Editing articles in the knowledge base


Knowledge admins can edit all existing articles in the knowledge base. Agents who are not Knowledge admins can create and edit articles if they havemanagement permissions. End users can't contribute articles to the knowledge base. See thecomplete list of agent privilegesfor existing published articles.


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Summary: ◀▼
You can edit existing knowledge base articles if you have the right permissions. The article editor lets you format text, add links, images, videos, and tables, and edit HTML within limits. Warnings appear for API-managed or legacy articles. Save drafts, preview changes, or publish articles when ready. Bulk updates are also possible for multiple articles.




Knowledge admins can edit all existing articles in the knowledge base. Agents who are not
Knowledge admins can create and edit articles if they have management permissions. End users can't contribute articles to the
knowledge base. See the complete list of agent privileges for existing
published articles.
In some cases, a banner appears at the top of the article when you open it in edit mode with
messaging that explains the risks of editing and/or saving the article. Specifically, banners
appear for the following:

API-managed articles: Banner notifies you that any content you edit locally in
the article will be overwritten the next time article content is updated through the API.

Note: When editing API-generated articles using the article
editor, you may encounter formatting issues resulting from the blended workflow. For
best practices and help troubleshooting these issues, see Preserving article editor formatting when updating help
center articles using the API.


Legacy editor articles: Banner recommends you preview your changes before saving
and migrating to the current article editor. If you aren't happy with the previewed
article, you can close without saving to retain the unmigrated article.


There are some article updates that you can make on multiple articles in bulk. For more
information, see Updating knowledge base articles in bulk.
To edit knowledge base articles.

Open an article in edit mode by doing one of the following:
In help center, navigate to the article you want to
edit, then click Edit article in the top menu bar.

In Knowledge admin, click Manage articles
( ) in the sidebar. Search for the article, then click the title to open it.



(Select users) If you see a warning at the top of the article for API-managed
or legacy editor articles, review the message, then click Edit content on the
banner and the subsequent modal to proceed.

If you need to update the management permissions or placement of the article, see Configure article settings.
Edit the article content.

Use the article editor's toolbar for formatting options or to add links, images, or
tables. This toolbar is not the same as the toolbar in community posts.
For
information, see the following articles about:
Using the toolbar
Inserting and editing links
Inserting images and videos

Working with tables




Edit the HTML source by clicking the
HTML button at the end of the editor's toolbar.


Note: To keep your help center secure and provide the best
experience for your end users, Zendesk limits the HTML you can use in articles.
For information, see Allowing unsafe HTML in articles.


Format article and content block text using markdown. See Formatting text with Markdown for a list of supported
Markdown commands.



When you are finished working on your article, do one of the following:
To save your new article as a draft or work in progress to publish later, click
Save.
Click Preview to view the article in your help center.
When you're ready to publish your article, click the drop-down arrow on the
Save button, then select Publish.




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"@type": "TechArticle",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9185667124506",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9185667124506",
"headline": "Editing articles in the knowledge base",
"description": "You can edit existing knowledge base articles if you have the required permissions, using the article editor to update content, format text, and manage article settings before saving or publishing changes.",
"articleSection": "Working with articles in the knowledge base",
"datePublished": "2025-04-25T14:36:06+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-04-23T19:57:14.201322+00:00",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
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"@id": "https://www.zendesk.com"
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"@id": "https://www.zendesk.com"
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"softwareAddOn": {
"@type": "SoftwareApplication",
"name": "Knowledge",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/4405298860954"
}
}
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