# Move from Zendesk Guide

> You can move a Zendesk Guide help center to usedocs two ways: connect your Zendesk API token to import every published article in one locale, or import from your public help center URL, which also keeps images and simple tables. Either way, articles arrive as drafts and each old article path becomes

Teams leave Zendesk Guide for its price or because they want a help center that keeps itself current. Either way, the worry is the same: broken links and lost search rankings. Here's what comes across, the steps, and what to check before you switch the domain.

## What moves

- **Published articles.** Every published article in the locale you choose, with titles and bodies converted to Markdown. Articles still in draft in Zendesk are skipped.
- **Sections become collections.** With the API import, articles land in one collection per Zendesk section, named by section number; give each a proper name after the import. The website import builds collections from your URL folders instead.
- **Old URLs become redirects.** Each article's Zendesk address is saved and its path, like /hc/en-us/articles/360001234-Add-late-fees, becomes a redirect to the new article.
- **Tickets, if you want them.** Separately, you can import Zendesk tickets so the questions customers actually asked seed your list of missing articles from day one.

## Steps

1. **Create a Zendesk API token.** In Zendesk Admin Center, find the API settings under Apps and integrations, turn on token access, and add an API token. Note the email of an admin or agent account. Skip this step if you'll import from the public site instead.
2. **Start the import.** In the usedocs dashboard, open Help center, then Import. Choose Zendesk Guide and enter your subdomain (the yourcompany part of yourcompany.zendesk.com), the email, the token, and the locale, such as en-us. Or choose Any docs site and paste your public help center URL.
3. **Review the drafts.** Articles arrive as drafts. Rename the collections, check anything that converted oddly, re-add images if you used the API import, and publish.
4. **Connect GitHub and import tickets.** Install the GitHub app so merged pull requests propose edits, and import recent Zendesk tickets so customer questions seed your gap list.
5. **Point your help center domain at usedocs.** If customers reach your help center on your own domain, such as help.yourapp.com, point it at usedocs. Custom domains are on Growth. Old article paths now redirect to the new pages.

## After the import

Zendesk Guide stores articles; it doesn't tell you which ones your last release broke. In usedocs, connect GitHub and each merged pull request that changes something an imported article describes produces a proposed edit, with the change attached, and a weekly check reads every article against the code. Import your Zendesk tickets as well and the questions in them become ranked gaps, each with a drafted article, so the help center starts filling the holes your agents have been answering by hand. Every change waits for your approval.

## Good to know

- Up to 100 articles per import run.
- One locale per Zendesk API import.
- Images: the website import keeps images as links to where they're hosted today, so re-upload any you need before you close the old account. The Zendesk API import brings text, headings, lists, links, and code, but not images or tables.
- Comments, votes, and article permissions stay in Zendesk; use private collections in usedocs for content only signed in customers should see.