# Move from Help Scout to Rinhelp

Help Scout conversations with every thread, their customers, your saved replies and your Docs articles move to Rinhelp. Mind the list call: without status=all it returns only active conversations, and closed history goes missing without a warning.

| Conversations | Time to read them |
| --- | --- |
| 1,000 | about 3 minutes |
| 10,000 | about 25 minutes |

Limit used: 400 requests a minute (Plus plan, Inbox API), about 1 per conversation. Rinhelp takes up to 3,000 conversations a minute. Importing is free: it never emails your customers, never runs Rin and never counts toward a plan.

Help Scout’s Free plan has no API, so you may need to upgrade before moving. For Docs, you also create a separate Docs API key.

## Measured

| Site | Articles | Sections | Time | Conversations | Messages |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| docs.helpscout.com | 300 | 7 | 9 minutes, then 1 to publish | 65 | 202 |

Measured on 2026-10-29 with Claude Code over MCP: https://github.com/wilbertliu/rinhelp/issues/648

## Prompt for a chat app

Connect Help Scout’s MCP server at https://mcp.helpscout.net/mcp next to Rinhelp and work through https://rinhelp.com/migrate/help-scout.md. It can read my saved replies, Docs and conversations, but it can’t open attachment files, so leave files for a full import.

## Prompt for a coding agent

Import my whole Help Scout history into Rinhelp by following https://rinhelp.com/migrate/help-scout.md; ask me for Inbox API access and a Docs API key. Always list with status=all and fetch threads per conversation, because chat threads come back shortened. Everyone on our account shares the limit, so leave room for my team.

## Words

| Their word | Rinhelp |
| --- | --- |
| Conversation | Conversation |
| Customer or message thread | Message |
| Note thread | Note |
| Customer | Customer |
| Collection | Section |
| Article | Article |
| Saved reply | Saved reply |

## What stays behind

- Workflows
- Beacon
- Reports
- Inbox permissions

## Facts

- The Inbox API allows 200 calls a minute on Standard, 400 on Plus and 800 on Pro. Vendor page: https://docs.helpscout.com/article/1140-mailbox-api (checked 2026-10-31)
- Help Scout’s Free plan has no API at all. Vendor page: https://docs.helpscout.com/article/1140-mailbox-api (checked 2026-10-31)
- Everyone on a Help Scout account shares one limit, and each write or conversation search counts twice. Vendor page: https://developer.helpscout.com/mailbox-api/overview/rate-limiting (checked 2026-10-31)
- The conversation list returns only active conversations unless you add status=all. Vendor page: https://developer.helpscout.com/mailbox-api/endpoints/conversations/list/ (checked 2026-10-31)
- Threads can be embedded in the conversation list, but chat threads arrive shortened there. Vendor page: https://developer.helpscout.com/mailbox-api/endpoints/conversations/list/ (checked 2026-10-31)
- Each thread is typed as customer, message or note, and lists its attachments with data and download links. Vendor page: https://developer.helpscout.com/mailbox-api/endpoints/conversations/threads/list/ (checked 2026-10-31)
- Saved replies are listed one inbox at a time, and chat-only ones are left out unless you ask for them. Vendor page: https://developer.helpscout.com/mailbox-api/endpoints/inboxes/saved_Replies/saved-replies-list/ (checked 2026-10-31)
- Docs has its own API at docsapi.helpscout.net, with its own key and a lower limit counted over 10 minutes. Vendor page: https://developer.helpscout.com/docs-api/ (checked 2026-10-31)
- Docs lists articles in a collection 100 per page at most, with a status filter. Vendor page: https://developer.helpscout.com/docs-api/articles/list/ (checked 2026-10-31)
- Help Scout’s official MCP server is read-only for new connections and works on any plan with API access. Vendor page: https://docs.helpscout.com/article/1779-connect-your-ai-agent-with-help-scout-to-search-conversations-and-pull-reports (checked 2026-10-31)

## Steps

Import source: `helpscout`

Connect Rinhelp's MCP server, https://mcp.rinhelp.com/mcp, then follow https://mcp.rinhelp.com/migrate.md step by step with the facts above.

1. [Connect your AI agent](https://docs.rinhelp.com/articles/98a0def1-a07d-4c34-9f19-4d168626b40c-connect-your-ai-agent)
2. [Move to Rinhelp with your AI agent](https://docs.rinhelp.com/articles/5a2a3f45-4e61-4daf-8d23-570a8bfc24a1-move-to-rinhelp-with-your-ai-agent)
3. [Import your help center articles](https://docs.rinhelp.com/articles/a79b3172-a803-44a2-9236-0ab73d56b051-import-your-help-center-articles)
4. [Keep your old help center links working](https://docs.rinhelp.com/articles/ba9cf0f3-9740-4c90-9ca5-7a9a0ef0b450-keep-your-old-help-center-links-working)
5. [Import saved replies](https://docs.rinhelp.com/articles/5d8f8400-2a36-4974-a646-c9f04a41361d-import-saved-replies)
6. [Import past conversations](https://docs.rinhelp.com/articles/7e85f2b0-336d-4774-850a-826951d9585c-import-past-conversations)
7. [Switch your support email to Rinhelp](https://docs.rinhelp.com/articles/44c7935d-ccee-409b-83ac-fa4e5f762eb0-switch-your-support-email-to-rinhelp)
8. [Replace your chat widget](https://docs.rinhelp.com/articles/031f9d71-579b-4229-8f50-3eee8e31c277-replace-your-chat-widget)

## Questions

### Why are my closed Help Scout conversations missing?

Help Scout’s list only returns active conversations by default. Your AI agent has to add status=all to see the rest.

### Do my chat-only saved replies come across?

Yes, once your AI agent asks for them, since Help Scout leaves them out of each inbox’s list by default. They arrive as shared plain text.

### Will the move slow my team down in Help Scout?

It can, because everyone on the account shares one limit, 400 calls a minute on Plus. Run the full history at a quiet time.

By Wilbert Liu, founder of Rinhelp. Page: https://rinhelp.com/migrate/help-scout