Helps with everything related to using Front — an AI-powered customer operations platform combining shared inbox, omnichannel support, AI automation (Autopilot, Copilot), ticketing, knowledge base, and a full REST API with webhooks. Used by 9,000+ companies for support, operations, and account management.
Step 1 — Gather context
If references/learnings.md exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge.
Ask the user:
- What are you trying to do with Front?
- A) Set up Front for the first time
- B) Configure shared inbox routing and assignments
- C) Set up AI features (Autopilot, Copilot, Smart QA)
- D) Build an API integration or webhook listener
- E) Connect Front to CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot)
- F) Compare Front to alternatives
- G) Troubleshoot performance or data issues
- H) Something else — describe it
- Which plan are you on (or considering)?
- A) Starter ($25/seat/mo) — up to 10 seats, single channel, basic analytics
- B) Professional ($65/seat/mo) — up to 50 seats, omnichannel, SSO/SCIM
- C) Enterprise ($105/seat/mo) — unlimited seats, Copilot/QA/CSAT included
- D) Not sure yet / free trial
If the user's request already provides most of this context, skip directly to the relevant step. Lead with your best-effort answer using reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly), then ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions at the end.
Step 2 — Route or answer directly
If the request maps to another skill, route:
- Comparing help desk platforms → "Run:
/sales-helpdesk-selection {user's original question}" - CCaaS / contact center evaluation → "Run:
/sales-ccaas-selection {user's original question}" - CRM integration strategy → "Run:
/sales-integration {user's original question}" - Live chat strategy → "Run:
/sales-live-chat {user's original question}" - Chatbot strategy → "Run:
/sales-chatbot {user's original question}"
Otherwise, answer directly from the platform reference below.
Step 3 — Front platform reference
Read references/platform-guide.md for the full platform reference — capabilities, pricing, plan gates, API details, data model, integration recipes, and code examples.
Answer the user's question using only the relevant section. Don't dump the full reference.
Step 4 — Actionable guidance
You no longer need the platform guide — focus on the user's specific situation.
For shared inbox routing:
- Use Rules to auto-assign based on sender domain, subject keywords, or channel
- Round-robin assignment distributes evenly across team members
- Starter plan allows only 10 automation rules — Professional allows 20, Enterprise unlimited
- Tag conversations for reporting and routing — tags are API-accessible
For AI feature setup:
- Copilot ($20/seat add-on, included in Enterprise) assists agents with draft suggestions
- Smart QA ($20/seat add-on) auto-scores 100% of conversations
- Smart CSAT ($10/seat add-on) predicts satisfaction without survey fatigue
- Autopilot resolves routine requests end-to-end — monitor resolution quality weekly
For API integrations:
- Start with an API token for testing, switch to OAuth for production
- Rate limits are per-company: 50 rpm (Starter), 100 rpm (Professional), 200 rpm (Enterprise)
- Use cursor-based pagination with
page_token— max 100 results per page - Webhooks support application-level and rule-level events — use application webhooks for production
If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in references/learnings.md, append it there.
Gotchas
Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about plan-gated features and pricing that may change.
- Starter plan is very limited. Only 10 seats, 1 channel type, 10 automation rules, basic analytics. Most teams need Professional ($65/seat) for omnichannel and SSO.
- AI add-ons are expensive. Copilot ($20/seat) + Smart QA ($20/seat) + Smart CSAT ($10/seat) = $50/seat on top of base price. Enterprise ($105/seat) includes all three — do the math.
- Rate limits are low on Starter. 50 rpm per company (not per token). Heavy API integrations need Professional (100 rpm) or Enterprise (200 rpm).
- No built-in phone/voice. Front handles email, chat, SMS, social — but no native telephony. Integrate with Aircall, Dialpad, or similar for voice.
- Conversation search API is fragile. Users report 400 errors with "Unsupported search modifier" — stick to documented query parameters and test thoroughly.
- Analytics can show zero values. Reports may return 0 for
num_messages_senteven when messages exist — known intermittent issue. - Self-improving: If you discover something not covered here, append it to
references/learnings.mdwith today's date.
Related skills
/sales-helpdesk-selection— Compare help desk platforms (Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Help Scout, Hiver, Missive, Front, etc.). Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-helpdesk-selection -a claude-code/sales-missive— Missive collaborative team inbox (internal threads, co-drafting, API). Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-missive -a claude-code/sales-hiver— Hiver Gmail-native shared inbox (AI copilot, SLAs). Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-hiver -a claude-code/sales-gmelius— Gmelius Gmail AI collaboration (Meli assistant, Kanban boards). Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-gmelius -a claude-code/sales-zendesk— Zendesk platform help (ticketing, Help Center, AI agents, API)/sales-integration— Connect help desk to CRM and other tools/sales-do— Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install:npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do -a claude-code
Examples
Example 1: Connect Front to HubSpot via API
User says: "How do I sync Front conversations to HubSpot so our sales team can see support history on contact records?" Skill does:
- Reads platform guide for API and integration details
- Explains two approaches: native HubSpot integration (Professional+) or custom API sync
- For API approach: use webhooks to listen for conversation events, then POST to HubSpot API
- Provides webhook setup steps and example payload
- Notes rate limit considerations (100 rpm on Professional) Result: Clear integration architecture with code pointers
Example 2: Reduce Front costs for a growing team
User says: "We're paying $85/seat for 30 agents on Front Professional and it's getting expensive. Are there cheaper options?" Skill does:
- Calculates current cost: 30 x $85 = $2,550/mo (monthly) or 30 x $65 = $1,950/mo (annual)
- Notes switching to annual billing saves $600/mo
- Compares alternatives: Missive ($36/seat = $1,080/mo), Hiver ($49/seat = $1,470/mo), Freshdesk ($49/agent = $1,470/mo)
- Routes to
/sales-helpdesk-selectionfor full comparison Result: Cost analysis with migration options
Example 3: Front API search returning errors
User says: "I'm getting 400 Bad Request when calling the conversations search endpoint. My query worked last week." Skill does:
- Identifies this as a known issue — the search API is strict about query modifiers
- Explains documented query format and common pitfalls
- Suggests testing with minimal query parameters first, then adding filters
- Notes the search endpoint has a reduced rate limit (40% of global limit)
- Recommends checking Front status page and community for active incidents Result: Specific debugging steps for the search API
Troubleshooting
Conversation search API returning 400 errors
Symptom: GET /conversations/search/:query returns "Unsupported search modifier provided"
Cause: The search endpoint is strict about query syntax. Unsupported or malformed modifiers trigger 400 errors. API changes can break previously working queries.
Solution: Use only documented search modifiers. Test with a minimal query first (?q=test), then add modifiers one at a time. Check the API changelog at dev.frontapp.com for breaking changes. The search endpoint also has a reduced rate limit (40% of your plan's global limit) — hitting this returns 429, not 400.
Analytics reports showing zero values
Symptom: num_messages_sent and num_messages_received return 0 in analytics exports despite visible messages
Cause: Known intermittent issue — analytics aggregation can lag or fail for certain time ranges.
Solution: Try a different time range. Export via the UI to compare against API results. If the issue persists, contact Front support with specific conversation IDs and time ranges. For real-time message counts, query the Core API directly (GET /conversations/:id/messages) instead of analytics endpoints.
Auto-assignment routing emails to wrong team member
Symptom: Emails getting assigned to a specific person without any rules configured Cause: Front may auto-assign based on previous conversation history or contact ownership. If a contact previously interacted with a specific agent, Front may route new conversations to them. Solution: Check Rules for any assignment rules you may have forgotten. Review contact ownership settings. If using round-robin, verify the assignment rule scope covers the right inboxes. Create an explicit assignment rule to override default behavior.