OVERALL CONTROL / 0.6-customer-control
Grades and scoring
Data access
25% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Read interface 7.5/10
Structured API for the declared product scope
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Structured records are available for the declared product scope.
List Conversations ↗
List Conversations; JSON resources · Checked 2026-10-16
Bulk delivery 8.8/10
Batched or iterable API requests
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Iterable record queries provide bulk retrieval within endpoint limits; complete account recovery is unverified.
List Conversations ↗
List Conversations; JSON resources · Checked 2026-10-16
Query expressiveness 8.8/10
Documented structured API filters
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Conversation filters, modifiedSince and pagination
List Conversations ↗
Conversation filters, modifiedSince and pagination · Checked 2026-10-16
Access cost barrier 10.0/10
Access is free, or included in the lowest paid plan with no fixed access fee; published usage-only charges are eligible
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Standard core API access; reporting excluded from assessed scope
Inbox API access by plan ↗
Reviewed route entitlement and plan conditions · Checked 2026-10-16
Third-party accessibility
20% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Third-party eligibility 10.0/10
Customer authorization without discretionary provider approval
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Create OAuth application; client credentials and authorization-code flows
Inbox API authentication ↗
Create OAuth application; client credentials and authorization-code flows · Checked 2026-10-16
Downstream permission -
-
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Downstream processing, AI and redistribution permission require a separate applicable-terms review.
Inbox API authentication ↗
Authentication documentation reviewed; applicable downstream contractual clause not established · Checked 2026-10-16
External action
15% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Write interface 7.5/10
Create and update in one business domain
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Conversation create/update APIs are documented; individual operations remain permission-scoped.
Create Conversation ↗
Create Conversation; request and validation · Checked 2026-10-16
Update Conversation ↗
Update Conversation; supported fields · Checked 2026-10-16
Custom application path 10.0/10
Customer applications using fixed APIs without provider selection
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Customer application authentication for the declared route
Inbox API authentication ↗
Customer application authentication for the declared route · Checked 2026-10-16
Continuity
15% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Refresh mechanism 7.5/10
Documented updated-since filters or webhooks
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
modifiedSince filter
List Conversations ↗
modifiedSince filter · Checked 2026-10-16
Limit visibility 10.0/10
Published numeric quotas and recovery instructions
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Published numeric limits, rate-limit errors and recovery information
Inbox API rate limiting ↗
Published numeric limits, rate-limit errors and recovery information · Checked 2026-10-16
CDC and deletion capture 7.5/10
Updates and deletion identities documented for the stated resources
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
convo.deleted, customer.deleted and customer.updated event subscriptions
Create Webhook ↗
convo.deleted, customer.deleted and customer.updated event subscriptions · Checked 2026-10-16
Replay and gap recovery -
-
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Webhook configuration does not establish replay retention or checkpoints
Create Webhook ↗
Webhook configuration does not establish replay retention or checkpoints · Checked 2026-10-16
Data exit
20% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Export custody 7.5/10
Customer-held structured files or API records
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Customer-held API records are documented; no whole-product custody claim is made.
List Conversations ↗
List Conversations; JSON resources · Checked 2026-10-16
Post-cancellation access Disclosure
-
Disclosure only; does not reduce planned-exit credit.
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Post-cancellation retrieval remains unresolved.
Inbox API authentication ↗
Reviewed technical route; applicable customer termination clause not established · Checked 2026-10-16
Planned migration fidelity 7.5/10
Portable structured records on documented routes; whole-product completeness unverified
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Portable records within the declared API scope; complete attachments, history and service configuration are unverified.
List Conversations ↗
List Conversations; JSON resources · Checked 2026-10-16
Business logic and customization
5% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Logic authoring 5.0/10
Customer-editable native workflows or agent configurations
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Create a Manual Workflow; permission and configured actions
Manual Workflows ↗
Create a Manual Workflow; permission and configured actions · Checked 2026-10-16
Rights to custom logic -
-
Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded.
Rights to native workflow definitions remain unresolved.
Inbox API authentication ↗
Reviewed technical route; native artifact ownership and export rights not established · Checked 2026-10-16
Scores are out of 10. * Incomplete evidence discounts verified capabilities (unknown answers stay unknown). Planned migration drives data exit. Scoring method ↗
CUSTOMER CHOICE
Third-party accessibility
An active invited user creates an OAuth application in My apps. Client credentials are for internal integrations; authorization-code OAuth connects other Help Scout users. Credentials stop working when the associated user is no longer eligible.
Confirm who can connect, who owns the credentials and which uses are permitted. Customer consent and provider approval can be separate requirements; the selected plan and contract still matter.
READ / INTEGRATE
API and export routes
Conversation lists default to active status; migration must select statuses explicitly. modifiedSince and pagination support refresh, while threads and attachments need their own retrieval. Reports and Docs API are excluded; the current attachment download-file route replaces removed web links.
| Access route | Authentication | Credential owner | Provider approval | Access requirement | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer-owned internal OAuth client | OAuth client credentials | Customer | No | Customer-supplied credentials | 2026-10-16 |
| Third-party OAuth application | OAuth 2.0 | Integration provider | Not confirmed | customer authorization | 2026-10-16 |
Availability depends on your product, plan and agreement. See the documentation below for the requirements of each route.
ECONOMIC ACCESS
Cost, authentication and limits
Standard includes core Inbox API access at up to 200 calls per minute; Plus and Pro have larger quotas and reporting access. The account shares the quota across users, and write requests count twice.
Check API entitlement, credential ownership and rate limits for the route you intend to use. Include review fees, customer-plan upgrades and ongoing access charges in the total.
ACT FROM OUTSIDE
External action
The Inbox API creates conversations and updates support resources under the associated user’s permissions. OAuth authorization and internal client credentials provide distinct app installation paths.
Validate the supported operation, acting identity and permission scope (read access does not imply write permission). Ambiguous retries and revoked credentials also affect whether an external workflow can run safely.
KEEP ACCESS USEFUL
Continuity
Conversation modified-time queries support polling, and webhooks announce conversation/customer changes and deletes. Webhook V3 preserves system_user identities; V2 normalizes them. Replay retention and a durable consumer checkpoint remain unresolved.
CDC, deletions and recovery
| Question | Answer / applicable route | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Can ongoing extraction identify updates and deleted records on the declared route? | Updates and deletion identities documented for the stated resourcesHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. convo.deleted, customer.deleted and customer.updated event subscriptions | Create Webhook ↗convo.deleted, customer.deleted and customer.updated event subscriptionsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How can extraction recover after missed events or an interrupted consumer? | -Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Webhook configuration does not establish replay retention or checkpoints | Create Webhook ↗Webhook configuration does not establish replay retention or checkpointsChecked 2026-10-16 |
Useful ongoing access includes corrections and deletions, not only the first export. A failed request, changed filter or lost resource permission should not be interpreted as a deleted record.
LEAVE WITH YOUR DATA
Data exit and portability
Conversation records can be copied before cancellation, with threads and attachment contents retrieved separately. API data access does not establish full service restoration or post-cancellation retrieval rights (report downloads cover a different scope).
Test the output against the destination’s required fields and history. Check stable identifiers, relationships, attachments and extraction time; a sample file proves only the coverage of that sample.
BUILD / INSPECT / REUSE
Business logic and customization
Users with Manage workflows permission can define manual workflows that apply several conversation actions. Their authoring path is documented; export rights and independent execution of native workflow definitions remain unresolved.
Custom API access, ownership of workflows and the right to export their definitions are separate questions. A custom-app capability alone does not establish that business rules can move to another system.
AGREEMENTS / API DOCS / PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Documented conditions
Answers below come from public provider materials. Every answer retains its source check date, scope (a partner agreement does not describe every customer route). Customer contracts and live behavior still need verification.
| Question | Answer / applicable route | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| What structured read interface is documented? | Structured API for the declared product scopeHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Structured records are available for the declared product scope. | List Conversations ↗List Conversations; JSON resourcesChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How can customers retrieve data in bulk? | Batched or iterable API requestsHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Iterable record queries provide bulk retrieval within endpoint limits; complete account recovery is unverified. | List Conversations ↗List Conversations; JSON resourcesChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What queries can a customer issue outside the provider UI? | Documented structured API filtersHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Conversation filters, modifiedSince and pagination | List Conversations ↗Conversation filters, modifiedSince and paginationChecked 2026-10-16 |
| Who decides whether a chosen third party may connect? | Customer authorization without discretionary provider approvalHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Create OAuth application; client credentials and authorization-code flows | Inbox API authentication ↗Create OAuth application; client credentials and authorization-code flowsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What extra commercial condition applies to the routes supplying the assessed read capability, relative to the lowest paid plan? | Access is free, or included in the lowest paid plan with no fixed access fee; published usage-only charges are eligibleHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Standard core API access; reporting excluded from assessed scope | Inbox API access by plan ↗Reviewed route entitlement and plan conditionsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What permission is needed for the documented downstream use? | -Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Downstream processing, AI and redistribution permission require a separate applicable-terms review. | Inbox API authentication ↗Authentication documentation reviewed; applicable downstream contractual clause not establishedChecked 2026-10-16 |
| Which external write operations are documented? | Create and update in one business domainHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Conversation create/update APIs are documented; individual operations remain permission-scoped. | Create Conversation ↗Create Conversation; request and validationChecked 2026-10-16 Update Conversation ↗Update Conversation; supported fieldsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How can customers connect an application they build or choose? | Customer applications using fixed APIs without provider selectionHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Customer application authentication for the declared route | Inbox API authentication ↗Customer application authentication for the declared routeChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What mechanism supports repeatable extraction of changes? | Documented updated-since filters or webhooksHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. modifiedSince filter | List Conversations ↗modifiedSince filterChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How are integration limits disclosed? | Published numeric quotas and recovery instructionsHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Published numeric limits, rate-limit errors and recovery information | Inbox API rate limiting ↗Published numeric limits, rate-limit errors and recovery informationChecked 2026-10-16 |
| Where can a usable data copy be delivered? | Customer-held structured files or API recordsHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Customer-held API records are documented; no whole-product custody claim is made. | List Conversations ↗List Conversations; JSON resourcesChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What retrieval rights are documented at cancellation? | -Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Post-cancellation retrieval remains unresolved. | Inbox API authentication ↗Reviewed technical route; applicable customer termination clause not establishedChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How can customers define their own business logic? | Customer-editable native workflows or agent configurationsHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Create a Manual Workflow; permission and configured actions | Manual Workflows ↗Create a Manual Workflow; permission and configured actionsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What rights or portability are documented for custom workflow artifacts? | -Help Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Rights to native workflow definitions remain unresolved. | Inbox API authentication ↗Reviewed technical route; native artifact ownership and export rights not establishedChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What usable data or native definitions can leave before cancellation? | Portable structured records on documented routes; whole-product completeness unverifiedHelp Scout Inbox API 2.0 / core conversations and customers using customer-owned client credentials or user-authorized OAuth; reporting endpoints and Docs API are excluded. Portable records within the declared API scope; complete attachments, history and service configuration are unverified. | List Conversations ↗List Conversations; JSON resourcesChecked 2026-10-16 |
SOURCES / SCOPE / HISTORY
Sources and open questions
This review is based on the documentation below. Live account behavior and customer-specific agreements haven’t been tested.
Still to confirm
- Durable replay retention and gap recovery
- Complete thread, file and history recovery in a measured account
- Downstream-use and cancellation clauses
- Ownership and reusable export of native workflows
Documentation
Assessment checked 2026-10-16. Each answer retains its source and applicable route; the check date does not establish live account behavior.