Building Extensions #14: Creating widgets with the JS SDK bundle in Zoho Desk - Hooks API

Building Extensions #14: Creating widgets with the JS SDK bundle in Zoho Desk - Hooks API

This series aims to equip developers with all they need to build extensions for Zoho Desk in Zoho Sigma and publish them in Zoho Marketplace.

Hello developers!

In our previous post, we explained the use of the resources API and provided an example of how to use them in a Zoho Desk extension. In this post, we'll continue with the Hooks API.

What is the hooks API? 

The hooks API allows developers to control the flow of UI actions through their extensions on a conditional basis. You'll need to subscribe to the hooks and, based on your requirements, you can allow the event to happen or reject it by passing either boolean values or promises in the event handler.
  • If the boolean value TRUE is passed/if the extension resolves the promise, the event will be executed.
  • If the boolean value FALSE is passed/if the extension rejects the promise, the event will be terminated and the reason for terminating the event will be displayed as an error message to end users.
Extensions with subscriptions to hooks must respond within 30 seconds of the event being triggered. If not, the control provided by the extension will be lost and the event will be executed.

What events are supported by the hooks API ?

Zoho Desk currently supports hooks for the following events:
  • Reopening a ticket
  • Closing a ticket
  • Changing the status of a ticket
  • Changing the assignee of a ticket
  • Adding a ticket comment
  • Editing a ticket comment
  • Sending a ticket reply
  • Closing a ticket on sending ticket reply
  • Updating the agent status in a channel
Click this link to find out more about the events and locations that are supported for every event within Zoho Desk.

Now that we have an understanding of the hooks API, including when and where it can be used, let's look at an example of how it can be used in an extension.

Defining the hooks API 

Below is the structure of the hooks API to be defined in your extension code.

      App.instance.on('name of the hook to be subscribed', function(){    
          //return promise or boolean   
      })

You can subscribe to the required hooks and include your required custom logic. The custom logic should either return TRUE or the promise needs to be resolved to allow the subscribed event to occur; otherwise the event occurrence will be blocked with a relevant message popping up that you provide.

Hooks related to ticket status, ticket comments, and other parameters will return data that can be used within your custom logic.  

Possible scenarios  

Let's create an extension that tracks the activities associated with a ticket in Zoho Desk. The extension monitors the activities (e.g., a call, task, or event) of Zoho Desk tickets and controls the trigger of actions based on the hooks defined.

In this example, we're configuring an extension to subscribe to the Zoho Desk hook defined for the close ticket event. With this extension, when the agent tries to close the ticket, the extension checks whether the activities mapped to the ticket are completed.

If they are completed, the extension will allow the ticket to close in Zoho Desk; otherwise, the close ticket event will not be executed and a relevant error message will be displayed. In addition, we're configuring the hook to consider the activity as completed for both cancelled and no activities as well in the ticket.

Use case implementation

To implement our use case, we'll perform the following steps. The code snippet is added for reference.
  • Obtain the activities associated with the current ticket
  • Obtain the status of the activities
  • Subscribe to the ticket status hook and handle the event handler according to the requirements
  • Subscribe a hook to close the ticket
Sample code
            window.onload = function () {
                        ZOHODESK.extension.onload().then(App=>{
                        var activityStatus;
                        ZOHODESK.get(['ticket.id']).then(function (res) {
                        var result = res.data;
                        ticketID=result["ticket.id"];

//Get the activities associated to the ticket
                       var reqObj= {
             url: 'https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/tickets/'+ ticketID+'/activities',
             headers: {
                           'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
                           type: 'GET',
                           postBody: {},
                           connectionLinkName: "deskproject"
             }
             ZOHODESK.request( reqObj ).then(function(response){
                        var resultparse = JSON.parse(response);
                        var resultparse2=JSON.parse(resultparse.response).statusMessage;

//From the response obtain the status of the activities
                if(resultparse2!=null){
                   var resultparse3=resultparse2.data;
                   for (let i = 0; i < resultparse3.length; i++) {
                         activityStatus=resultparse3[i].status;                   }
                        }
                  })
            })

//Register a Hook for changing the status of a ticket
            App.instance.on('ticket.status', function (data) {
            return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
            if ((data["ticket.newStatus"] == "Closed")){
            if((activityStatus=="Completed")||(activityStatus=="Canceled")||(activityStatus==null))
            {
                  return true;
            } else {
                  reject({ msg: "Incomplete Activity" });
                  }
            }
                  })
})

//Register a Hook for ticket close event
            App.instance.on('ticket.close', function () {
            if((activityStatus=="Completed")||(activityStatus=="Canceled")||(activityStatus==null))
            {
                  return true;
            } else {
                  reject({ msg: "Incomplete Activity" });
                  }
            })
                  })
            }

Result:



Here, you can see that the extension doesn't allow you to close the ticket because there is an open activity tagged. This is how the hooks API helps us to configure whether an event should happen or not, based on the hook configured.
 
We hope you found this post to be useful. Stay tuned for more posts in this space! 

See Also

    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community





                                                  Use cases

                                                  Make the most of Zoho Desk with the use cases.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  eBooks

                                                  Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Videos

                                                  Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Webinar

                                                  Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho Desk basics, from customization to automation and more

                                                   
                                                    
                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Ask the Experts


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner






                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner






                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                              Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ








                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                            • Recent Topics

                                                                                                            • Zoho Cliq - Incident alert (Server outage - IN DC) | August 28

                                                                                                              We've received server down alerts and are currently investigating the issue (IN DC) to find the root cause. Our team is actively working to restore normal operations at the earliest. Status: Under investigation Start time: 09:44:21 AM IST Affected location:
                                                                                                            • Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM Integration – AI-Powered Sales Automation

                                                                                                              Hello Zoho Community 👋 I’m excited to share a recent integration we’ve worked on at OfficehubTech: ✅ Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM This integration connects Zoho CRM with Claude AI through our custom MCP Server, enabling intelligent AI-driven responses
                                                                                                            • How to conditionally embed an own internal widget with parameters in an html snippet?

                                                                                                              Hello everyone, I'm trying to create a dynamic view in a page using an HTML snippet. The goal is to display different content based on a URL parameter (input.step). I have successfully managed to conditionally display different forms using the following
                                                                                                            • Sync more than one Workdrive

                                                                                                              Hello Please I'm facing some difficulties since some days. In my company we have many zoho accounts in different organisations. And I have to find a way to sync all these Workdrives. I spend many hours to search it on zoho Workdrive but no solution. Could someone help me ? Any idea how I can achieve it ? Thanks in advance. Regards
                                                                                                            • How can I see content of system generated mails from zBooks?

                                                                                                              System generated mails for offers or invices appear in the mail tab of the designated customer. How can I view the content? It also doesn't appear in zMail sent folder.
                                                                                                            • Limitations on editing a message in Cliq

                                                                                                              Hi I've checked the documentations and there's no mention of how many times a message can be edited. When trying with code, I get various numbers such as ~1000 edits or so. Please mention if there's a limit on how many times one can change a message via
                                                                                                            • Problem with reports due to "Connected" items change - Yes this IS a problem

                                                                                                              Now that the change has been made to use "connected" items I can no longer run the reporting I need in CRM. I should be able to start with Deals as the parent, connect down to the Account (Account_Name) on the deal as the child, then to any child items
                                                                                                            • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

                                                                                                              Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files
                                                                                                            • Narrative 10: Assignment Rules - Streamlining Ticket Management

                                                                                                              Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 10: Assignment Rules - Streamlining Ticket Management In the complex world of customer support, a flood of incoming tickets can hit the help desk in seconds. Businesses must do more
                                                                                                            • Free webinar! Digitize recruitment and onboarding with Zoho Sign and Zoho Recruit

                                                                                                              Hello, Tired of being buried in onboarding paperwork? With the integration between Zoho Sign and Zoho Recruit, a powerful applicant tracking system, you can digitize and streamline the entire recruitment and onboarding process, all from one platform.
                                                                                                            • Custom form - Duplicate Value Present

                                                                                                              I am new to Zoho People. I create a new form on Zoho People quite simple. A date (by default the current date) and a radio button with 3 options (Yes, No, Not applicable) I defined the date as ‘No duplicate’ as only one entry by date is allowed. I added:
                                                                                                            • Zoho API connection issues

                                                                                                              Hi, Today at around 1930 GMT our application started experiencing intermittent timeouts from the Zoho API. These intermittent timeouts are not enabling our app to work properly. The API connection was working just fine before. HTTPSConnectionPool(host='www.zohoapis.com',
                                                                                                            • Query Regarding our Partnership between AIC-JKLU and Zoho

                                                                                                              Dear Zoho Team, I am writing to raise a concern on behalf of AIC-JKLU, one of Zoho’s incubator partners. Recently, our startups have been facing difficulties while trying to get themselves onboarded on Zoho through our dedicated partner link. Unfortunately,
                                                                                                            • Getting events in the future

                                                                                                              Hi I am trying to get events in the future by calling this API Endpoint https://www.zohoapis.eu/crm/v8/Events?fields=Event_Title,Created_By,Created_Time,Start_DateTime But that gives me all events in the database. How do I make a query that returns all
                                                                                                            • How can I see content of system generated mails from zBooks?

                                                                                                              System generated mails for offers or invices appear in the mail tab of the designated customer. How can I view the content? It also doesn't appear in zMail sent folder.
                                                                                                            • Created Date/Invalid Fields

                                                                                                              Since Saturday we have suddenly had issues with our webhooks and data retrieval from CRM. Specifically how Created Date is handled. It appears there was some sort of change within CRM that broke a lot of our code that has been in place for several years.
                                                                                                            • Problem for EU users connecting Zoho CRM through Google Ads for Enhanced conversions

                                                                                                              Has anyone else experienced this problem when trying to connect Zoho CRM through Google Ads interface to setup enhanced conversions? Did you guys get it fixed somehow? The Problem: The current Google Ads integration is hardcoded to use Zoho's US authentication
                                                                                                            • integration zoho form - drive

                                                                                                              I integrated my form with Google Drive. The report of user submissions from the Google Form becomes a Google Sheets table. When I used Google Forms for the same task, the summary sheet adapted to the form. For example, if I added a new field to the form,
                                                                                                            • Revenue Management: #9 Revenue Recognition in Media & Publishing

                                                                                                              Media & Publishing industry has evolved in recent times. It offers subscriptions, bundles digital and print access, runs sponsored content, and sometimes even sells ad spaces. If you run a media or publishing business, you will always get into a situation
                                                                                                            • Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2025 | Part 2:

                                                                                                              Hello, Everyone! We’re closing out July with a can’t-miss highlight: Zoholics Europe 2025! Happening from September to October, it’s your chance to level up your CRM skills, covering everything from automation and CPQ to dashboards and advanced workflows.
                                                                                                            • How can I trigger a flow action only once while updating contact?

                                                                                                              Hi, we have a trigger to merge&mail file when the field YYY is filled out. For this acion I used "Create or update module entry". But unfortunately we get tens of email on a day with this merged file, because the contact is being regularly updated. The
                                                                                                            • Clone a Module??

                                                                                                              I am giong to repurpose the Vendors module but would like to have a separate but very similar module for another group of contacts called Buyers. I have already repurposed Contacts to Sellers. Is it possible to clone (make a duplicate) module of Vendors
                                                                                                            • Copy a Record Template from one Form to another

                                                                                                              I have a Creator application with several forms.  I developed a record template for one of the reports/forms but want to use most of it for another of the form/report combinations in the application. Is there a way to copy the template (code or otherwise) to another form?
                                                                                                            • Tip of the Week #70 – Create common team signatures for your shared inboxes

                                                                                                              Did you know that a small detail, such as an email signature, can make a big difference in how your brand is perceived? One simple yet smart way to enhance your team’s communication is by creating common team signatures for your shared inboxes. Instead
                                                                                                            • Enhanced data export features: XLSX format, custom character encoding, and selective record export

                                                                                                              Greetings all, Here are a few enhancements related to exporting CRM data, including the ability to export data in XLSX file format now. The Export feature under Data Administration now offers new options that expand its flexibility and enable users to
                                                                                                            • Tip #42 – How to manage data security with Privacy Settings – 'Insider Insights'

                                                                                                              Data privacy is a cornerstone of trust in remote support. Through Privacy Settings in Zoho Assist, you can set up how data is gathered, stored, and handled in your organization. These settings ensure compliance, data protection for sensitive details,
                                                                                                            • Zoho DataPrep and File Pattern configuration

                                                                                                              I'm using Zoho data prep to ingest data from One Drive into Zoho Analytics... The pipeline is super simple but I can't any way to get all the files that I need. Basically I need to bring all the files with a certain pattern and for that I'm using a regex
                                                                                                            • Introducing Dark Mode / Light Mode : A New Look For Your CRM

                                                                                                              Hello Users, We are excited to announce a highly anticipated feature - the launch of Day, Night and Auto Mode implementation in Zoho CRM's NextGen user interface! This feature is designed to provide a visually appealing and comfortable experience for
                                                                                                            • Quick Item Search & Auto-suggestion for Invoices

                                                                                                              Hi Team, I am facing an issue while creating invoices in Zoho Books. Currently, I have to type the full item name in the correct sequence and spelling for it to appear. For example, my item name is: "Distemper Acri Silk Special White 10kg" If I type something
                                                                                                            • Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                              Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individuals
                                                                                                            • Ticketbai! en el Pais Vasco

                                                                                                              Hola a todos, En enero de 2.022 se va a implantar en el país vasco un nuevo sistema de facturación, denominado ticketbai!, ¿hay alguna previsión de realizar las adaptaciones en zoho books o zoho invoices? Ignoro la cantidad de clientes que tienen estas
                                                                                                            • Zoho CRM mobile app feature update: home page widgets, field tooltips and user image upload

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Your business doesn't pause when you're on the move, and neither should your CRM. That's why in our latest update, we've introduced a few new features to make your mobile CRM experience smoother and more efficient. Let's take a quick look
                                                                                                            • Zoho CRM Plain Text Template: Line Breaks and Formatting Issue

                                                                                                              Hello, I'm following the instructions to create email templates in Zoho CRM, but I'm having a problem with the plain text version. https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/zoho-sign/integrations/zoho-apps/zoho-crm/articles/zoho-crm-email-templates#Steps_to_create_a_custom_email_template
                                                                                                            • Optimizing Task Handling: Auto-Remove Recurrence for cancelled Tasks.

                                                                                                              Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:
                                                                                                            • Important updates to your connectors

                                                                                                              Hello everyone, Greeting from Zoho Creator! We're excited to announce that we'll be rolling out significant backend updates to Zoho Creator's built-in connectors to enhance security by following the latest frameworks. The existing version of some of the
                                                                                                            • Create, collaborate, and manage agreements with Zoho Sign

                                                                                                              Agreements drive business. We launched Zoho Sign in 2017 as a simple digital signature tool to sign agreements from anywhere, at any time. Over the years, we've learned that most agreements go through last-minute changes before they're signed. Our users
                                                                                                            • Function #25: Automatically generate purchase orders from a sales order

                                                                                                              We kicked off the "Function Fridays" series with the goal of helping you automate your everyday accounting tasks. As we delve into today's post, I'm delighted to announce that we're here to present the 25th custom function in this series. While it is
                                                                                                            • Has Anyone successfully integrated Zoho and Sage Intact?

                                                                                                              Hey all, We’re evaluating Zoho One + Sage Intacct and I’m trying to connect with anyone who has actually implemented the two together.Specifically, I’d love to know: -- Which functions you kept in Zoho vs. Intacct (e.g., Product Catalog, AR/AP, invoicing,
                                                                                                            • 5名限定 課題解決型ワークショップイベント Zoho ワークアウト開催のお知らせ (9/25)

                                                                                                              ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。Zoho ユーザーコミュニティチームの藤澤です。 9月開催のZoho ワークアウトについてお知らせします。 今回はZoomにて、オンライン開催します。 ▷▷参加登録はこちら:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/6OSF2Bh6TumsMIlDwaY_PQ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Zoho ワークアウトとは? Zoho ユーザー同士で交流しながら、サービスに関する疑問や不明点の解消を目的とした「Zoho
                                                                                                            • Zoho Desk: Ticket Owner Agents vs Teams

                                                                                                              Hi Zoho, We would like to explore the possibility of hiding the ‘Agents’ section within the Ticket Owner dropdown, so that we can fully utilise the ‘Teams’ dropdown when assigning tickets. This request comes from the fact that only certain agents and
                                                                                                            • Next Page