1What FoxPlug reads from Freshdesk
These are the exact things it reads, and nothing else.
| What | The details it takes |
|---|---|
| Your subdomain | typed by you in the box under the key: the acme part of acme.freshdesk.com. A pasted address is trimmed down to that part. Without it the read stops with an error |
| Your newest tickets (tags and creation time only) | for each ticket in the list: its tags and the time it was created, newest first, 100 per page, up to 3 pages, so at most the 300 newest tickets. The ticket list the API sends back carries other fields too; the code takes only the tags and the creation time and drops the rest |
| Counts per tag | over the last 30 days; a tag must be at least 3 characters and be on at least 2 tickets; the top 20 are kept, each as a 'request' with as many votes as tickets |
| What is stored from the read | up to 30 of those tag names with their counts, how many matched something you shipped, and the time of the read; no ticket text, customer name or email |
| Your own recent updates, for matching | titles of the updates FoxPlug already holds from your other tools in the last 30 days (up to 80), compared word by word with the tag names |
2Moments it finds, and what each becomes
A moment is one thing that happened in Freshdesk worth a second look. Each one is scored, then it becomes a post, a changelog entry, a thing to fix or an idea to email, or it is skipped.
A tag used on at least 3 tickets in the last 30 days matches the words of something you shipped in the last 30 days
The moment is titled like this: Looks like you shipped what 4 people asked for: dark mode
Four tickets from the last 30 days carry the tag 'dark mode', and one of your updates this month is 'Shipped dark mode for the dashboard'. FoxPlug writes 'Looks like you shipped what 4 people asked for: dark mode' and says the tag is on 4 tickets in 30 days. At most 3 such moments come out of one read.
3How the brain uses it
The rules below are the ones that apply to Freshdesk. The same rules, with worked examples, are on the brain page.
- Freshdesk is read for ticket tags only, counted over 30 days. A tag on at least 2 tickets becomes a request with that many votes; the code handles it exactly like Help Scout and Intercom tags. Ticket text, names and emails are never read. How the brain decides
- A tag with at least 3 tickets whose words match something you shipped in the last 30 days becomes a 'looks like you shipped it' say line. Matching is by words: a one or two word tag needs every word, a longer one needs at least two words and half of them. Check it before you post. How the brain decides
- FoxPlug keeps titles and counts, not who asked, so it cannot write to the people who asked; telling them is yours to do. How the brain decides
- Freshdesk was added to the list of connectable tools in the latest connector change; the brain page text on this had not yet been updated to name it at the time this sheet was written, so the rules above are read from the code. How the brain decides
4Set up Freshdesk in a few steps
Access: your API key plus your subdomain, pasted by you. What to give it: API key (FoxPlug only reads); the subdomain goes in the box under it.
- In Freshdesk, click your profile picture in the top right, then Profile settings.
- Your API key is on that page, below the change password section. Copy it. Keep it private; FoxPlug only reads and never writes.
- Paste it into FoxPlug, and type your subdomain (the acme in acme.freshdesk.com) in the box under it.
- Press Check for what's new.
5Limits worth knowing
Where it stops, so nothing surprises you.
- Reads at most 3 pages of 100 tickets, the newest first, and stops earlier when a page has under 100 tickets.
- Only tickets created in the last 30 days are counted.
- A tag needs at least 2 tickets to appear and at least 3 to produce a 'Looks like you shipped it' moment; at most the top 20 names are kept and at most 3 matched moments come out of one read.
- Tags have no completed state, so there is never a 'Shipped what N people asked for' moment from Freshdesk, only the matched kind.
- The subdomain is required; without it the read stops with an error.
- The sign-in is the API key as the Basic user with the password X, and the key is on Profile settings. Both are confirmed by Freshdesk's own documentation.
- NOT confirmed by Freshdesk's docs: the reader assumes every ticket in the LIST carries a tags array. The docs show tags on a single ticket, not on the list. If the list leaves tags out, each ticket reads as having none, no request is counted and no moment ever appears, with no error shown.
- Not confirmed by a real account either: that the list honours per page=100, which the stop rule at line 128 relies on.
6What it never reads
Read only means read only, and the list below is what the code leaves alone.
- Ticket text, subjects and conversations
- Customer names or email addresses
- Anything that writes to Freshdesk: it replies to nobody, changes no ticket and adds no tag
7How Freshdesk differs from the tools next to it
Near-identical to Help Scout and Intercom in what FoxPlug does with the result. Freshdesk: an API key plus your subdomain, then GET of the ticket list (100 per page, up to 3 pages); tag names only. Help Scout: an App ID and App secret exchanged for a token, then conversations. Intercom: one private-app token, tags and topic names. None has a completed state, so all three can only give 'Looks like you shipped it' moments.
8Questions
Where do I find my Freshdesk API key?
Click your profile picture in the top right of Freshdesk and open Profile settings. The key is on that page, below the change password section.
Does FoxPlug read my customers' emails or what they wrote?
No. It counts the tags on your newest tickets. Ticket text, customer names and email addresses are not read or kept.
When does it read Freshdesk?
Only when you press Check for what's new. Nothing is fetched on a timer for your project.
Has the Freshdesk connection been tested against a real account?
No. It is marked code-path-only, and one assumption is still open: the code expects tags on each ticket in the ticket list, which Freshdesk's documentation shows only for a single ticket. If tags are missing from the list, nothing will show up. Treat the first read as the test.
FoxPlug reads this tool only when you press Check for what's new, and only to read. Plans and limits are on the pricing page. Questions: support.