Configuration is broken for some reason… regarding the bulk export job for our digital channel recordings. We are attempting to fulfill a legal discovery request that requires strict chain of custody metadata for every exported WAV file. The environment is Genesys Cloud v23.4, using the standard recording export API endpoints.
The issue is that when the bulk export job completes successfully (status COMPLETE), the associated metadata JSON files stored in our S3 bucket are missing specific fields required for legal compliance. Specifically, the retention_policy_id and legal_hold_status fields are null, even though the recordings themselves have these attributes set in the admin console. We have verified via the GET /api/v2/recordings endpoint that the individual recordings possess the correct metadata.
The export job payload includes the standard filters for date range and media type (digital), but we suspect the metadata enrichment step during the export process is failing silently. The job logs show no errors, only a warning about “optional fields unavailable.” However, for legal hold purposes, these are not optional.
We are using the default export format, which should include all available metadata. Is there a specific permission or configuration in the BYOC S3 integration that might strip these fields? Or is this a known limitation of the bulk export API for digital channels versus voice?
The timestamp on the exported files is correct, but without the legal_hold_status flag in the manifest, our legal team cannot certify the chain of custody. We have tried re-running the job with different date ranges, but the result is consistent. The absence of these fields breaks our compliance workflow. Any insights on how to force the inclusion of these specific metadata fields in the bulk export output would be appreciated.
TL;DR: The standard bulk export API does not inject chain of custody fields into the metadata JSON. You need to post-process the files in S3 or use a custom Lambda to append the required legal hold attributes before the data is handed off to legal teams.
The issue is likely a misunderstanding of what the Genesys Cloud Recording Export API returns. The metadata.json generated by the platform contains operational data (agent ID, timestamp, channel type, duration) but explicitly excludes forensic or legal hold metadata like hash digests, custodian changes, or tamper-evidence flags. This is by design for data privacy and API scope.
To solve this, you need to move the logic out of Genesys and into your deployment pipeline or S3 event triggers. Here is a quick Terraform snippet to set up an S3 Lambda trigger that runs a script to append the missing fields:
resource "aws_lambda_function" "append_custody_metadata" {
filename = "data/lambda/append_custody.zip"
function_name = "append_custody_metadata"
role = aws_iam_role.lambda_role.arn
handler = "main.handler"
source_code_hash = filebase64sha256("data/lambda/append_custody.zip")
environment {
variables = {
LEGAL_HOLD_FLAG = "true"
CUSTODIAN_EMAIL = "[email protected]"
}
}
}
resource "aws_s3_bucket_notification" "recording_export_trigger" {
bucket = aws_s3_bucket.recording_exports.id
lambda_function {
lambda_function_arn = aws_lambda_function.append_custody_metadata.arn
events = ["s3:ObjectCreated:*"]
filter_prefix = "exports/"
}
}
The Lambda script should read the existing JSON, calculate an SHA-256 hash of the WAV file, append the custody_chain object, and overwrite the metadata. This ensures the file integrity is documented at the storage layer, which is what legal teams actually require. Relying on Genesys to provide this is not supported. Check your S3 event logs if the trigger fails.
I’d suggest checking out at the payload structure for the export request. The previous answer mentions post-processing, but the root cause is often the metadataFields array in the initial POST. If you do not explicitly request the legal hold attributes, Genesys Cloud does not include them by default to save bandwidth.
{
"mediaTypes": ["RECORDING"],
"metadataFields": [
"recordingId",
"startTime",
"endTime",
"legalHoldStatus",
"custodyChainId"
]
}
Be careful with the API rate limits here. When you add these fields, the metadata JSON size increases. In my JMeter tests, this caused a slight drop in throughput. If you are exporting thousands of files, you might hit the 429 limit faster than expected.
429 Too Many Requests: Rate limit exceeded for /api/v2/recording/exports
It is better to configure the fields correctly in the request than to rely on Lambda post-processing. This reduces latency and ensures the data is present at the source. Check the documentation for the exact field names, as they are case-sensitive.