c-9f3c-5aa9a189ca1a",
     "etag": "\"510bb1d4-8453-4034-b991-ab942e11dd8a\""
}

Appendix

The following section provides information on the steps you can to monitor, update, and delete your dataflow.

Monitor your dataflow

Once your dataflow has been created, you can monitor the data that is being ingested through it to see information on flow runs, completion status, and errors. For complete API examples, read the guide on monitoring your sources dataflows using the API.

Update your dataflow

Update the details of your dataflow, such as its name and description, as well as its run schedule and associated mapping sets by making a PATCH request to the /flows endpoint of Flow Service API, while providing the ID of your dataflow. When making a PATCH request, you must provide your dataflow’s unique etag in the If-Match header. For complete API examples, read the guide on updating sources dataflows using the API.

Update your account

Update the name, description, and credentials of your source account by performing a PATCH request to the Flow Service API while providing your base connection ID as a query parameter. When making a PATCH request, you must provide your source account’s unique etag in the If-Match header. For complete API examples, read the guide on updating your source account using the API.

Delete your dataflow

Delete your dataflow by performing a DELETE request to the Flow Service API while providing the ID of the dataflow you want to delete as part of the query parameter. For complete API examples, read the guide on deleting your dataflows using the API.

Delete your account

Delete your account by performing a DELETE request to the Flow Service API while providing the base connection ID of the account you want to delete. For complete API examples, read the guide on deleting your source account using the API.

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