Routing rules

Routing rules decide which group a new ticket lands in. Each rule says "if the first message and customer look like this, put the ticket in this group", with an optional priority and tags. When no rule matches, the ticket stays in Ungrouped and appears in Needs Triage (see Triage).

Go to Desk → Admin → Routing rules. The entry appears for users whose roles include the routing_rule.view permission.

When rules runCopy Anchor Link

Rules run once, when a new ticket is created from a customer's first message. They don't run when:

• a customer reply reopens a closed ticket or is added to an open one,
• a staff member starts a ticket themselves.

A follow-up ticket created after a closed one is a new ticket, so it is routed like any other.

Rules are checked from top to bottom. The first enabled rule that matches and whose group is active wins; later rules are not looked at.

ConditionsCopy Anchor Link

The When a new ticket starts section of the rule form holds the conditions. Fill in at least one. Every list you fill in must match (AND); leave the others empty. Within one list, matching any entry is enough, except "contains all of".

Type an entry and press Enter to add it as a chip (for phrases and domains).

• Phrases match whole words and ignore capitalization. "refund" matches "I want a refund." but not "refunded".
• "Whole word" means the phrase isn't attached to a letter, digit, or underscore on either side. Languages written without spaces between words (for example Chinese or Japanese) therefore only match when the phrase stands alone between spaces or punctuation. A phrase that starts or ends with punctuation, such as "C++", matches as written.
• Spaces inside a phrase are flexible.
• Each phrase can be up to 100 characters.
• Domains match exactly: example.com does not match mail.example.com. A leading @ is ignored.
• Each list holds up to 20 entries.

If you save without any condition, the form shows Fill in at least one condition.

ActionsCopy Anchor Link

The actions section describes what happens to the ticket when the rule is the first to match.

• Assign to group (required) — only active groups can be chosen; inactive ones appear as "(inactive)" and can't be selected.
• Set priority — optional; leave it as None to keep the default.
• Add tags — optional; added to the new ticket.

Add a ruleCopy Anchor Link

1. Select Add rule.
2. In Details, enter a Name (up to 80 characters).
3. Leave the switch on Enabled, or turn it off to save the rule as Disabled: skipped when tickets are routed.
4. Fill in the conditions and actions.
5. Select Add rule at the bottom of the drawer.

The new rule is added at the end of the list. To change a rule, select Edit on its row and select Save changes. Closing the drawer with unsaved changes asks Discard your changes?.

A workspace can have up to 100 rules. At the limit, Add rule is disabled.

Order, disable, deleteCopy Anchor Link

• Use Move up and Move down on a row to change the order. Put specific rules above general ones, because the first match wins.
• Use the Enable switch on a row to disable a rule without deleting it. Disabled rules show a Disabled chip.
• Delete asks for confirmation and is permanent. The rules after it move up one place. Tickets already routed are not changed.

Edit, Delete, Add rule, and the switch and move controls appear only for roles that hold the matching permission.

Inactive or deleted groupsCopy Anchor Link

If a rule's group becomes inactive, the rule is skipped when routing and its row shows Group inactive - skipped. If the group no longer exists, the row shows Group deleted - skipped. Edit the rule and choose an active group to fix it, or reactivate the group (see Roles and groups).

You can't enable a rule whose group is inactive, or save an enabled rule with one. A disabled rule can still be saved.

Try a messageCopy Anchor Link

Below the list, the Try a message panel shows which rule would catch a customer's first message. Nothing is created or changed, and you don't need a customer: enter a sample and select Run.

• Message (required) — the sample first message.
• Customer email — optional, used by email domain conditions.
• Customer tags — optional, used by tag conditions.

The result names the winning rule, for example "Matches rule 1: Refunds to Billing -> Billing", with priority and tags when the rule sets them. With no match it says No rule matches: the ticket would stay in Needs Triage. Rules skipped because of their group are listed under the result.

ExamplesCopy Anchor Link

New development workspaces include a Refunds to Billing rule, so you can try the panel right away.

Permissions and auditCopy Anchor Link

Four permissions control this area: routing_rule.view, routing_rule.create, routing_rule.edit (edit, enable, disable, reorder), and routing_rule.delete. Admin has all of them. Creating, editing, reordering, and deleting rules are recorded in the audit log.

A ticket's history shows the group, priority, and tag changes made by routing as done by Routing. The name of the rule isn't shown there yet.

TroubleshootingCopy Anchor Link

• A ticket wasn't routed. Check that it was a new ticket from a customer message, that the rule is enabled, and that an earlier rule didn't match first. Paste the message into Try a message.
• "refund" doesn't match "refunded". Phrases match whole words. Add both.
• A subdomain doesn't match. Add each domain you need.
• Can't save an enabled rule. Its group is inactive. Choose an active group.
• Add rule is disabled. The workspace has reached 100 rules. Delete one you no longer need.
• The new order was not saved. The list changed since you opened it. Reload the page and try again.