Migrations
By Sony and Pranav
By Sony and Pranav
Guides to help with a smooth transition from other platforms, such as Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, etc, to Chatwoot.
How to migrate from Intercom to Chatwoot?
If you are moving from Intercom to Chatwoot, you can use Chatwoot's built-in importer to bring your contacts and past conversations into your Chatwoot account. The import runs in the background, so you can continue setting up Chatwoot while it completes. Availability: The built-in Intercom importer is available on Chatwoot paid plans. You must be an account administrator to start and manage an import. What the Intercom import brings over You can choose to import: - Contacts - Conversations, including their message history and the contacts associated with those conversations Chatwoot preserves the available source timestamps and source details so the imported records remain useful as historical context. Imported conversations are added as resolved historical conversations in source-specific Intercom import inboxes. These inboxes preserve history; they do not replace the live channels you will configure in Chatwoot. Before you begin Make sure that: - You have a Chatwoot account on a paid plan. If you are new to Chatwoot, create your account first. - You are an administrator in the Chatwoot account. - You can create or access a private app in the Intercom workspace you are migrating. - The Intercom app can read contacts and conversations. - You have planned your channel cutover. The import is a one-time migration, not a continuous sync. Only one import (be it Intercom, Freshdesk or others) can run in a Chatwoot account at a time. Step 1: Get an Intercom Access Token Chatwoot uses an Intercom Access Token to read the data selected for migration. 1. Open the Intercom Developer Hub. 2. Create a private app in the Intercom workspace you want to migrate, or open an existing private app created for the migration. 3. Ensure the app has permission to read contacts and conversations. 4. Open Configure → Authentication in the app. 5. Copy the Access Token. For more information, see Intercom's authentication guide. In Chatwoot, the field is labeled Intercom access key. Paste the Intercom Access Token into this field. Treat the token like a password. We recommend using a dedicated app for the migration and revoking its token or removing the app after the import has completed and you have verified the results. Step 2: Open Data settings in Chatwoot 1. Sign in to Chatwoot. 2. Go to Settings → Data. 3. Open the Import tab. 4. Click Import. Step 3: Configure and start the import In the New import dialog: 1. Select Intercom as the source. 2. Enter an import name. This helps you identify the migration later. 3. Paste your Intercom Access Token into Intercom access key. 4. Under Data to import, select one or both of the following: - Contacts imports contacts from the Intercom workspace. - Conversations imports past conversations, their messages, and the contacts required for those conversations. 5. Move out of the access-key field and wait for Chatwoot to validate the key. 6. When you see Access key validated, click Import. If validation fails, check that you copied the complete token and that the Intercom app has permission to read the data you selected. Step 4: Monitor and verify the import Chatwoot opens the import details page after the import starts. The page updates automatically while the import runs and shows separate progress for contacts, conversations, and messages. Depending on the outcome, the import can finish as Completed or Completed with errors. Review the following before you cut over: - The imported counts for contacts, conversations, and messages - A sample of imported contacts and conversations - The Errors section for records Chatwoot could not import - The Skip logs section for records that were intentionally skipped You can download error and skip logs as CSV files. If an import becomes stalled, use Retry when the option appears. You can also abandon an active import if you need to stop it. Step 5: Move your live channels to Chatwoot The data import brings over historical records. It does not recreate your Intercom Messenger or connect it as a live Chatwoot channel. To move your website chat: 1. Create a website live chat inbox in Chatwoot. 2. Add the Chatwoot widget code to your website. 3. Remove the Intercom widget code as close as possible to the Chatwoot launch to avoid a gap in coverage. 4. Start a test conversation from your website and confirm that it reaches the correct Chatwoot inbox and team. If you use other Intercom channels, set up the corresponding Chatwoot channels and test each one before completing the cutover. Important behavior and limitations - The import is a one-time historical migration. New changes in Intercom are not continuously synced to Chatwoot. - Historical imports do not send messages or notifications to your customers. - Imported conversations are resolved and stored in source-specific import inboxes. Configure new Chatwoot inboxes for ongoing customer communication. - File attachments are not transferred. When an Intercom message has attachments, Chatwoot adds a note to the message indicating how many attachments were skipped. - Intercom teammates, teams, assignments, routing rules, automations, apps, and Messenger settings are not recreated in Chatwoot. - Some source-specific fields are retained as metadata but may not appear as equivalent Chatwoot fields. - Keep access to Intercom until you have reviewed the imported counts, sample records, and any error or skip logs. Make Chatwoot your own Once the import and channel cutover are complete, these resources will help your team get started: - Chatwoot 101 tutorials - Set up an omnichannel inbox - Chatwoot best practices For anything else, reach out to us through the support chat. Happy chatting!
How to migrate from Front to Chatwoot?
If you're currently using Front and want to switch to Chatwoot, this guide will walk you through the step-by-step process of migrating your conversations, contacts, live chat widget, and setting up Chatwoot. This is a very quick process; let’s dive in. Before you begin Before setting up Chatwoot, there are two essential preliminary tasks to complete in order to smoothly remove Front from your ecosystem. Step 1. Remove the Front chat widget To start, please make sure to uninstall the existing live chat code that you would have previously integrated for enabling the Front live chat widget on your website. Step 2. Export contacts Next, export all of your contacts from Front, with the help of this guide. Migrating to Chatwoot Step 3. Sign up Create an account in Chatwoot, using this guide. Step 4. Migrate the live chat widget Create a live chat inbox in Chatwoot, using this guide. At the end of the setup, you will find the live chat code snippet to be pasted into your website’s codebase. Complete this step, ensuring that you have already removed the live chat code snippet for Front’s live chat widget, as mentioned in Step 1. Step 5. Migrate contacts Open the ‘Contacts’ tab in Chatwoot, press the Import button. Next, follow the on-screen instructions to upload the Contacts file exported from Front, in a csv format. Once your upload is completed, all of your contacts will be successfully synced in Chatwoot. Step 6. Migrate conversations For importing your existing conversations from Front to Chatwoot, use this API. Step 7. Make Chatwoot your own You are all set to use Chatwoot, congratulations! We recommend the following steps to begin making the best of Chatwoot: Chatwoot 101 tutorials: A comprehensive guide to learn the basics of Chatwoot within minutes. Omnichannel inbox: A helping hand to setting up your omnichannel customer service on Chatwoot. A few best practices to make your workflow smooth as butter on Chatwoot. For everything else, hit us up on hello@chatwoot.com, and don't forget to share your feedback with us. Happy chatting!
How to migrate from Freshdesk to Chatwoot?
If you are moving from Freshdesk to Chatwoot, you can use Chatwoot's built-in importer to bring your contacts and past tickets into your Chatwoot account. The import runs in the background, so you can continue setting up Chatwoot while it completes. Availability: The built-in Freshdesk importer is available on Chatwoot paid plans. You must be an account administrator to start and manage an import. What the Freshdesk import brings over You can choose to import: - Contacts - Conversations, which imports Freshdesk tickets, their replies and private notes, and the contacts associated with those tickets Chatwoot preserves the available source timestamps and source details so the imported records remain useful as historical context. Imported tickets are added as resolved historical conversations in source-specific Freshdesk import inboxes. These inboxes preserve history; they do not replace the live channels you will configure in Chatwoot. Before you begin Make sure that: - You have a Chatwoot account on a paid plan. If you are new to Chatwoot, create your account first. - You are an administrator in the Chatwoot account. - You know your original Freshdesk domain, such as acme.freshdesk.com. Use the Freshdesk domain, not a custom support-portal domain. - You have an API key from a verified Freshdesk agent with access to the contacts and tickets you want to migrate. We recommend using an administrator's API key so the import can read the complete available history. - You have planned your channel cutover. The import is a one-time migration, not a continuous sync. Only one Intercom or Freshdesk integration import can run in a Chatwoot account at a time. Freshdesk ticket limit: Freshdesk's List All Tickets API returns a maximum of 300 pages, or 30,000 tickets. If your account has 30,000 or more tickets, Chatwoot stops the import when the API can no longer confirm that the history is complete. The remaining history requires a Freshdesk Account Export, which the built-in importer does not currently support. Step 1: Get your Freshdesk domain and API key Your Freshdesk domain is the hostname you use to open Freshdesk. For example, if you sign in at https://acme.freshdesk.com, enter acme.freshdesk.com in Chatwoot. To find your API key: 1. Sign in to Freshdesk as the verified agent whose API access you will use. 2. Click your profile picture in the upper-right corner. 3. Select Profile Settings. 4. In the right pane, click View API key. 5. Complete Freshdesk's CAPTCHA verification and copy the API key. For more information, see Freshdesk's guide to finding your API key. Treat the API key like a password. Freshdesk lets you reset the key after the migration, but resetting it also disconnects every other app that uses the same key. Check for other integrations before you reset it. Step 2: Open Data settings in Chatwoot 1. Sign in to Chatwoot. 2. Go to Settings → Data. 3. Open the Import tab. 4. Click Import. Step 3: Configure and start the import In the New import dialog: 1. Select Freshdesk as the source. 2. Enter an import name. This helps you identify the migration later. 3. Enter your Freshdesk domain, for example acme.freshdesk.com. 4. Paste your key into Freshdesk API key. 5. Under Data to import, select one or both of the following: - Contacts imports contacts from Freshdesk. - Conversations imports tickets, their replies and notes, and the contacts required for those tickets. 6. Move out of the API-key field and wait for Chatwoot to validate the credentials. 7. When you see Access key validated, click Import. If validation fails, check the domain, confirm that you copied the complete API key, and verify that the Freshdesk agent's role can read the selected data. Step 4: Monitor and verify the import Chatwoot opens the import details page after the import starts. The page updates automatically while the import runs and shows separate progress for contacts, conversations, and messages. Freshdesk applies API rate limits based on your Freshdesk plan. Chatwoot waits and retries when Freshdesk asks it to slow down, so large imports can take time. Depending on the outcome, the import can finish as Completed or Completed with errors. Review the following before you cut over: - The imported counts for contacts, conversations, and messages - A sample of imported contacts and tickets - The Errors section for records Chatwoot could not import - The Skip logs section for records that were intentionally skipped You can download error and skip logs as CSV files. If an import becomes stalled, use Retry when the option appears. You can also abandon an active import if you need to stop it. Step 5: Move your live channels to Chatwoot The data import brings over historical records. It does not recreate your Freshdesk widget or connect it as a live Chatwoot channel. To move your website chat: 1. Create a website live chat inbox in Chatwoot. 2. Add the Chatwoot widget code to your website. 3. Remove the Freshdesk widget code as close as possible to the Chatwoot launch to avoid a gap in coverage. 4. Start a test conversation from your website and confirm that it reaches the correct Chatwoot inbox and team. If you use other Freshdesk channels, set up the corresponding Chatwoot channels and test each one before completing the cutover. Important behaviour and limitations - The import is a one-time historical migration. New changes in Freshdesk are not continuously synced to Chatwoot. - Historical imports do not send messages or notifications to your customers. - Imported conversations are resolved and stored in source-specific import inboxes. Configure new Chatwoot inboxes for ongoing customer communication. - File attachments are not transferred. When a Freshdesk message has attachments, Chatwoot adds a note to the message indicating how many attachments were skipped. - Freshdesk agents, groups, assignments, routing rules, automations, apps, SLAs, and widget settings are not recreated in Chatwoot. - Deleted and spam tickets are not returned by Freshdesk's List All Tickets API and are not included in the import. - Freshdesk limits that API to 300 pages, or 30,000 tickets. The importer cannot currently ingest the separate Freshdesk Account Export required for any remaining history. - Some source-specific fields are retained as metadata but may not appear as equivalent Chatwoot fields. - Keep access to Freshdesk until you have reviewed the imported counts, sample records, and any error or skip logs. Make Chatwoot your own Once the import and channel cutover are complete, these resources will help your team get started: - Chatwoot 101 tutorials - Set up an omnichannel inbox - Chatwoot best practices For anything else, reach out to us through the support chat. Happy chatting!
How to migrate from Zendesk to Chatwoot?
If you're currently using Zendesk and want to switch to Chatwoot, this guide will walk you through the step-by-step process of migrating your conversations, contacts, live chat widget, and setting up Chatwoot. This is a very quick process; let’s dive in. Before you begin Before setting up Chatwoot, there are two essential preliminary tasks to complete in order to smoothly remove Zendesk from your ecosystem. Step 1. Remove the Zendesk chat widget To start, please make sure to uninstall the existing live chat code that you would have previously integrated for enabling the Zendesk live chat widget on your website. Step 2. Export contacts Next, export all of your contacts from Zendesk, with the help of this guide. Migrating to Chatwoot Step 3. Sign up Create an account in Chatwoot, using this guide. Step 4. Migrate the live chat widget Create a live chat inbox in Chatwoot, using this guide. At the end of the setup, you will find the live chat code snippet to be pasted into your website’s codebase. Complete this step, ensuring that you have already removed the live chat code snippet for Zendesk’s live chat widget, as mentioned in Step 1. Step 5. Migrate contacts Open the ‘Contacts’ tab in Chatwoot, press the Import button. Next, follow the on-screen instructions to upload the Contacts file exported from Zendesk, in a csv format. Once your upload is completed, all of your contacts will be successfully synced in Chatwoot. Step 6. Migrate conversations For importing your existing conversations from Zendesk to Chatwoot, use this API. Step 7. Make Chatwoot your own You are all set to use Chatwoot, congratulations! We recommend the following steps to begin making the best of Chatwoot: Chatwoot 101 tutorials: A comprehensive guide to learn the basics of Chatwoot within minutes. Omnichannel inbox: A helping hand to setting up your omnichannel customer service on Chatwoot. A few best practices to make your workflow smooth as butter on Chatwoot. For everything else, hit us up on hello@chatwoot.com, and don't forget to share your feedback with us. Happy chatting!