Intercom Install & Auth

Overview

Set up the official intercom-client TypeScript SDK and configure authentication via access tokens (private apps) or OAuth (public apps). This skill installs the SDK with a Bash npm command, uses Write to create the client config and .env, and verifies the connection.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm, pnpm, or yarn
• Intercom workspace with Developer Hub access
• Access token from Configure > Authentication in your app settings

Instructions

Step 1: Install the SDK

npm install intercom-client

The package exports IntercomClient and all TypeScript types under the Intercom namespace.

Step 2: Configure Access Token Authentication

Access tokens authenticate private apps that access your own Intercom workspace. Use Write to create the client module and a .env holding the token (add .env to .gitignore):

import { IntercomClient } from "intercom-client";

const client = new IntercomClient({
  token: process.env.INTERCOM_ACCESS_TOKEN!,
});

See examples.md for the full .env setup and secure-storage steps.

Step 3: Verify Connection

List admins to confirm the token authenticates end-to-end:

const admins = await client.admins.list();
console.log("Connected! Admins:", admins.admins.length);

The complete verification function (with error handling and expected output) is in examples.md.

Step 4: OAuth Setup (Public Apps)

For a public app that accesses other workspaces, run the OAuth authorization → token-exchange flow, then initialize the client with the returned token:

const client = new IntercomClient({ token: oauthToken });

Full OAuth exchange, API-version pinning, and the scope matrix are in oauth.md.

Output

Running this skill produces:

• intercom-client installed in node_modules and added to package.json.
• A configured IntercomClient module authenticated via access token or OAuth.
• A .env holding INTERCOM_ACCESS_TOKEN (private app) or INTERCOM_CLIENT_ID / INTERCOM_CLIENT_SECRET (OAuth), with .env gitignored.
• A verified connection — client.admins.list() returns your workspace admins, confirming the token and API version (2.11, applied automatically by the SDK) are correct.

Error Handling

Common authentication failures and fixes:

Error	HTTP Code	Cause	Solution
unauthorized	401	Invalid or expired token	Regenerate in Developer Hub
forbidden	403	Missing OAuth scope	Add required scope in app config
token_revoked	401	Token was revoked	Generate new access token
invalid_grant	400	OAuth code expired	Restart OAuth flow

Catch IntercomError to branch on statusCode — the full typed pattern is in error-handling.md.

Examples

See examples.md for three worked setups: the access-token client (private app, the common path), a connection-verify function with expected output, and an OAuth client (public app).

Minimal working setup:

import { IntercomClient } from "intercom-client";

const client = new IntercomClient({ token: process.env.INTERCOM_ACCESS_TOKEN! });
const admins = await client.admins.list();
console.log("Connected! Admins:", admins.admins.length);

Resources

• OAuth, versioning & scopes — public-app deep dive.
• Error handling reference — full error matrix.
• Worked examples — copy-paste setups.
• Authentication Guide
• OAuth Scopes
• Setting up OAuth
• intercom-client npm

Next Steps

After successful authentication, proceed to the intercom-hello-world skill to make your first API call — create a contact, then fetch it back to confirm read and write both work with your configured client.