How to connect your agents to Zendesk MCP via Claude Code

Your agents can use the Zendesk MCP to power endless workflows, from escalating urgent tickets to the right team to updating a ticket’s status and notes based on a customer call.

Regardless of your use case, you’ll first need to connect to a Zendesk MCP server. 

We’ll walk you through the process with Claude Code and Merge Agent Handler’s Zendesk MCP server.

Getting started

You’ll need access to the following before getting started:

• A Merge Agent Handler account

• A Claude Code account

• A Zendesk account (with permission to authenticate the connector)

• A Tool Pack with the Zendesk connector enabled, plus a Registered User (to generate the MCP URL)

• An Agent Handler auth token (and Node v20+ if you’re using the npx setup)

Steps for connecting Zendesk to Claude Code

You'll need to add the following code in Claude Code:

{
 "mcpServers": {
   "agent-handler": {
     "command": "npx",
     "args": [
       "-y",
       "mcp-remote@latest",
       "https://ah-api-develop.merge.dev/api/v1/tool-packs/{TOOL_PACK_ID}/registered-users/{REGISTERED_USER_ID}/mcp",
       "--header",
       "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}"
     ],
     "env": {
       "AUTH_TOKEN": "yMt*****"
     }
   }
 }
}

Here are the steps you’ll need to take to populate this code snippet for your specific Zendesk instance (i.e., how to get your MCP URL and API token).

1.  Create a Tool Pack

A Tool Pack is a configuration in Merge Agent Handler that bundles the specific connectors (like Zendesk) and tool permissions you want to expose to an agent, and it’s what generates the MCP endpoint your client connects to.

To create one, go to Tool Packs.

2. Click Create New Tool Pack.

3. Name it something like “Zendesk Support Pack”. With this UI you can also add the Zendesk connector, select the specific tools you want your agent to access, and then hit “Create Tool Pack.”

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4. Add a Registered User (the identity record your app creates for whoever or whatever your agent is acting on behalf of).

5. Copy the Registered User ID (this identity will execute Zendesk actions through the MCP server).

6. You’d then complete the auth flow for the registered user. This requires selecting “+ Add Connector” and picking Zendesk. You should now see Zendesk’s Merge Link UI, which includes guided auth steps. 

7. Copy the MCP URL for that Tool Pack and Registered User (it includes your Tool Pack ID and the Registered User ID).

8. Navigate to Settings, API Keys, and then select “+ Create new key.” From there, you can generate your Agent Handler API key. 

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Note: After testing, you should use a production key.

9. Now Open Claude Code. 

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10. You can immediately configure Claude Code to use the Agent Handler MCP server by adding the MCP server you’re using (The MCP URL you copied) and an <code class="blog_inline-code">Authorization: Bearer …</code> header with your Agent Handler API key. 

Here’s what this can look like:

claude mcp add \
  --transport http \
  agent-handler \
  https://ah-api.merge.dev/api/v1/tool-packs/9f0e9e26-ebac-4d1b-8d94-666bbd659d16/registered-users/ef9e44b4-dc1b-4d08-8617-b4453ccb2b37/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer VjEcIoKjNz3KxxxBNNDbGNkzAIoQpVU4wcyH25nkw7pAZYQ4HFR-g"

11. Then restart Claude Code and confirm it’s listed (for example, with claude mcp list).

You’re all set! You can now start using your Zendesk MCP connector in Claude Code.

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