Cmdlets for Zendesk

Build 24.0.9175

Establishing a Connection

With the CData Cmdlets users can install a data module, set the connection properties, and start scripting. This section provides examples of using our Zendesk Cmdlets with native PowerShell cmdlets, like the CSV import and export cmdlets.

Installing and Connecting

If you have PSGet, installing the cmdlets can be accomplished from the PowerShell Gallery with the following command. You can also obtain a setup from the CData site. 

Install-Module ZendeskCmdlets

The following line is then added to your profile, loading the cmdlets on the next session: 

Import-Module ZendeskCmdlets;

You can then use the Connect-Zendesk cmdlet to create a connection object that can be passed to other cmdlets: 

$conn = Connect-Zendesk -OAuthClientId 'abc123' -OAuthClientSecret 'def456' -CallbackURL 'http://localhost:33333'

Connecting to Zendesk

To connect to Zendesk, set the URL (Zendesk Support URL), using the format https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com. Once connected, user authenticate as described in the following section.

In addition, users who work with archived data for the TicketMetrics table must set the UseIncrementalAPI property to True.

Authenticating to Zendesk

Zendesk supports three types of authentication, depending on the configuration of your Zendesk instance.

API Token Authentication

To use API Token authentication, specify an email address and an ApiToken. Set AuthScheme to APIToken, set User to your email address, and then use the Zendesk Support admin interface to do the following:
  1. Enable Token access.
  2. At Admin > Channels > API, manage API tokens. Only one token can be active at a time. Deleting a token deactivates it permanently.
Finally, set ApiToken to an active API Token.

OAuth Authentication

Zendesk supports OAuth authentication for all instances where the user is accessing shared data via the network. This means that, regardless of whether authentication originates at the Web, a Desktop, or a Headless Server, you must set AuthScheme to OAuth, and you must create a custom OAuth application.

The following subsections describe how to authenticate to Zendesk from three common authentication flows:

  • Desktop: a connection to a server on the user's local machine, frequently used for testing and prototyping.
  • Web: access to data via a shared website.
  • Headless Server: a dedicated computer that provides services to other computers and their users, which is configured to operate without a monitor and keyboard.

For information about how to create a custom OAuth application, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application. For a complete list of connection string properties available in Zendesk, see Connection.

Desktop Applications

To authenticate with the credentials for a custom OAuth application, you must get and refresh the OAuth access token. After you do that, you are ready to connect.

Get and refresh the OAuth access token:

When you connect, the cmdlet opens Zendesk's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

When the access token expires, the cmdlet refreshes it automatically.

Automatic refresh of the OAuth access token:

To have the cmdlet automatically refresh the OAuth access token, do the following:

  1. Before connecting to data for the first time, set the following connection parameters:
  2. On subsequent data connections, set the following:

Headless Machines

If you need to log in to a resource that resides on a headless machine, you must authenticate on another device that has an internet browser. You can do this in either of the following ways:

  • Option 1: Obtain the OAuthVerifier value.
  • Option 2: Install the cmdlet on a machine with an internet browser and transfer the OAuth authentication values after you authenticate through the usual browser-based flow.

After you execute either Option 1 or Option 2, configure the driver to automatically refresh the access token on the headless machine.

Option 1: Obtaining and Exchanging a Verifier Code

To obtain a verifier code, you must authenticate at the OAuth authorization URL. Do the following:

  1. Authenticate from the machine with an internet browser, and obtain the OAuthVerifier connection property.

    Set the following properties:

  2. Call the GetOAuthAuthorizationURL stored procedure. The stored procedure returns the CallbackURL established when the custom OAuth application was registered. (See Creating a Custom OAuth Application.)

    Copy this URL and paste it into a new browser tab.

  3. Log in and grant permissions to the cmdlet. The OAuth application redirects you the redirect URI, with a parameter called code appended. Note the value of this parameter; you will need it later, to configure the OAuthVerifier connection property.

  4. Exchange the OAuth verifier code for OAuth refresh and access tokens. On the headless machine, set the following connection properties to obtain the OAuth authentication values:

  5. Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file.

  6. After you re-set the following properties, you are ready to connect:

    • InitiateOAuth = REFRESH.
    • OAuthSettingsLocation = the file containing the encrypted OAuth authentication values. To enable the automatic refreshing of the access token, be sure that this file gives read and write permissions to the cmdlet.
    • OAuthClientId = the client Id assigned when you registered your application.
    • OAuthClientSecret = the client secret assigned when you registered your application.

Option 2: Transferring OAuth Settings

Prior to connecting on a headless machine, you must install and create a connection with the driver on a device that supports an internet browser. Set the connection properties as described above in "Desktop Applications".

After completing the instructions in "Desktop Applications", the resulting authentication values are encrypted and written to the path specified by OAuthSettingsLocation. The default filename is OAuthSettings.txt.

Test the connection to generate the OAuth settings file, then copy the OAuth settings file to your headless machine.

To connect to data via the headless machine, set the following connection properties:

  • InitiateOAuth = REFRESH
  • OAuthSettingsLocation = the path to the OAuth settings file you copied from the machine with the browser. To enable automatic refreshing of the access token, ensure that this file gives read and write permissions to the cmdlet.
  • OAuthClientId = the client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
  • OAuthClientSecret = the client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.

Basic Authentication (Legacy)

Basic Authentication is being deprecated by Zendesk, but may still be available for some accounts. To use Basic authentication, specify an email address and a Password. Set AuthScheme to Basic, set User to your email address, and Password to your password.

Retrieving Data

The Select-Zendesk cmdlet provides a native PowerShell interface for retrieving data: 

$results = Select-Zendesk -Connection $conn -Table "Tickets" -Columns @("Id, Subject") -Where "Industry='Floppy Disks'"
The Invoke-Zendesk cmdlet provides an SQL interface. This cmdlet can be used to execute an SQL query via the Query parameter.

Piping Cmdlet Output

The cmdlets return row objects to the pipeline one row at a time. The following line exports results to a CSV file: 

Select-Zendesk -Connection $conn -Table Tickets -Where "Industry = 'Floppy Disks'" | Select -Property * -ExcludeProperty Connection,Table,Columns | Export-Csv -Path c:\myTicketsData.csv -NoTypeInformation

You will notice that we piped the results from Select-Zendesk into a Select-Object cmdlet and excluded some properties before piping them into an Export-CSV cmdlet. We do this because the CData Cmdlets append Connection, Table, and Columns information onto each row object in the result set, and we do not necessarily want that information in our CSV file.

However, this makes it easy to pipe the output of one cmdlet to another. The following is an example of converting a result set to JSON: 

 
PS C:\> $conn  = Connect-Zendesk -OAuthClientId 'abc123' -OAuthClientSecret 'def456' -CallbackURL 'http://localhost:33333'
PS C:\> $row = Select-Zendesk -Connection $conn -Table "Tickets" -Columns (Id, Subject) -Where "Industry = 'Floppy Disks'" | select -first 1
PS C:\> $row | ConvertTo-Json
{
  "Connection":  {

  },
  "Table":  "Tickets",
  "Columns":  [

  ],
  "Id":  "MyId",
  "Subject":  "MySubject"
}

Deleting Data

The following line deletes any records that match the criteria: 

Select-Zendesk -Connection $conn -Table Tickets -Where "Industry = 'Floppy Disks'" | Remove-Zendesk

Modifying Data

The cmdlets make data transformation easy as well as data cleansing. The following example loads data from a CSV file into Zendesk, checking first whether a record already exists and needs to be updated instead of inserted. 

Import-Csv -Path C:\MyTicketsUpdates.csv | %{
  $record = Select-Zendesk -Connection $conn -Table Tickets -Where ("Id = `'"+$_.Id+"`'")
  if($record){
    Update-Zendesk -Connection $conn -Table Tickets -Columns @("Id","Subject") -Values @($_.Id, $_.Subject) -Where "Id  = `'$_.Id`'"
  }else{
    Add-Zendesk -Connection $conn -Table Tickets -Columns @("Id","Subject") -Values @($_.Id, $_.Subject)
  }
}

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Build 24.0.9175