Categories

Categories are the top-level organizing containers of the knowledge base in the help center. Categories contain related sections. See Organizing knowledge base content in categories and sections in Zendesk help.

JSON format

Categories are represented as JSON objects with the following properties:

Name	Type	Read-only	Mandatory	Description
created_at	string	true	false	The time at which the category was created
description	string	false	false	The description of the category
html_url	string	true	false	The url of this category in Help Center
id	integer	true	true	Automatically assigned when creating categories
locale	string	false	true	The locale where the category is displayed
name	string	false	true	The name of the category
outdated	boolean	true	false	Whether the category is out of date
position	integer	false	false	The position of this category relative to other categories
source_locale	string	true	false	The source (default) locale of the category
updated_at	string	true	false	The time at which the category was last updated
url	string	true	false	The API url of this category

Example

{
  "description": "",
  "html_url": "https://company.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/354362577",
  "id": 1635,
  "locale": "en-us",
  "name": "Self Help Articles",
  "source_locale": "en-us",
  "url": "https://company.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/categories/354362577"
}

List Categories

• GET /api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories
• GET /api/v2/help_center/categories

Note: {/locale} is an optional parameter for admins and agents. End users and anonymous users must provide the parameter.

Allowed for

• Anonymous users

The response will list only the categories that the agent, end user, or anonymous user can view in the help center.

Pagination

• Cursor pagination (recommended)
• Offset pagination

See Pagination.

Sorting

You can sort the results with the sort_by and sort_order query string parameters.

GET /api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories.json?sort_by=updated_at&sort_order=asc

The sort_by parameter can have one of the following values:

value	description
position	order set manually using the Arrange Content page. Default order
created_at	order by creation time
updated_at	order by update time

The sort_order parameter can have one of the following values:

value	description
asc	ascending order
desc	descending order

Sideloads

The following sideloads are supported:

Name	Will sideload
translations	the category translations, if any

Translations are embedded within the category because they're not shared between resources.

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Required	Description
sort_by	string	Query	false	Sorts the results by one of the accepted values. Allowed values are "position", "created_at", or "updated_at".
sort_order	string	Query	false	Selects the order of the results. Allowed values are "asc", or "desc".
locale	string	Path	true	The locale the item is displayed in

Code Samples

curl

curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories.json \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password}

Go

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	url := "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories?sort_by=&sort_order="
	method := "GET"
	req, err := http.NewRequest(method, url, nil)

	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Basic <auth-value>") // Base64 encoded "username:password"

	client := &http.Client {}
	res, err := client.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	body, err := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

Java

import com.squareup.okhttp.*;
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
HttpUrl.Builder urlBuilder = HttpUrl.parse("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories")
		.newBuilder()
		.addQueryParameter("sort_by", "")
		.addQueryParameter("sort_order", "");

Request request = new Request.Builder()
		.url(urlBuilder.build())
		.method("GET", null)
		.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
		.addHeader("Authorization", Credentials.basic("your-email", "your-password"))
		.build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();

Nodejs

var axios = require('axios');

var config = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories',
  headers: {
	'Content-Type': 'application/json',
	'Authorization': 'Basic <auth-value>', // Base64 encoded "username:password"
  },
  params: {
    'sort_by': '',
    'sort_order': '',
  },
};

axios(config)
.then(function (response) {
  console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data));
})
.catch(function (error) {
  console.log(error);
});

Python

import requests

url = "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories?sort_by=&sort_order="
headers = {
	"Content-Type": "application/json",
}

response = requests.request(
	"GET",
	url,
	auth=('<username>', '<password>'),
	headers=headers
)

print(response.text)

Ruby

require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form("sort_by": "", "sort_order": "")
request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri, "Content-Type": "application/json")
request.basic_auth "username", "password"
response = Net::HTTP.start uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true do |http|
	http.request(request)
end

Example response(s)

200 OK

// Status 200 OK

{
  "categories": [
    {
      "description": "This category contains a collection of Super Hero tricks",
      "id": 37486578,
      "locale": "en-us",
      "name": "Super Hero Tricks"
    },
    {
      "description": "All the cool tricks!",
      "id": 354675463,
      "locale": "en-us",
      "name": "Tips & Tricks"
    }
  ]
}

Show Category

• GET /api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories/{category_id}
• GET /api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}

Note: {/locale} is an optional parameter for admins and agents. End users and anonymous users must provide the parameter.

Allowed for

• Anonymous users

Sideloads

The following sideloads are supported:

Name	Will sideload
translations	the category translations, if any

Translations are embedded within the category because they're not shared between resources.

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Required	Description
category_id	integer	Path	true	The unique ID of the category
locale	string	Path	true	The locale the item is displayed in

Code Samples

curl

curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories/{category_id}.json \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password}

Go

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	url := "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513"
	method := "GET"
	req, err := http.NewRequest(method, url, nil)

	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Basic <auth-value>") // Base64 encoded "username:password"

	client := &http.Client {}
	res, err := client.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	body, err := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

Java

import com.squareup.okhttp.*;
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
HttpUrl.Builder urlBuilder = HttpUrl.parse("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513")
		.newBuilder();

Request request = new Request.Builder()
		.url(urlBuilder.build())
		.method("GET", null)
		.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
		.addHeader("Authorization", Credentials.basic("your-email", "your-password"))
		.build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();

Nodejs

var axios = require('axios');

var config = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513',
  headers: {
	'Content-Type': 'application/json',
	'Authorization': 'Basic <auth-value>', // Base64 encoded "username:password"
  },
};

axios(config)
.then(function (response) {
  console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data));
})
.catch(function (error) {
  console.log(error);
});

Python

import requests

url = "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513"
headers = {
	"Content-Type": "application/json",
}

response = requests.request(
	"GET",
	url,
	auth=('<username>', '<password>'),
	headers=headers
)

print(response.text)

Ruby

require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513")
request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri, "Content-Type": "application/json")
request.basic_auth "username", "password"
response = Net::HTTP.start uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true do |http|
	http.request(request)
end

Example response(s)

200 OK

// Status 200 OK

{
  "category": {
    "description": "This category contains a collection of Super Hero tricks",
    "id": 37486578,
    "locale": "en-us",
    "name": "Super Hero Tricks"
  }
}

Create Category

• POST /api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories
• POST /api/v2/help_center/categories

You must specify a category name and locale. The locale can be omitted if it's specified in the URL. Optionally, you can specify multiple translations for the category. The specified locales must be enabled for the current Help Center.

Allowed for

• Help Center managers

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Required	Description
locale	string	Path	true	The locale the item is displayed in

Code Samples

curl

curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/categories.json \
  -d '{"category": {"position": 2, "locale": "en-us", "name":  "Super Hero Tricks",\
  "description": "This category contains a collection of super hero tricks"}}' \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password} -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json"

curl

# You can also specify multiple translations for the new category:
curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/categories.json \
  -d '{"category": {"position": 2, "translations":  \
    [{"locale": "en-us", "title": "Super Hero Tricks", \
    "body": "This category contains a collection of Super Hero tricks"},  \
    {"locale": "fr", "title": "Trucs Super Heros", \
    "body": "Cette categorie contient une collection de trucs super heros"}]}}' \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password} -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json"

Go

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	url := "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories"
	method := "POST"
	req, err := http.NewRequest(method, url, nil)

	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Basic <auth-value>") // Base64 encoded "username:password"

	client := &http.Client {}
	res, err := client.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	body, err := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

Java

import com.squareup.okhttp.*;
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
HttpUrl.Builder urlBuilder = HttpUrl.parse("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories")
		.newBuilder();
RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(MediaType.parse("application/json"),
		"""
""");

Request request = new Request.Builder()
		.url(urlBuilder.build())
		.method("POST", body)
		.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
		.addHeader("Authorization", Credentials.basic("your-email", "your-password"))
		.build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();

Nodejs

var axios = require('axios');

var config = {
  method: 'POST',
  url: 'https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories',
  headers: {
	'Content-Type': 'application/json',
	'Authorization': 'Basic <auth-value>', // Base64 encoded "username:password"
  },
};

axios(config)
.then(function (response) {
  console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data));
})
.catch(function (error) {
  console.log(error);
});

Python

import requests

url = "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories"
headers = {
	"Content-Type": "application/json",
}

response = requests.request(
	"POST",
	url,
	auth=('<username>', '<password>'),
	headers=headers
)

print(response.text)

Ruby

require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories")
request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri, "Content-Type": "application/json")
request.basic_auth "username", "password"
response = Net::HTTP.start uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true do |http|
	http.request(request)
end

Example response(s)

201 Created

// Status 201 Created

{
  "category": {
    "description": "This category contains a collection of Super Hero tricks",
    "id": 37486578,
    "locale": "en-us",
    "name": "Super Hero Tricks"
  }
}

Update Category

• PUT /api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories/{category_id}
• PUT /api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}

These endpoints only update category-level metadata such as the sorting position. They don't update category translations.

Allowed for

• Help Center managers

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Required	Description
category_id	integer	Path	true	The unique ID of the category
locale	string	Path	true	The locale the item is displayed in

Code Samples

curl

curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}.json \
-d '{"category": {"position": 2}}' \
-v -u {email_address}:{password} -X PUT -H "Content-Type: application/json"

Go

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	url := "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513"
	method := "PUT"
	req, err := http.NewRequest(method, url, nil)

	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Basic <auth-value>") // Base64 encoded "username:password"

	client := &http.Client {}
	res, err := client.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	body, err := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

Java

import com.squareup.okhttp.*;
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
HttpUrl.Builder urlBuilder = HttpUrl.parse("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513")
		.newBuilder();
RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(MediaType.parse("application/json"),
		"""
""");

Request request = new Request.Builder()
		.url(urlBuilder.build())
		.method("PUT", body)
		.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
		.addHeader("Authorization", Credentials.basic("your-email", "your-password"))
		.build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();

Nodejs

var axios = require('axios');

var config = {
  method: 'PUT',
  url: 'https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513',
  headers: {
	'Content-Type': 'application/json',
	'Authorization': 'Basic <auth-value>', // Base64 encoded "username:password"
  },
};

axios(config)
.then(function (response) {
  console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data));
})
.catch(function (error) {
  console.log(error);
});

Python

import requests

url = "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513"
headers = {
	"Content-Type": "application/json",
}

response = requests.request(
	"PUT",
	url,
	auth=('<username>', '<password>'),
	headers=headers
)

print(response.text)

Ruby

require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513")
request = Net::HTTP::Put.new(uri, "Content-Type": "application/json")
request.basic_auth "username", "password"
response = Net::HTTP.start uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true do |http|
	http.request(request)
end

Example response(s)

200 OK

// Status 200 OK

{
  "category": {
    "description": "This category contains a collection of Super Hero tricks",
    "id": 37486578,
    "locale": "en-us",
    "name": "Super Hero Tricks"
  }
}

Update Category Source Locale

• PUT /api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories/{category_id}/source_locale
• PUT /api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}/source_locale

The endpoint updates the category source_locale property

Allowed for

• Agents

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Required	Description
category_id	integer	Path	true	The unique ID of the category
locale	string	Path	true	The locale the item is displayed in

Code Samples

curl

curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}/source_locale.json \
-d '{"category_locale": "fr"}' -v -u {email_address}:{password} -X PUT \
-H "Content-Type: application/json"

Go

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	url := "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513/source_locale"
	method := "PUT"
	req, err := http.NewRequest(method, url, nil)

	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Basic <auth-value>") // Base64 encoded "username:password"

	client := &http.Client {}
	res, err := client.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	body, err := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

Java

import com.squareup.okhttp.*;
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
HttpUrl.Builder urlBuilder = HttpUrl.parse("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513/source_locale")
		.newBuilder();
RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(MediaType.parse("application/json"),
		"""
""");

Request request = new Request.Builder()
		.url(urlBuilder.build())
		.method("PUT", body)
		.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
		.addHeader("Authorization", Credentials.basic("your-email", "your-password"))
		.build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();

Nodejs

var axios = require('axios');

var config = {
  method: 'PUT',
  url: 'https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513/source_locale',
  headers: {
	'Content-Type': 'application/json',
	'Authorization': 'Basic <auth-value>', // Base64 encoded "username:password"
  },
};

axios(config)
.then(function (response) {
  console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data));
})
.catch(function (error) {
  console.log(error);
});

Python

import requests

url = "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513/source_locale"
headers = {
	"Content-Type": "application/json",
}

response = requests.request(
	"PUT",
	url,
	auth=('<username>', '<password>'),
	headers=headers
)

print(response.text)

Ruby

require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513/source_locale")
request = Net::HTTP::Put.new(uri, "Content-Type": "application/json")
request.basic_auth "username", "password"
response = Net::HTTP.start uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true do |http|
	http.request(request)
end

Example response(s)

200 OK

// Status 200 OK

null

Delete Category

• DELETE /api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories/{category_id}
• DELETE /api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}

WARNING: Every section and all articles in the category will also be deleted.

Allowed for

• Help Center managers

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Required	Description
category_id	integer	Path	true	The unique ID of the category
locale	string	Path	true	The locale the item is displayed in

Code Samples

curl

curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}.json \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password} -X DELETE

Go

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	url := "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513"
	method := "DELETE"
	req, err := http.NewRequest(method, url, nil)

	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")
	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Basic <auth-value>") // Base64 encoded "username:password"

	client := &http.Client {}
	res, err := client.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	body, err := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println(err)
		return
	}
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

Java

import com.squareup.okhttp.*;
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();
HttpUrl.Builder urlBuilder = HttpUrl.parse("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513")
		.newBuilder();

Request request = new Request.Builder()
		.url(urlBuilder.build())
		.method("DELETE", null)
		.addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
		.addHeader("Authorization", Credentials.basic("your-email", "your-password"))
		.build();
Response response = client.newCall(request).execute();

Nodejs

var axios = require('axios');

var config = {
  method: 'DELETE',
  url: 'https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513',
  headers: {
	'Content-Type': 'application/json',
	'Authorization': 'Basic <auth-value>', // Base64 encoded "username:password"
  },
};

axios(config)
.then(function (response) {
  console.log(JSON.stringify(response.data));
})
.catch(function (error) {
  console.log(error);
});

Python

import requests

url = "https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513"
headers = {
	"Content-Type": "application/json",
}

response = requests.request(
	"DELETE",
	url,
	auth=('<username>', '<password>'),
	headers=headers
)

print(response.text)

Ruby

require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://support.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/categories/360002011513")
request = Net::HTTP::Delete.new(uri, "Content-Type": "application/json")
request.basic_auth "username", "password"
response = Net::HTTP.start uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true do |http|
	http.request(request)
end

Example response(s)

204 No Content

// Status 204 No Content

null