Agent skill
intercom-migration-deep-dive
Execute major Intercom data migrations and re-platforming with the contacts, conversations, and articles APIs. Use when migrating from Zendesk/Freshdesk to Intercom, bulk-importing contacts, or re-platforming to Intercom. Trigger with phrases like "migrate to intercom", "intercom migration", "import contacts to intercom", "switch to intercom", "zendesk to intercom", "intercom data import".
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills/tree/main/plugins/saas-packs/intercom-pack/skills/intercom-migration-deep-dive
SKILL.md
Intercom Migration Deep Dive
Overview
Comprehensive guide for migrating to Intercom from other platforms (Zendesk, Freshdesk, HelpScout) or bulk-importing data. Covers contact import, conversation history, Help Center articles, tags, and companies.
Prerequisites
- Intercom workspace with access token
- Source system data exported (CSV or API access)
- Feature flag infrastructure for gradual cutover
- Rollback strategy tested
Migration Types
| Type | Complexity | Duration | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact import | Low | Hours | Low |
| Zendesk/Freshdesk migration | Medium | 1-2 weeks | Medium |
| Full re-platform (with history) | High | 2-4 weeks | High |
| Help Center migration | Medium | Days | Low |
Instructions
Step 1: Contact Import
import { IntercomClient, IntercomError } from "intercom-client";
const client = new IntercomClient({
token: process.env.INTERCOM_ACCESS_TOKEN!,
});
interface SourceContact {
id: string;
email: string;
name: string;
phone?: string;
plan?: string;
company?: string;
created_at: string;
custom_fields?: Record<string, any>;
}
async function importContacts(
contacts: SourceContact[]
): Promise<{ created: number; updated: number; failed: number; errors: any[] }> {
const stats = { created: 0, updated: 0, failed: 0, errors: [] as any[] };
for (const contact of contacts) {
try {
// Search for existing contact by external_id or email
const existing = await client.contacts.search({
query: {
operator: "OR",
value: [
{ field: "external_id", operator: "=", value: contact.id },
{ field: "email", operator: "=", value: contact.email },
],
},
});
if (existing.data.length > 0) {
// Update existing contact
await client.contacts.update({
contactId: existing.data[0].id,
name: contact.name,
phone: contact.phone,
customAttributes: {
...contact.custom_fields,
plan: contact.plan,
migrated_from: "source_system",
migration_date: new Date().toISOString(),
},
});
stats.updated++;
} else {
// Create new contact
await client.contacts.create({
role: "user",
externalId: contact.id,
email: contact.email,
name: contact.name,
phone: contact.phone,
signedUpAt: Math.floor(new Date(contact.created_at).getTime() / 1000),
customAttributes: {
...contact.custom_fields,
plan: contact.plan,
migrated_from: "source_system",
migration_date: new Date().toISOString(),
},
});
stats.created++;
}
// Rate limit: pause every 50 contacts
if ((stats.created + stats.updated) % 50 === 0) {
console.log(`Progress: ${stats.created} created, ${stats.updated} updated`);
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 500));
}
} catch (err) {
stats.failed++;
stats.errors.push({
contact_id: contact.id,
email: contact.email,
error: err instanceof IntercomError
? `${err.statusCode}: ${err.message}`
: (err as Error).message,
});
}
}
return stats;
}
Step 2: Company Import
async function importCompanies(
companies: Array<{ id: string; name: string; plan?: string; size?: number }>
): Promise<void> {
for (const company of companies) {
await client.companies.create({
companyId: company.id,
name: company.name,
plan: company.plan,
size: company.size,
customAttributes: {
migrated_from: "source_system",
},
});
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 100)); // Rate limit
}
}
// Attach contacts to companies
async function attachContactToCompany(
contactId: string,
companyId: string
): Promise<void> {
await client.contacts.attachCompany({
contactId,
companyId,
});
}
Step 3: Tag Migration
async function migrateTags(
tagMappings: Array<{ sourceName: string; contactIds: string[] }>
): Promise<void> {
for (const mapping of tagMappings) {
// Create tag if it doesn't exist
const tag = await client.tags.create({ name: mapping.sourceName });
// Apply tag to contacts
for (const contactId of mapping.contactIds) {
try {
await client.contacts.tag({ contactId, id: tag.id });
} catch (err) {
if (err instanceof IntercomError && err.statusCode === 404) {
console.warn(`Contact ${contactId} not found, skipping tag`);
continue;
}
throw err;
}
}
console.log(`Tagged ${mapping.contactIds.length} contacts with "${mapping.sourceName}"`);
}
}
Step 4: Help Center Article Migration
async function migrateArticles(
articles: Array<{
title: string;
body: string; // HTML content
category: string;
state: "published" | "draft";
}>,
authorId: string // Admin ID who will be the author
): Promise<void> {
// Create or find collections for categories
const collections = new Map<string, string>();
for (const article of articles) {
// Create collection if needed
if (!collections.has(article.category)) {
const collection = await client.helpCenter.createCollection({
name: article.category,
});
collections.set(article.category, collection.id);
}
// Create article in collection
await client.articles.create({
title: article.title,
body: article.body,
authorId,
parentId: collections.get(article.category),
state: article.state,
});
console.log(`Migrated article: ${article.title}`);
await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 200)); // Rate limit
}
}
Step 5: Migration Orchestrator
interface MigrationPlan {
contacts: SourceContact[];
companies: Array<{ id: string; name: string; plan?: string }>;
tags: Array<{ sourceName: string; contactIds: string[] }>;
articles: Array<{ title: string; body: string; category: string; state: "published" | "draft" }>;
}
async function executeMigration(plan: MigrationPlan): Promise<void> {
console.log("=== Starting Intercom Migration ===");
const startTime = Date.now();
// Phase 1: Companies (contacts reference these)
console.log(`\n[Phase 1] Importing ${plan.companies.length} companies...`);
await importCompanies(plan.companies);
// Phase 2: Contacts
console.log(`\n[Phase 2] Importing ${plan.contacts.length} contacts...`);
const contactStats = await importContacts(plan.contacts);
console.log(` Created: ${contactStats.created}, Updated: ${contactStats.updated}, Failed: ${contactStats.failed}`);
// Phase 3: Tags
console.log(`\n[Phase 3] Migrating ${plan.tags.length} tags...`);
await migrateTags(plan.tags);
// Phase 4: Articles
const adminList = await client.admins.list();
const authorId = adminList.admins[0].id;
console.log(`\n[Phase 4] Migrating ${plan.articles.length} articles...`);
await migrateArticles(plan.articles, authorId);
const duration = ((Date.now() - startTime) / 1000 / 60).toFixed(1);
console.log(`\n=== Migration complete in ${duration} minutes ===`);
if (contactStats.errors.length > 0) {
console.log(`\nFailed contacts: ${contactStats.errors.length}`);
for (const err of contactStats.errors.slice(0, 10)) {
console.log(` ${err.email}: ${err.error}`);
}
}
}
Step 6: Post-Migration Validation
async function validateMigration(
expectedCounts: { contacts: number; companies: number; tags: number; articles: number }
): Promise<{ passed: boolean; checks: any[] }> {
const checks = [];
// Check contact count
const contacts = await client.contacts.list({ perPage: 1 });
checks.push({
name: "Contact count",
expected: expectedCounts.contacts,
actual: contacts.totalCount,
passed: contacts.totalCount >= expectedCounts.contacts * 0.95, // 95% threshold
});
// Check tags exist
const tags = await client.tags.list();
checks.push({
name: "Tag count",
expected: expectedCounts.tags,
actual: tags.data.length,
passed: tags.data.length >= expectedCounts.tags,
});
// Check articles
let articleCount = 0;
const articles = await client.articles.list();
for await (const _ of articles) articleCount++;
checks.push({
name: "Article count",
expected: expectedCounts.articles,
actual: articleCount,
passed: articleCount >= expectedCounts.articles * 0.95,
});
const passed = checks.every(c => c.passed);
console.log(`\nValidation: ${passed ? "PASSED" : "FAILED"}`);
for (const check of checks) {
console.log(` ${check.passed ? "OK" : "FAIL"} ${check.name}: ${check.actual}/${check.expected}`);
}
return { passed, checks };
}
Rollback Procedure
# If migration goes wrong:
# 1. Stop the migration script
# 2. Tag all migrated contacts for identification
# 3. Delete migrated contacts if needed:
# Search by custom_attributes.migration_date = "today's date"
# Delete in batches
# Keep source system active during migration
# Only decommission after validation + 2 weeks of parallel run
Error Handling
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| 409 Conflict | Duplicate external_id/email | Search before create |
| 429 Rate Limited | Too fast | Add delays between batches |
| 422 Validation | Bad email/data format | Validate data before import |
| Partial migration | Script crashed | Use idempotent operations, re-run |
| Missing conversations | API doesn't support bulk import | Contact Intercom support for import |
Resources
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