HelpScout Integration

Jetson connects to HelpScout to import and analyze your customer conversations. Here's how the integration works.

Connecting HelpScout

Initial setup

1. Go to Settings in Jetson
2. Click Connect HelpScout
3. You'll be redirected to HelpScout to authorize
4. Grant Jetson read access to your mailboxes and conversations
5. Select which mailboxes to import

What Jetson can access

Jetson requests read-only access to:

• Mailboxes - List of your support queues
• Conversations - Customer messages and staff replies
• User info - Your HelpScout user profile

Jetson cannot:

• Modify conversations
• Send messages on your behalf
• Change mailbox settings
• Access billing information

Importing conversations

First import

After connecting, import your historical conversations:

1. Navigate to your mailbox in Jetson
2. Click Import
3. Choose a date range
4. Click Start Import

Imports process conversations in batches with real-time progress tracking.

What gets imported

For each conversation:

• Subject line
• All messages (customer and staff)
• Timestamps
• Status (active, pending, closed)
• Tags

Import time

Processing time depends on volume:

You can leave the page during import - it continues in the background.

Real-time webhooks

Automatic setup

When you connect HelpScout, Jetson automatically creates a webhook:

• Triggers on new conversations
• Triggers on customer replies
• Triggers on staff replies

What webhooks do

When a new message arrives:

1. HelpScout sends a webhook to Jetson
2. Jetson fetches the full conversation
3. AI analyzes and classifies it
4. New items appear in your dashboard

Webhook security

Webhooks are secured with:

• HMAC-SHA1 signature verification
• Unique secret per installation
• HTTPS-only endpoints

Token management

Automatic refresh

OAuth tokens expire after about an hour. Jetson handles this automatically:

• Checks token expiration before each API call
• Refreshes token if it expires within 1 hour
• Stores new token securely

You don't need to reconnect unless something goes wrong.

If something goes wrong

Signs of connection issues:

• Imports failing
• New conversations not appearing
• "Connection error" messages

To fix:

1. Go to Settings
2. Disconnect HelpScout
3. Reconnect and reauthorize

Your existing data is preserved.

Docs API integration

Connecting HelpScout Docs

If you use HelpScout Docs for your knowledge base:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations
2. Enter your HelpScout Docs API key
3. Click Save

What this enables

• Import existing documentation
• Link articles to documentation gaps
• See related docs when reviewing issues

Getting your Docs API key

1. Log into HelpScout
2. Go to Manage > API
3. Create a new API key with Docs access
4. Copy the key to Jetson

Multiple mailboxes

Organization structure

Each HelpScout mailbox becomes a separate product in Jetson:

• Mailbox A → Product A in Jetson
• Mailbox B → Product B in Jetson

This keeps issues organized by product/team.

Sharing across teams

When multiple team members connect:

• They're added to the same organization (if mailboxes match)
• Everyone sees the same data
• New members may need approval from existing members

Disconnecting

To disconnect HelpScout:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations
2. Click Disconnect HelpScout

What happens:

• Webhook is removed from HelpScout
• Tokens are cleared
• Your Jetson data is preserved
• You can reconnect anytime

Related topics

• HelpScout Permissions - Detailed permission requirements
• Reconnect HelpScout - Troubleshooting connection issues
• Using Multiple Mailboxes - Managing multiple support queues
• Importing Conversations - Guide to importing historical data