1What FoxPlug reads from Help Scout
These are the exact things it reads, and nothing else.
| What | The details it takes |
|---|---|
| An access token for your app | FoxPlug exchanges your App ID and App secret for a short access token (client credentials) before reading |
| Your conversations (tags only) | for each conversation: the names of its tags and the time it was created; all statuses, newest first, up to 3 pages |
| Counts per tag | over the last 30 days; a name must be at least 3 characters and be used on at least 2 conversations; the top 20 are kept, each as a 'request' with as many votes as conversations |
| 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 message 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 Help Scout 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 conversations 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 5 people asked for: bulk import
Five conversations from the last 30 days carry the tag 'bulk import', and one of your updates this month is 'Shipped bulk import'. FoxPlug writes 'Looks like you shipped what 5 people asked for: bulk import', saying the tag is on 5 conversations in 30 days, and the brain offers it as a say card.
3How the brain uses it
The rules below are the ones that apply to Help Scout. The same rules, with worked examples, are on the brain page.
- Help Scout is read for tags only, counted over 30 days. A tag used on at least 2 conversations counts as a request with that many votes. Message text, names and emails are never read. How the brain decides
- A request with at least 3 conversations (Intercom and Help Scout) whose words match something you shipped in the last 30 days becomes a 'looks like you shipped it' say line; matching is by words, so check it before you post. How the brain decides
- FoxPlug keeps titles and counts, not who asked, so it cannot email the people who asked; telling them is yours to do. How the brain decides
4Set up Help Scout in a few steps
Access: app credentials (App ID plus App secret), pasted by you. What to give it: app secret (FoxPlug only reads); the App ID goes in its own box.
- In Help Scout, open your profile and then My apps, and make an app named FoxPlug. If it asks for a redirect URL, type https://foxplug.com.
- Copy the App ID and paste it into the App ID box in FoxPlug.
- Copy the App secret and paste it into the Help Scout box. Keep it private; FoxPlug only reads and never writes.
- Press Check for what's new.
5Limits worth knowing
Where it stops, so nothing surprises you.
- Reads at most 3 pages of conversations, and stops earlier when a page has under 50.
- Only conversations created in the last 30 days are counted.
- A tag needs at least 2 conversations to appear and at least 3 to produce a 'Looks like you shipped it' moment; at most the top 20 names are kept.
- Tags have no completed state, so there is never a 'Shipped what N people asked for' moment from Help Scout, only the matched kind.
- The App ID is required; without it the read stops with an error.
6What it never reads
Read only means read only, and the list below is what the code leaves alone.
- Message text
- Customer names or email addresses
- Anything that writes to Help Scout: it replies to nobody and tags nothing
7How Help Scout differs from the tools next to it
Near-identical to Intercom in what FoxPlug does with it. Help Scout: an App ID plus App secret (two boxes) is exchanged for a token, then GET v2/conversations; reads tag names only. Intercom: a single private-app access token, GET /conversations; reads tag names and topic names. Neither has votes or a completed state, so both can only produce 'Looks like you shipped it' moments.
8Questions
Why does FoxPlug ask for an App ID and an App secret?
Help Scout's API uses an app login: FoxPlug trades the two values for a short access token and reads with that. The App ID goes in its own box in the connect panel, the secret in the main box.
Does FoxPlug read my customers' emails?
No. It counts the tags on your conversations. Message text, customer names and email addresses are not read.
When does it read Help Scout?
Only when you press Check for what's new. Nothing is fetched on a timer for your project.
Has the Help Scout connection been tested against a real account?
No. It is marked code-path-only: the code path exists and its offline checks pass, but no real Help Scout account of ours has exercised it.
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.