> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.c1.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up the Freshdesk MCP server

> Create Freshdesk basic auth credentials and register the Freshdesk MCP server in C1 so AI clients can call governed Freshdesk tools.

<Note>
  **Activation required.** AI access management must be enabled for your tenant before you can use it. To get started, [contact the C1 support team](mailto:support@c1.ai) for a walkthrough.
</Note>

The Freshdesk MCP server lets you govern access to Freshdesk — tickets, contacts, companies, and other support data — as tools your AI clients can call through C1.

Freshdesk authenticates with basic auth, using a Freshdesk API key as the username. A single credential authenticates everyone, so all tool calls reach Freshdesk as one shared identity. Create the API key from a dedicated service-account agent so activity is attributable to C1 rather than a person.

## How C1 connects to Freshdesk

C1 hosts the Freshdesk MCP server, so your users' AI clients only ever see MCP tools — they never call Freshdesk directly. When an AI client calls one of these tools, C1 makes the matching request to the Freshdesk API using the credentials you configure here, then returns the result to the AI client.

The credentials you set up below are what C1 uses to call Freshdesk on your users' behalf.

## Before you begin

* AI access management must be enabled for your tenant. See [Enable AI access management](/product/admin/enable-ai-access-management).
* A Freshdesk agent account with the API access and role needed for the tools you plan to govern.

<Note>
  If you don't see **Freshdesk** in your MCP server catalog, [contact the C1 support team](mailto:support@c1.ai) to enable it for your tenant.
</Note>

## Find your Freshdesk API key

Copy the API key from your Freshdesk agent profile so C1 can authenticate as that agent.

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Sign in to Freshdesk as the agent whose access the credential should carry.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Open your profile settings and locate **Your API key**, then copy it. Treat the key like a password. See Freshdesk's [How To Find Your API Key](https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/215517-how-to-find-your-api-key) docs for the exact steps.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Freshdesk basic auth uses your API key as the username. Freshdesk ignores the password when an API key is used, so enter any placeholder such as `X` — it just can't be empty. For more information, see Freshdesk's [API authentication](https://developers.freshdesk.com/api/#authentication) documentation.

## How Freshdesk credentials are shared

Every user's tool calls use the one API key you provided, so Freshdesk sees a single shared identity. C1 still attributes each call to the individual user in the [AI tool usage audit log](/product/admin/audit-ai-tool-usage). For a shared production setup, create the API key from a dedicated service-account agent so activity is attributable to C1 rather than a person.

For how shared and per-user credentials work across MCP servers, see [Configure authentication](/product/admin/mcp-servers#configure-authentication).

## Register the Freshdesk MCP server in C1

With your API key ready, register the server and provide your credentials.

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Follow [Register an MCP server](/product/admin/mcp-servers#register-an-mcp-server) and select **Freshdesk** from the catalog.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    When you [configure authentication](/product/admin/mcp-servers#configure-authentication), choose **Basic auth**, enter your Freshdesk API key as the username, and enter any placeholder such as `X` as the password.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Save your changes. C1 starts a sync that discovers the tools the Freshdesk server exposes.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Discover and govern tools

After you register the server, C1 runs tool discovery against Freshdesk. Discovered tools appear on the server's **Tools** tab.

Each tool starts as either **Pending review** or automatically **Approved**, depending on the option chosen when the server was set up or your tenant's default tool settings in **Settings** > **AI Connections**. See [Require tool approval](/product/admin/enable-ai-access-management#require-tool-approval) and [Default tool classification](/product/admin/enable-ai-access-management#default-tool-classification).

Before anyone can call a Freshdesk tool, it must be approved, added to a toolset, and bound to an access profile. Continue to [Govern tools and toolsets](/product/admin/tools-and-toolsets) to set this up.

<Note>
  Tool discovery runs even if your credentials are incorrect, so seeing discovered tools doesn't confirm that authentication is working. You confirm your Freshdesk credentials when an approved user successfully calls a Freshdesk tool from their AI client.
</Note>

## Manage your Freshdesk credentials

* **Rotate the API key** by resetting it in Freshdesk, then update the username on the server's authentication settings in C1.
* **Adjust access** by changing the role of the agent whose API key you use.