How to deactivate and delete unused macros in Zendesk in bulk

To clean up unused Zendesk macros in bulk, install Quillmend, open it from the left navigation bar and tick Not used in 30 days. Click Select all N shown, choose Deactivate, click Preview changes and then Apply to N macros. Once you're sure, filter to inactive macros and run Delete (kept in history). Quillmend keeps a copy of every macro, so History can bring any of them back.

Why deactivate first

Zendesk deletes only inactive macros, and a macro deleted on the Macros page can't be recovered. Deactivating takes a macro out of agents' lists but keeps it, so a quiet period of deactivation is the safer first step. Quillmend follows the same rule: a delete is blocked on any macro that is still active, with the message to deactivate it first, which is its own change with its own undo.

Steps

1. Filter to unused macros. On the Macros tab, tick Not used in 30 days. The count next to the filter shows how many shared macros match. Combine it with Category or Available for to clean up one team's macros at a time.
2. Check the list. Each row shows the category, who it's available for, Uses (30 days) and when it was last updated. A seasonal macro may be unused for a month and still needed.
3. Select them. Click rows, or Select all N shown.
4. Choose Deactivate and click Preview changes. Every macro that would change is listed.
5. Click Apply to N macros. Quillmend asks you to confirm, then deactivates one macro at a time. You can use Stop after this macro at any point; what already changed stays in History.
6. Wait, then delete. When nobody has missed them, set Status to inactive, select the macros and run Delete (kept in history) the same way.

What happens to a deleted macro

Undo copies are kept until you remove them. History's Clear button removes the copies older than the Keep undo copies for (days) setting, 365 by default. Nothing is removed automatically.

About the 30-day count

Usage is Zendesk's own 30-day count. Quillmend doesn't track usage beyond 30 days. A macro used once a quarter shows 0 in two months out of three, so read the titles before you delete.

Macros that point at something gone

Zendesk notes that a macro whose actions include unavailable values can't be deactivated: the attempt fails and the macro stays active. Tick Broken references to see them: macros that set a deleted group, an agent who left, an inactive field or form, a removed dropdown option or a gone brand. Fix the value with Change a value, or, if the macro isn't needed, fix it and then deactivate it. The Zendesk macros article explains the native rules.

What it costs

Quillmend is priced per Zendesk account by the number of shared macros, active and inactive: Team $99 a month for up to 25, Professional $199 a month for up to 250, and Enterprise $349 a month for any number. Every plan has every feature and a 14-day free trial; Zendesk asks for a card at install and bills monthly. Inactive macros count toward the plan, so deleting the ones you don't need also keeps the library inside it. The full reference is in the Quillmend documentation.