Migrating your knowledge base from Zendesk? The Universal Importer is the way to go.

Using the Universal Importer

  1. Go to Settings → Team → Import.
  2. Upload your Zendesk articles export (JSON recommended).
  3. Select Articles as the entity type if not auto-detected.
  4. Map fields: title, body/content, labels/tags, status.
  5. Preview and import.

The Universal Importer gives you field-level merge strategies, so you can update existing articles without overwriting manual edits.

Exporting from Zendesk

  1. In Zendesk, go to Admin Center > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Export articles as JSON (recommended) or CSV.

JSON preserves HTML formatting better than CSV.

What Gets Imported

Zendesk cStar
title Title
body Content (HTML preserved)
draft Status (draft/published)
label_names Tags

After Import

  • Articles default to uncategorized. Re-categorize them in Library after import. (Imported articles stash the source category in metadata, but cStar's category system uses internal IDs so the link doesn't auto-restore.)
  • Draft articles remain as drafts.
  • Published articles are published but not marked public by default. Toggle public visibility per article when you're ready to surface them.
  • Zendesk labels become tags.

Tips

  • JSON exports preserve HTML formatting better than CSV.
  • Large imports process in batches.
  • External image URLs from Zendesk's CDN will still work but may need updating if you migrate fully away from Zendesk.
  • Use merge strategies to update existing articles without losing local changes.