Help Center API

Sections

JSON Format

Sections are represented as JSON objects with the following properties:

Name Type Read-only Mandatory Description
category_id integer false false The id of the category to which this section belongs
created_at string true false The time at which the section was created
description string false false The description of the section
html_url string true false The url of this section in HC
id integer true false Automatically assigned when creating subscriptions
locale string false true The locale in which the section is displayed
manageable_by string false false Deprecated. The set of users who can manage this section. Allowed values are "staff", or "managers".
name string false true The name of the section
outdated boolean true false Whether the section is out of date
parent_section_id integer false false The id of the section to which this section belongs. Only writable for Guide Enterprise customers
position integer false false The position of this section in the section list. By default the section is added to the end of the list
source_locale string true false The source (default) locale of the section
updated_at string true false The time at which the section was last updated
url string true false The API url of this section
user_segment_id integer false false Deprecated. The id of the user segment to which this section belongs.

The manageable_by attribute takes one of the following values:

Value Users
staff agents and managers
managers only Help Center managers

Note that manageable_by is only displayed to users who can manage the section.

Example
 
{
  "category_id": 3465,
  "description": "This section contains tricks for the airborne",
  "id": 1635,
  "locale": "en-us",
  "manageable_by": "staff",
  "name": "Avionics"
}

Create Section
  • POST /api/v2/help_center{/locale}/categories/{category_id}/sections

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

Allowed for
  • Agents
Parameters
Name Type In Required Description
category_id integer Path true The unique ID of this Category
locale string Path false The locale that the category is displayed in
Using curl
 
curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}/sections.json \
  -d '{"section": {"position": 2, "locale": "en-us", "name": "Avionics", \
    "description": "This section contains articles on flight instruments"}}' \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password} -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json"

# You can also specify multiple translations for the new section:

curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/categories/{category_id}/sections.json \
  -d '{"section": {"position": 2, "translations":  \
    [{"locale": "en-us", "title": "Avionics", \
    "body": "This section contains articles on flight instruments"}, \
    {"locale": "fr", "title": "Avionique", \
    "body": "Cette section contient des articles sur les instruments de vol"}]}}' \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password} -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json"
Example Response
 
Status 201 Created

{
  "section": {
    "description": "This section contains articles on flight instruments",
    "id": 3457836,
    "locale": "en-us",
    "name": "Avionics",
    "position": 2
  }
}

List Sections
  • GET /api/v2/help_center{/locale}/sections
  • GET /api/v2/help_center/{locale}/categories/{category_id}/sections

Lists all the sections in Help Center or in a specific category.

The {locale} is required only for end users and anomynous users. Admins and agents can omit it.

Allowed for
  • Agents
  • End users
  • Anonymous users

The response will list only the sections that the requesting agent, end-user, or anonymous user can view in Help Center.

Sorting

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

GET /api/v2/help_center/en-us/sections.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
categories the category
translations the section and category translations, if any

Unlike other sideloads, translations are embedded within the section because they're not shared between resources. Category translations are only sideloaded if categories are.

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 false The locale that the category is displayed in
Using curl
 
curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/{locale}/sections.json \
-v -u {email_address}:{password}
Example Response
 
Status 200 OK

{
  "sections": [
    {
      "category_id": 888887,
      "description": "This section contains articles on flight instruments",
      "id": 35467,
      "locale": "en-us",
      "name": "Avionics"
    },
    {
      "category_id": 887285,
      "description": "This section contains weather resources for pilots",
      "id": 36169,
      "locale": "en-us",
      "name": "Weather"
    }
  ]
}

Show Section
  • GET /api/v2/help_center{/locale}/sections/{section_id}

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

Allowed for
  • Agents
  • End users
  • Anonymous users
Sideloads

The following sideloads are supported:

Name Will sideload
categories the category
translations the section and category translations, if any

Unlike other sideloads, translations are embedded within the section since they're not shared between resources. Category translations are only sideloaded if categories are.

Parameters
Name Type In Required Description
locale string Path false The locale that the category is displayed in
section_id integer Path true The unique ID of this Section
Using curl
 
curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/{locale}/sections/{section_id}.json \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password}
Example Response
 
Status 200 OK

{
  "section": {
    "description": "This section contains articles on flight instruments",
    "id": 3457836,
    "locale": "en-us",
    "name": "Avionics",
    "position": 2
  }
}

Update Section
  • PUT /api/v2/help_center{/locale}/sections/{section_id}

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

Allowed for
  • Help Center managers
Parameters
Name Type In Required Description
locale string Path false The locale that the category is displayed in
section_id integer Path true The unique ID of this Section
Using curl
 
curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/sections/{section_id}.json \
-d '{"section": {"position": 42}}' \
-v -u {email_address}:{password} -X PUT -H "Content-Type: application/json"
Example Response
 
Status 200 OK

{
  "section": {
    "description": "This section contains articles on flight instruments",
    "id": 3457836,
    "locale": "en-us",
    "name": "Avionics",
    "position": 2
  }
}

Delete Section
  • DELETE /api/v2/help_center{/locale}/sections/{section_id}

WARNING: All articles in the section will also be deleted.

Allowed for
  • Help Center managers
Parameters
Name Type In Required Description
locale string Path false The locale that the category is displayed in
section_id integer Path true The unique ID of this Section
Using curl
 
curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/sections/{section_id}.json \
  -v -u {email_address}:{password} -X DELETE
Example Response
 
Status 204 No Content

Update Section Source Locale
  • PUT /api/v2/help_center{/locale}/sections/{section_id}/source_locale

This endpoint lets you set a section's source language to something other than the default language of your Help Center. For example, if the default language of your Help Center is English but your KB has a section only for Japanese customers, you can set the section's source locale to 'ja'.

Allowed for
  • Help Center managers
Parameters
Name Type In Required Description
locale string Path false The locale that the category is displayed in
section_id integer Path true The unique ID of this Section
Using curl
 
curl https://{subdomain}.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/sections/{section_id}/source_locale.json \
-d '{"section_locale": "fr"}' -v -u {email_address}:{password} -X PUT \
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
Example Response
 
Status 200 OK