Export Your Data

Converge Team

• Updated March 12, 2026

Learn how to export your customer data, conversation history, and contacts from Zendesk before migrating to a new platform.

How to Export Your Data from Zendesk

Zendesk offers JSON, CSV, and XML data exports via Admin Center > Account > Tools > Reports — but data exports are not enabled by default. The account owner must contact Zendesk Support to enable them before you can use native export tools.

Enable Exports First

Zendesk disables bulk data exports by default on all accounts. Before you can export anything, the account owner must contact Zendesk Customer Support and request that exports be enabled. Include your Zendesk Support subdomain in the request. This step alone can take 1-2 business days, so start early. Once enabled, only admins (not agents) can access the export tools.

Export Tickets (JSON, CSV, or XML)

Go to Admin Center > Account > Tools > Reports, then click the Export tab. JSON export is recommended for accounts with 200,000+ tickets and includes ticket comments and all metadata. CSV export includes ticket fields (requester, assignee, status, tags, timestamps) but does not include ticket comments or descriptions. Full XML export includes everything (accounts, groups, organizations, tickets with comments, users) but is capped at 500MB (~200,000 tickets). Zendesk emails you a download link when the export is ready.

Export Users and Organizations

The JSON export lets you select tickets, users, or organizations individually with date-range filters. The User XML export provides groups, organizations, and all users (end users, agents, admins) with tags — but custom user fields and custom organization fields are excluded. To get custom fields, you need the List User Fields and List Organization Fields API endpoints.

API Export (All Plans)

The native export UI is only available on Suite Growth, Professional, Enterprise, or Support Professional+ plans. If you're on Suite Team, your only option is the Zendesk REST API. Use the Incremental Exports API (/api/v2/incremental/tickets) for bulk ticket retrieval, sideloading comment_events for ticket comments. You can also export a ticket view as CSV (limited to once every 10 minutes), but this only exports the fields visible in that view.

What You Cannot Export Natively

Trigger rules, automation workflows, macros, SLA policies, and routing configurations are not included in any export format. Document these manually — screenshot your trigger conditions and actions, copy your macro text, and note your SLA policy thresholds before canceling your account. Also note that AI agent (bot) tickets cannot be exported at all.

Tip: If you use Zendesk Explore for analytics, export any custom dashboards and reports separately — these are not included in the standard data export and will be lost when your account is canceled.