Zammad — Open-Source Helpdesk and Ticketing System

Introduction

Zammad is a web-based helpdesk and customer support platform that consolidates communication channels into a unified ticketing system. Built with Ruby on Rails and Vue.js, it supports email, chat, phone, Twitter, and Facebook as ticket sources. Teams self-host Zammad to manage customer requests, track SLAs, and automate support workflows under the AGPL-3.0 license.

What Zammad Does

• Creates tickets from email, web forms, chat, phone, and social media
• Provides a unified agent dashboard for managing all customer interactions
• Tracks SLAs with automatic escalation and notification rules
• Offers a customer-facing knowledge base for self-service support
• Generates reports and analytics on ticket volume, response times, and agent performance

Architecture Overview

Zammad is a Ruby on Rails application with a Vue.js frontend, backed by PostgreSQL for data storage, Elasticsearch for full-text search, and Redis for caching and background jobs. The application uses WebSockets for real-time ticket updates in the agent interface. Background workers handle email fetching, notifications, and scheduled tasks. All components are orchestrated via Docker Compose.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Deploy using the official Docker Compose stack with PostgreSQL and Elasticsearch
• Configure email channels via IMAP/SMTP for incoming and outgoing ticket mail
• Set up LDAP or SAML integration for single sign-on authentication
• Define SLA policies with business hours and escalation triggers
• Customize ticket forms, macros, and automated triggers through the admin UI

Key Features

• Multi-channel support: email, chat, phone, Twitter, Facebook, Telegram
• Full-text search across all tickets, articles, and attachments
• Knowledge base with multilingual support and public/internal articles
• Customizable roles, groups, and permissions for agent teams
• REST API and GraphQL API for automation and third-party integrations

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Chatwoot — focused on live chat; less mature ticketing and SLA features
• osTicket — PHP-based; simpler but lacks modern UI and real-time updates
• Freshdesk — SaaS-only; not self-hostable
• OTRS — enterprise ticketing; complex setup and commercial licensing

FAQ

Q: What are the system requirements for Zammad? A: Minimum 4 CPU cores, 8 GB RAM, and 40 GB disk. Elasticsearch requires additional memory based on ticket volume.

Q: Can Zammad handle multiple brands or products? A: Yes. Use groups and email channels to separate ticket queues. Each group can have its own SLA, signature, and agent assignment.

Q: Does Zammad support ITIL processes? A: Zammad focuses on customer support rather than full ITIL. It handles incident management but does not include change or problem management modules.

Q: How do I migrate from another helpdesk to Zammad? A: Zammad provides built-in importers for Zendesk, OTRS, Freshdesk, and Kayako. CSV import is available for generic migrations.

Sources

• https://github.com/zammad/zammad
• https://docs.zammad.org
• https://zammad.org