> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://chatbase.co/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ticket statuses in the Helpdesk

> What each status means, what changes when a ticket moves into it, and how to add your own.

Every status belongs to one of six status categories. The category decides how the Helpdesk treats the ticket, and you can add your own statuses inside each one.

## The six categories

| Category | What it means | Use it when |
| - | - | - |
| New | No one has picked the ticket up. | Every ticket starts here. |
| On you | Your team owes the next step. | You're working on it, or the customer just replied. |
| On hold | Parked until something outside the chat happens. | You're waiting on another team, a supplier or a fix. |
| On customer | Waiting for the customer. | You asked the customer a question. |
| Closed | Solved. | You're done. |
| Cancelled | Closed without being solved. | Spam, duplicates or mistakes. |

> [!WARNING]
>
> Waiting on the customer? Use On customer, not Closed. Closing or cancelling hands the chat back to the AI agent, so the customer's reply goes to the AI agent instead of your team. On customer keeps the AI agent out and moves to On you when the customer replies.

## What each category changes

| | Open (New, On you, On hold, On customer) | Closed | Cancelled |
| - | - | - | - |
| AI agent | Stays out | [Takes the chat back](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/ticket-lifecycle.md#handing-the-conversation-back-to-the-ai-agent) | Takes the chat back |
| Inbox view | All, plus Unassigned with no assignee | Solved | Solved |
| Agent workload | Counts. Teams can exclude On hold and On customer in [Teams](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/teams.md). | Doesn't count | Doesn't count |
| [Satisfaction survey](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/satisfaction-surveys.md) | No | Sent | No |
| Chat tickets [lock](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/ticket-lifecycle.md#locked-tickets) | No | Yes | Yes |

See [what replies do to the status](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/ticket-lifecycle.md#what-replies-do-to-the-status).

## Managing statuses

Go to **Settings → Helpdesk → Ticket statuses**. Each category starts with one status of the same name, marked **Default**. The Helpdesk uses the default when it changes a status by itself, such as after a customer reply or a trigger.

**1. Click Add status under a category**

You can't move a status to another category later.

**2. Fill in the dialog**

| Field | What it's for |
| - | - |
| Label visible internally | The name and color your team sees. |
| Label visible to customers | The name for customers, for example `{{ticket.status_external}}` in trigger emails. |
| Description | When your team should use it. |

**3. Click Add status**

![The Add status dialog showing the internal label, customer-facing label, and description fields](https://mintcdn.com/chatbase/CXR-VwEzOKDmjuQs/user-guides/images/help-desk/add-status.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=CXR-VwEzOKDmjuQs\&q=85\&s=c52d1f740644fbe4a126ed6625916a19)

Each status has **Edit**, **Set as default**, **Archive** and **Restore** in its menu. Drag a status to reorder it.

* You can't archive the default, or a category's last active status.
* Archived statuses can't be set on tickets. Use **Restore** to bring one back.

## Using statuses elsewhere

[Filters](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/filters.md) and [triggers](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/triggers.md) can match a category or one status. Trigger emails can use `{{ticket.status}}` and `{{ticket.status_external}}`. The [Helpdesk API](https://chatbase.co/docs/api-reference/v2/helpdesk.md) can set either.


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