How to replace the Zendesk iFrame app

By Jake Marsh · Updated

Zendesk's built-in iFrame app was removed from the Marketplace on April 7, 2026 and stopped working on October 21, 2026. To keep showing a page or dashboard per ticket, install Panewell, open Panewell > Set up > New panel, paste the page's https link with tokens such as {{requester.external_id}} where the value goes, allow its host, preview on a real ticket and click Save panel. Each old iFrame app install becomes one panel.

What Zendesk says

Zendesk's announcement of the discontinued apps lists the iFrame app with April 7, 2026 for removal from the Marketplace, June 30, 2026 for end of support and October 21, 2026 as the date it stops working. Its suggested replacement is building your own app with App Builder.

Steps

  1. List what you embed today. For each iFrame app install, note the URL, which ticket values it uses, and where it shows.
  2. Install Panewell from the Zendesk Marketplace. There are no install settings.
  3. Create a panel per page. Open Panewell from the left navigation bar, choose Set up, then New panel, and paste the URL.
  4. Put tokens in the link. Tokens can go anywhere after the host, for example https://admin.example.com/customers/{{requester.external_id}}. Or add filters, which become query parameters.
  5. Allow the host. Panewell only shows https pages from hosts on its Allowed hosts list. *.example.com covers every subdomain.
  6. Choose the place. Ticket sidebar, user profile sidebar, organization sidebar or the full Panewell page.
  7. Preview with a real record and Save panel. Then remove the old iFrame app.

Moving the settings across

What you hadHow it works in Panewell
One URL with ticket values appendedOne panel with tokens in the link or filters
Several iFrame app installsSeveral panels; in the same place they become tabs
A page that needs sign-inAllow its sign-in host in Set up, or agents use Open full size once
A page only some teams needFor agents in these groups and On tickets of these brands
A link agents open in a new tabA Link buttons panel, up to 8 buttons with tokens in their links

Tokens you can use

TokenValue
requester.email, requester.id, requester.external_id, requester.name, requester.field.<key>The requester, or the user on a user profile
organization.id, organization.name, organization.external_id, organization.field.<key>The ticket's or user's organization
ticket.id, ticket.brand.id, ticket.group.id, ticket.form.id, ticket.field.<id>The ticket (ticket sidebar only)
agent.id, agent.emailThe signed-in agent

Spellings like ticket.requester.external_id and ticket.custom_field_360012345 are accepted too. Values are URL-encoded, so they can never change the host, add a path segment or add a parameter.

What's different from a plain iframe

  • Never unfiltered. If a value is empty, the panel isn't loaded and says which value is missing.
  • Only allowed hosts. The list is checked when a panel is saved and every time a link is built, and the sidebar refuses frames from any other host.
  • BI links understood. Links from Looker Studio, Looker, Metabase, Tableau, Power BI and Grafana get their filters in each tool's own format.

What it costs

Panewell is $5 a month per agent, billed monthly by Zendesk, with a 14-day free trial (Zendesk asks for a card at install) and up to 40 panels. See the Panewell documentation for every setting.

Panewell

Customer BI dashboards in the ticket, filtered to the customer on screen. Looker, Power BI, Tableau. $5 a month per agent.

Install PanewellAbout PanewellDocumentation

Questions

My page shows a blank frame in Panewell. Why?

The page doesn't allow being framed by Zendesk. Allow your Zendesk address and https://*.apps.zdusercontent.com in its framing or embedding settings.

Can a panel use a custom ticket field?

Yes, with ticket.field.<id> and the field's numeric id. Drop-down fields give their tag value, checkboxes true or false.

Can I keep using an IP address or localhost URL?

No. Panewell refuses IP addresses, localhost and broad wildcards. Use an https host name.

Do I need to write code?

No. Panels are set up in Panewell's own Set up screen, with a preview on a real ticket.

More Panewell guides

More Zendesk guides