Key takeaways
- Text and PDF transcripts exclude internal notes.
- Dataset CSV exports are reporting data, with no message content.
- Through the API, a conversation returns at most its 500 most recent parts.
- Configuration such as Workflows, Fin settings and saved replies is documented by hand, not exported.
Every export route at a glance
| What | Where | Format | Limits Intercom documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversations or tickets | Inbox | Text or PDF | Internal notes excluded; 200 to 300 per bulk operation |
| A saved view | Inbox, saved view | CSV | Needs the export permission; very large views are refused |
| Reporting datasets | Reports, Dataset export | CSV | No message content |
| All conversations | Settings, Data, Imports and exports | JSON or JSONL to Amazon S3 or Google Cloud Storage | Historical export of up to two years, then hourly or daily exports |
| Users, leads, companies | Contacts list, More, Export | CSV by email | Link expires after one hour; only the most recent company’s name and ID |
| Articles | Articles API only | JSON | No UI export |
Before relying on the cloud storage export as an archive, open one exported file and confirm the message bodies you need are there.
The REST API
The API is the complete route, and the one a migration uses: list conversations, then retrieve each one by ID for its thread.
- Threads: retrieving a conversation returns at most the 500 most recent parts. Check your longest threads.
- Rate limits: private apps get 10,000 calls a minute per app and 25,000 per workspace by default, spread over 10-second windows, and every app on the workspace shares the workspace limit.
- Attachments: parts carry attachment URLs. Download each file as you read its conversation, not in a later pass.
Exporting to move to another helpdesk?
Then you may not need an export file at all. A migration reads Intercom’s API directly, keeps contacts, companies and conversations linked, and runs again at cut-over for what changed. With DataGrine you can run it self-serve on the platform or have the migration team handle it end to end, with 24/7 support either way. See Intercom to Zendesk, Intercom to Freshdesk, or moving between two Intercom workspaces.