How to bulk import users

Limitations and Considerations

• You must be an administrator to bulk import users.
• Data imports are not enabled by default, so the account owner or an admin must contact Zendesk Customer Support to enable data exports and access to the imports page.
• If you want to bulk import both users and organisations, you must import organisations first.
• A core set of data about users can be imported, but not timezones, photos or language preferences. For data not listed, use the Zendesk REST API.
• When using the Bulk actions pages to import new and existing user and organisation data, the import CSV data file can contain a maximum of 2,000 rows, which includes one header row and up to 1,999 rows of data.
• When using the data importer to import new and existing user and organisation data, the import CSV file can't exceed 1 GB in size, with a recommended maximum of 500,000 rows, including one header row. Each row can't exceed 128 KB in size. The import CSV file can contain a maximum of 200 columns.
• Don't include the same user more than once within a CSV file, as this can cause the import to fail.
• There's no guarantee that records are created or updated in the order they appear in the CSV file.
• Only one CSV file can be imported at a time. If you have more data than the maximum number of rows supported for the CSV file, create separate files for each batch and import them one after another.
• You cannot use bulk importing to import contact information from end-user Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) accounts. Instead, use the Zendesk REST API.

Creating the CSV User Data File

• Generate the list from a user management system or create it from scratch using a program like Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc.
• The file must be properly formatted CSV and saved using UTF-8 character encoding.
• The first row of the CSV file is the header row and must be included in the file.
• The header row must contain any required fields, plus any other fields that you want to include. Included fields must appear in the header row in the order they are listed.
• If you are not importing data for a field, do not list it in the header row.
• Empty columns of data in the file will overwrite most existing data for that user.
• Add line breaks to notes or multiline custom fields by pressing ALT+ENTER on Windows or CTRL+OPTION+RETURN on a Mac.
• Required fields when importing new users include name, email, and restriction. When existing users are updated via bulk import, only one unique identifier is required (such as an email or external ID).
• If you import users with the external_id field as their only identifier (meaning you're not also including email address), you still need to include the email field in the CSV file, with no data.
• To configure multiple email addresses or phone numbers to a single user, create multiple entries for the user in the CSV file and use the same external_id column for all rows you want associated with a single user.
• If any external ID, email address, or phone number matches more than one existing user, that row is rejected from the bulk import.

Importing the CSV User Data File

You can bulk import users either by:

• Using the data importer to import user data
• Using a bulk actions import to import user data

Using the Data Importer

1. In Admin Center, click Objects and rules in the sidebar, then select Tools > Data importer.
2. Click Import.
3. Under Target destination, select Users.
4. Under Import type, choose one of the following:
   • Create only: Only new users are added. Any data in the CSV file pertaining to existing users is ignored.
   • Update only: Update data for the existing users listed in your CSV file. The external_id is required to update users. Any data pertaining to new users is ignored.
   • Create and update: Add new users and update data for the existing users listed in your CSV file.
5. Under File upload, drag and drop your file or click to upload and select your CSV file from the file browser.
6. Click Next.
7. Review the Field mapping list.
   • If the field mapping is correct, click Next.
   • If the field mapping isn't correct, click Back, edit your CSV file to adhere to the format requirements, and then reupload the file.
8. Review the summary of import details in the confirmation dialogue, and then click Start import.
9. To check the status of an import, check your import history.

Using a Bulk Actions Import

1. In Admin Center, click People in the sidebar, then select Bulk actions > Import users.
2. Select import options:
   • Create new users: Selected by default and cannot be deselected. Users listed in the CSV file that don't exist in your Zendesk account are always created.
   • Update existing users: Select this import option if you also want to modify data for existing users.
3. (Optional) Select Include external ID in CSV output file.
4. Click one of the following: Choose File or Let me paste in data instead.
5. Click Import.

The import is added to the queue, and users are added to Zendesk Support when the import process is complete. You'll receive an email when the import is complete.