Tool dock actions reference
Tool docks aren’t passive frames — they can read the conversation they’re embedded in and trigger actions back in Atender. This page lists what’s available.
Context the dock receives
When a tool dock opens (or when the agent moves to a different conversation), Atender sends the dock the current conversation context:
- Conversation ID — The unique ID of the open conversation.
- Customer details — The contact’s name, email, phone, and any custom contact fields.
- Conversation tags — Any tags currently applied to the conversation.
- Conversation metadata — Channel, status, assignee, timestamps.
Use this to pre-load the right customer record, the right ticket, or the right project as soon as the dock appears.
Actions the dock can trigger
A tool dock can send messages back to Atender to perform any of the following actions:
- Add tag — Applies a tag to the current conversation. — After processing a refund in your billing tool, automatically tag the conversation
refunded. - Assign — Assigns the conversation to a specific agent or team. — Hand off to the right team based on what the dock determined the case is.
- Resolve — Marks the conversation as Done. — When the dock’s workflow ends with the case resolved (e.g., the refund was issued).
- Snooze — Snoozes the conversation until a chosen time. — When the dock’s workflow ends in “waiting on supplier” or similar.
- Send message — Sends a message to the customer in the conversation. — Push a copy-pasteable response from the integration into the customer thread.
These are deliberate, scoped actions — not arbitrary access to the Atender API. The agent who originated the conversation context is the actor; nothing happens silently.
How docks talk to Atender
Custom iFrame integrations communicate with Atender via standard browser messaging APIs. The dock posts a message describing the action it wants to take; Atender validates it and performs the action against the conversation the dock is currently embedded in. Marketplace integrations use the same plumbing under the hood — they’re just shipped with that wiring already done.
If you’re building an iFrame integration and need the exact message format, contact your Atender deployment lead — they can supply the integration spec for your environment.
What the dock can’t do
A tool dock is scoped to the conversation it’s embedded in. It cannot:
- Modify other conversations
- Change tenant-wide settings
- Read or write to your Atender API beyond the listed actions
- Persist data outside the integration’s own backend
Anything you want the integration to do beyond the listed actions belongs in your integration’s backend, not in the dock. The dock is a workflow surface, not an admin tool.