Building a Real-Time Agent Availability Dashboard with Genesys Cloud WebSockets and React

What You Will Build

• A React component that renders a live list of agents with their current availability state, updating instantly as presence events stream from Genesys Cloud.
• This implementation uses the Genesys Cloud Real-Time WebSocket API for presence updates and the REST API for initial user enumeration.
• The code is written in TypeScript with React 18, including production-grade exponential backoff reconnection logic and comprehensive error handling.

Prerequisites

• Genesys Cloud OAuth2 client credentials (client_id and client_secret)
• Required OAuth scopes: presence:read, user:read
• Node.js 18 or higher
• React 18 project with TypeScript support
• External dependencies: axios, react, typescript
• Install dependencies: npm install axios

Authentication Setup

Genesys Cloud WebSockets require a valid bearer token. You must obtain the token via the OAuth2 client credentials flow before establishing the WebSocket connection. The token expires after 3600 seconds, so your application must cache and refresh it before expiration.

The following function handles token acquisition and caching. It includes retry logic for 429 rate-limit responses and explicit handling for 400/401 authentication failures.

import axios from "axios";

const GENESYS_REGION = process.env.REACT_APP_GENESYS_REGION || "us-east-1";
const CLIENT_ID = process.env.REACT_APP_CLIENT_ID!;
const CLIENT_SECRET = process.env.REACT_APP_CLIENT_SECRET!;
const TOKEN_URL = `https://api.${GENESYS_REGION}.mypurecloud.com/oauth/token`;

interface TokenResponse {
  access_token: string;
  expires_in: number;
  token_type: string;
  scope: string;
}

let cachedToken: string | null = null;
let tokenExpiry: number | null = null;

export async function getGenesysToken(): Promise<string> {
  if (cachedToken && tokenExpiry && Date.now() < tokenExpiry - 60000) {
    return cachedToken;
  }

  const payload = new URLSearchParams();
  payload.append("grant_type", "client_credentials");
  payload.append("client_id", CLIENT_ID);
  payload.append("client_secret", CLIENT_SECRET);
  payload.append("scope", "presence:read user:read");

  try {
    const response = await axios.post<TokenResponse>(TOKEN_URL, payload, {
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded" },
      maxRedirects: 0,
    });

    cachedToken = response.data.access_token;
    tokenExpiry = Date.now() + (response.data.expires_in * 1000);
    return cachedToken;
  } catch (error: any) {
    if (error.response?.status === 429) {
      const retryAfter = parseInt(error.response.headers["retry-after"] || "5", 10);
      await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, retryAfter * 1000));
      return getGenesysToken();
    }
    if (error.response?.status === 401 || error.response?.status === 400) {
      throw new Error("OAuth authentication failed. Verify client credentials and scopes.");
    }
    throw error;
  }
}

Implementation

Step 1: Establish the WebSocket Connection with Bearer Authentication

Genesys Cloud WebSockets use the same path structure as REST endpoints but over the wss:// protocol. The presence endpoint for the current authenticated user is /api/v2/users/me/presence. Standard WebSocket constructors do not support custom headers, so Genesys Cloud requires the bearer token to be passed as a query parameter.

The connection URL follows this pattern:
wss://api.{region}.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/users/me/presence?access_token={token}

You must validate the handshake response. Genesys Cloud returns a 101 Switching Protocols on success. If the token is invalid or lacks the presence:read scope, the server closes the connection immediately with a 4001 or 1008 status code.

interface PresenceState {
  userId: string;
  userName: string;
  currentPresenceState: string;
  lastUpdated: string;
}

function initializeWebSocket(token: string): WebSocket {
  const wsUrl = `wss://api.${GENESYS_REGION}.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/users/me/presence?access_token=${token}`;
  const ws = new WebSocket(wsUrl);

  ws.onopen = () => {
    console.log("WebSocket connected to Genesys Cloud presence endpoint");
  };

  ws.onclose = (event) => {
    console.log(`WebSocket closed: code=${event.code}, reason=${event.reason}, wasClean=${event.wasClean}`);
  };

  ws.onerror = (error) => {
    console.error("WebSocket error encountered:", error);
  };

  return ws;
}

Step 2: Implement Exponential Backoff Reconnection Logic

Network interruptions, token expiration, and server-side restarts will terminate WebSocket connections. A naive reconnection loop will trigger 429 rate limits or exhaust connection quotas. You must implement exponential backoff with jitter to distribute reconnection attempts evenly across time.

The retry formula uses a base delay of 1000 milliseconds, doubles the delay per attempt, caps at 30000 milliseconds, and adds random jitter to prevent thundering herd scenarios.

interface ReconnectionConfig {
  maxAttempts: number;
  baseDelayMs: number;
  maxDelayMs: number;
}

const DEFAULT_RECONNECTION_CONFIG: ReconnectionConfig = {
  maxAttempts: 10,
  baseDelayMs: 1000,
  maxDelayMs: 30000,
};

function calculateBackoffDelay(attempt: number, config: ReconnectionConfig): number {
  const exponentialDelay = config.baseDelayMs * Math.pow(2, attempt);
  const jitter = Math.random() * config.baseDelayMs;
  return Math.min(exponentialDelay + jitter, config.maxDelayMs);
}

export function createReconnectionScheduler(
  reconnectFn: () => void,
  config: ReconnectionConfig = DEFAULT_RECONNECTION_CONFIG
): () => void {
  let attempt = 0;
  let timeoutId: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;

  const schedule = () => {
    if (attempt >= config.maxAttempts) {
      console.error("Maximum reconnection attempts reached. Aborting.");
      return;
    }

    const delay = calculateBackoffDelay(attempt, config);
    console.log(`Reconnection attempt ${attempt + 1} scheduled in ${delay.toFixed(0)}ms`);
    
    timeoutId = setTimeout(() => {
      attempt++;
      reconnectFn();
    }, delay);
  };

  return () => {
    if (timeoutId) clearTimeout(timeoutId);
    attempt = 0;
  };
}

Step 3: Parse Presence Events and Synchronize React State

The WebSocket streams JSON messages containing presence updates. Each message includes an eventType field and a data payload. You must filter for presenceUpdate events, extract the relevant fields, and merge them into React state. The component must also fetch the initial user list via REST to populate the dashboard before WebSocket events arrive.

The REST call to /api/v2/users requires pagination handling. You must follow the nextPage link until all users are retrieved. The code below demonstrates a single-page fetch for brevity, but includes the pagination structure.

import axios from "axios";
import { useEffect, useState, useRef, useCallback } from "react";

interface UserPresenceEvent {
  eventType: string;
  data: {
    userId: string;
    userName: string;
    currentPresenceState: string;
    lastUpdated: string;
  };
}

export function useAgentPresence() {
  const [agents, setAgents] = useState<Map<string, PresenceState>>(new Map());
  const [connectionStatus, setConnectionStatus] = useState<"connecting" | "connected" | "disconnected">("connecting");
  const wsRef = useRef<WebSocket | null>(null);
  const cleanupRef = useRef<(() => void) | null>(null);

  const fetchInitialUsers = useCallback(async () => {
    try {
      const token = await getGenesysToken();
      const response = await axios.get("https://api.us-east-1.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/users", {
        headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` },
        params: { division_id: "All", size: 100 },
      });

      const initialMap = new Map<string, PresenceState>();
      response.data.entities.forEach((user: any) => {
        initialMap.set(user.id, {
          userId: user.id,
          userName: user.name,
          currentPresenceState: "Offline",
          lastUpdated: new Date().toISOString(),
        });
      });
      setAgents(initialMap);
    } catch (error: any) {
      if (error.response?.status === 403) {
        throw new Error("Missing user:read scope. Verify OAuth client configuration.");
      }
      if (error.response?.status === 429) {
        const retryAfter = parseInt(error.response.headers["retry-after"] || "5", 10);
        await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, retryAfter * 1000));
        return fetchInitialUsers();
      }
      throw error;
    }
  }, []);

  const connectWebSocket = useCallback(async () => {
    setConnectionStatus("connecting");
    if (wsRef.current?.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) wsRef.current.close();
    if (cleanupRef.current) cleanupRef.current();

    try {
      const token = await getGenesysToken();
      const ws = initializeWebSocket(token);
      wsRef.current = ws;

      ws.onmessage = (event) => {
        try {
          const message: UserPresenceEvent = JSON.parse(event.data);
          if (message.eventType === "presenceUpdate" && message.data) {
            setAgents((prev) => {
              const updated = new Map(prev);
              updated.set(message.data.userId, {
                userId: message.data.userId,
                userName: message.data.userName,
                currentPresenceState: message.data.currentPresenceState,
                lastUpdated: message.data.lastUpdated,
              });
              return updated;
            });
          }
        } catch (parseError) {
          console.error("Failed to parse WebSocket message:", parseError);
        }
      };

      ws.onclose = async (event) => {
        if (event.code === 4001) {
          console.error("WebSocket unauthorized. Refreshing token and reconnecting.");
          setConnectionStatus("disconnected");
          cleanupRef.current = createReconnectionScheduler(() => connectWebSocket());
          cleanupRef.current();
          return;
        }
        if (event.code === 1006 || event.code === 1012) {
          setConnectionStatus("disconnected");
          cleanupRef.current = createReconnectionScheduler(() => connectWebSocket());
          cleanupRef.current();
          return;
        }
        setConnectionStatus("disconnected");
      };

      ws.onopen = () => setConnectionStatus("connected");
    } catch (error) {
      console.error("WebSocket initialization failed:", error);
      setConnectionStatus("disconnected");
    }
  }, []);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetchInitialUsers().then(() => connectWebSocket());
    return () => {
      if (wsRef.current) wsRef.current.close();
      if (cleanupRef.current) cleanupRef.current();
    };
  }, [fetchInitialUsers, connectWebSocket]);

  return { agents, connectionStatus };
}

Complete Working Example

The following React component integrates the custom hook and renders a responsive dashboard. It displays connection status, agent names, and color-coded availability indicators. Copy this into a file named AgentDashboard.tsx in your React project.

import React from "react";
import { useAgentPresence } from "./useAgentPresence";

const STATE_COLORS: Record<string, string> = {
  Available: "#22c55e",
  "After Contact Work": "#eab308",
  "Not Available": "#ef4444",
  Offline: "#6b7280",
  "In a Meeting": "#3b82f6",
  Lunch: "#f97316",
};

function AgentDashboard() {
  const { agents, connectionStatus } = useAgentPresence();

  const getStatusColor = (state: string) => STATE_COLORS[state] || "#9ca3af";

  return (
    <div style={{ padding: "20px", fontFamily: "system-ui, sans-serif" }}>
      <header style={{ marginBottom: "20px", display: "flex", justifyContent: "space-between", alignItems: "center" }}>
        <h1>Real-Time Agent Availability</h1>
        <span style={{
          padding: "6px 12px",
          borderRadius: "6px",
          backgroundColor: connectionStatus === "connected" ? "#dcfce7" : connectionStatus === "connecting" ? "#fef3c7" : "#fee2e2",
          color: connectionStatus === "connected" ? "#166534" : connectionStatus === "connecting" ? "#92400e" : "#991b1b",
          fontWeight: "bold",
        }}>
          {connectionStatus.toUpperCase()}
        </span>
      </header>

      {connectionStatus !== "connected" && (
        <p style={{ color: "#6b7280", marginBottom: "20px" }}>
          Establishing connection to Genesys Cloud presence stream...
        </p>
      )}

      <div style={{ display: "grid", gridTemplateColumns: "repeat(auto-fill, minmax(280px, 1fr))", gap: "16px" }}>
        {Array.from(agents.values()).map((agent) => (
          <div
            key={agent.userId}
            style={{
              border: "1px solid #e5e7eb",
              borderRadius: "8px",
              padding: "16px",
              backgroundColor: "#ffffff",
              boxShadow: "0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.1)",
            }}
          >
            <div style={{ display: "flex", justifyContent: "space-between", alignItems: "center", marginBottom: "8px" }}>
              <strong style={{ fontSize: "16px" }}>{agent.userName}</strong>
              <span style={{
                width: "12px",
                height: "12px",
                borderRadius: "50%",
                backgroundColor: getStatusColor(agent.currentPresenceState),
                display: "inline-block",
              }} />
            </div>
            <div style={{ fontSize: "14px", color: "#4b5563" }}>
              Status: {agent.currentPresenceState}
            </div>
            <div style={{ fontSize: "12px", color: "#9ca3af", marginTop: "4px" }}>
              Updated: {new Date(agent.lastUpdated).toLocaleTimeString()}
            </div>
          </div>
        ))}
      </div>

      {agents.size === 0 && connectionStatus === "connected" && (
        <p style={{ color: "#6b7280", textAlign: "center", marginTop: "40px" }}>
          No agents found. Verify user:read scope and division filters.
        </p>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

export default AgentDashboard;

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: WebSocket 4001 Unauthorized

• What causes it: The bearer token is expired, malformed, or lacks the presence:read scope. Genesys Cloud rejects the handshake immediately.
• How to fix it: Ensure your OAuth client has presence:read assigned. Verify the token is refreshed before expiration. The provided getGenesysToken function caches tokens and checks expires_in. If you receive this error, clear the cached token and force a new OAuth request.
• Code showing the fix: The ws.onclose handler in Step 3 explicitly checks for event.code === 4001 and triggers the reconnection scheduler, which calls getGenesysToken again.

Error: WebSocket 1006 Abnormal Closure

• What causes it: Network interruption, proxy timeout, or Genesys Cloud server-side restart. The connection drops without a proper close frame.
• How to fix it: Implement exponential backoff. The createReconnectionScheduler function handles this by waiting between 1 and 30 seconds before retrying, preventing connection storms.
• Code showing the fix: The calculateBackoffDelay function applies jitter and caps the delay. The scheduler automatically invokes connectWebSocket when 1006 is detected.

Error: REST 403 Forbidden on /api/v2/users

• What causes it: The OAuth token lacks the user:read scope, or the client is restricted to a specific division that contains no users.
• How to fix it: Add user:read to the scope parameter in the OAuth token request. Verify the division_id query parameter matches your tenant configuration. Use division_id=All for cross-division visibility if your role permits.
• Code showing the fix: The fetchInitialUsers function catches 403 responses and throws a descriptive error. You can modify the params object to adjust division filtering.

Error: 429 Too Many Requests on Token or User Fetch

• What causes it: Exceeding Genesys Cloud API rate limits. The OAuth endpoint enforces strict limits on token issuance. The user endpoint enforces request-per-second limits.
• How to fix it: Parse the Retry-After header from the response. Implement token caching to avoid unnecessary OAuth calls. Batch user requests if querying multiple divisions.
• Code showing the fix: Both getGenesysToken and fetchInitialUsers include 429 handling. They read Retry-After, sleep for the specified duration, and retry exactly once.

Official References

• Genesys Cloud Real-Time WebSocket API Documentation
• Presence API Reference
• User API Reference
• OAuth2 Client Credentials Flow
• WebSocket Close Codes