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Andrew16
Andrew16
Newcomer
June 25, 2026

How to set up a Zendesk OAuth Connection for use with Custom Actions (Action Builder)

  • June 25, 2026
  • 0 replies
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If you've been trying to authenticate a Custom Action using your own Zendesk account as the OAuth provider, here's a step-by-step guide on how to get it working that I got from support. I couldn’t find a good single resource on how to do this especially with the announcement of API Tokens going away so wanted to share with the larger community. This is for how to get the “Connection” setup for Action flows but would likely work for other areas to be used to replace webhook actions as well.

 

Step 1: Create the Zendesk OAuth Client

Go to Admin Center > Apps and Integrations > APIs > OAuth clients and click "Add OAuth client".

Configure it with the following:

  • Set Client kind to Confidential
  • Set the Redirect URL to: https://zis.zendesk.com/api/services/zis/connections/oauth/callback
    (Note: the subdomain is always zis, not your own account's subdomain)
  • Copy the Secret value and store it somewhere safe — you'll need it in Step 2

(For a full reference on each field, see: Using OAuth authentication with your application)

 

Step 2: Add the Zendesk Client as a Connections OAuth Client

Go to Admin Center > Apps and Integrations > Connections > OAuth Clients and click "Add client".

Fill in the following:

  • OAuth grant type: Authorization code
  • Client ID: the identifier from the client you created in Step 1
  • Client Secret: the secret you copied in Step 1
  • Authorize URL: https://{your_subdomain}.zendesk.com/oauth/authorizations/new
  • Token URL: https://{your_subdomain}.zendesk.com/oauth/tokens
  • Scopes: Set appropriate scopes for your use case (avoid the blanket read/write unless truly necessary). Available scopes are documented in the Zendesk API reference.

 

Step 3: Create the Connection

Go to Admin Center > Apps and Integrations > Connections > Connections and click "Create connection".

Configure it as follows:

  • Authentication type: OAuth 2.0
  • Client: Select the client you created in Step 2
  • Scopes: Set specific scopes here if you want to override the client defaults, or leave blank to inherit them
  • Allowed Domain: Your Zendesk account's URL (e.g. {your_subdomain}.zendesk.com)

After saving, you'll be prompted with an OAuth authorization popup — click Allow.

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