Zendesk API Authentication

How to authenticate Zendesk API requests: one Bearer API key plus a connectionId. MindCloud stores your Zendesk credentials — no auth headers to build.

Every Zendesk API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your Zendesk account. This page covers both, plus exactly how to send them, so you do not need to visit any other page to get authenticated.

Steps to authenticate

Create a MindCloud account at app.mindcloud.co if you do not already have one.
Generate a MindCloud API Key in API Keys. This is the Bearer token you send on every request. Keep it on your server.
Create a Zendesk connection in Connections. Zendesk uses a username and password. You enter them when you create the connection — MindCloud stores them securely so your requests never carry raw credentials.
Copy the connection’s connectionId — you will send it on every request alongside your MindCloud API Key.

How requests are authenticated

Authentication has two layers. Your MindCloud API Key authenticates the request to MindCloud, sent as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The connectionId selects the connected Zendesk account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the Zendesk credentials behind that connection, so you never send provider tokens with your requests.

Pass connectionId in the query string for GET and DELETE actions, and in the JSON body for POST, PUT, and PATCH actions.

For example, calling List Users with an Zendesk connection looks like this:

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://connect.mindcloud.co/v1/universal/zendesk/latest/actions/list-users" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $MINDCLOUD_API_KEY" \
  --get \
  --data-urlencode "connectionId=$CONNECTION_ID"

The Authorization: Bearer <your MindCloud API Key> header authenticates you to MindCloud; the connectionId tells MindCloud which Zendesk account to run the action against. Missing or invalid Authorization returns 401, and a missing or mismatched connectionId returns 400.

Connect Zendesk with an API token

You need a Zendesk administrator account to create the API token, plus the Subdomain, Email address, and API token values for the connection form. Zendesk shows the full API token only once when you create it.

Turn on API token access in Zendesk
In Zendesk Admin Center, go to Apps and integrations > APIs > API configuration. If this is your first time using the API, accept the terms and click Get started. Turn on Allow API token access and click Save.
Admin Center → Apps and integrations → APIs → API configuration
Create an API token
Go to Apps and integrations > APIs > API tokens. Click Add API token, optionally enter a description, click Save, then copy the full token immediately. Zendesk will not show the full token again after you close the window.
Admin Center → Apps and integrations → APIs → API tokens
Find your subdomain and email address
Use your Zendesk URL to fill Subdomain in the connection form. For example, if your Zendesk URL is https://mindcloudhelp.zendesk.com, enter mindcloudhelp. Use the Email address of a verified Zendesk user on the account.
Complete the connection form
Return to the connection form and enter Subdomain, Email address, and API token.

Keep your key safe

Keep your MindCloud API Key on your server; do not ship it in browser code, mobile apps, public repositories, or logs. Anyone with the key can call the Universal API as your MindCloud account, across every connection you have created.