Calling a Lambda Function from Architect via a Data Action — IAM Role Configuration

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Calling a Lambda Function from Architect via a Data Action — IAM Role Configuration

What You Will Build

  • A working integration that triggers an AWS Lambda function from a Genesys Cloud CX Architect flow using a Data Action.
  • This uses the Genesys Cloud CX REST API and AWS IAM/STS APIs to configure permissions.
  • The programming languages covered are Python (for AWS IAM configuration) and JSON/JavaScript (for the Genesys Cloud Data Action definition).

Prerequisites

  • Genesys Cloud CX: An organization with the “Architect” and “API” permissions. You need a user or service account with dataactions:read and dataactions:write scopes.
  • AWS Account: An account with permissions to create IAM Roles, IAM Policies, and Lambda functions.
  • AWS Credentials: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY for a user with iam:CreateRole, iam:AttachRolePolicy, and lambda:InvokeFunction permissions.
  • SDKs:
    • Python: boto3 (AWS SDK), requests (for Genesys API).
    • Genesys Cloud: purecloudplatformclientv2 (optional, but this tutorial uses raw requests for clarity on HTTP payloads).
  • External Dependencies:
    • pip install boto3 requests

Authentication Setup

Genesys Cloud CX OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials

To interact with the Genesys Cloud API, you must obtain a bearer token. For automated scripts and data action testing, the Client Credentials flow is preferred.

Required Scopes: dataactions:read, dataactions:write, analytics:query (if you plan to log results).

import requests
import json

class GenesysAuth:
    def __init__(self, client_id: str, client_secret: str, environment: str = "mypurecloud.com"):
        self.client_id = client_id
        self.client_secret = client_secret
        self.auth_url = f"https://api.{environment}/oauth/token"
        self.access_token = None
        self.token_expiry = 0

    def get_token(self) -> str:
        """
        Retrieves a new OAuth token if the current one is expired or missing.
        """
        import time
        current_time = time.time()

        if self.access_token and current_time < self.token_expiry - 60:
            return self.access_token

        headers = {
            "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
        }
        data = {
            "grant_type": "client_credentials",
            "client_id": self.client_id,
            "client_secret": self.client_secret,
            "scope": "dataactions:read dataactions:write"
        }

        response = requests.post(self.auth_url, headers=headers, data=data)
        response.raise_for_status()

        token_data = response.json()
        self.access_token = token_data["access_token"]
        self.token_expiry = current_time + token_data["expires_in"]

        return self.access_token

AWS IAM Authentication

For the AWS side, boto3 handles authentication via environment variables or the ~/.aws/credentials file. Ensure your environment is configured:

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY"
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION="us-east-1"

Implementation

Step 1: Create the AWS Lambda Function

Before configuring IAM, you need a target Lambda function. This example assumes a simple Python Lambda that echoes input.

Lambda Code (lambda_function.py):

import json

def lambda_handler(event, context):
    # Log the incoming event for debugging
    print(json.dumps(event))
    
    # Return a structured response
    return {
        "statusCode": 200,
        "body": json.dumps({
            "message": "Success",
            "input_received": event
        })
    }

Deploy this function to AWS. Note the ARN (Amazon Resource Name) of the function. It will look like:
arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:MyGenesysTrigger

Step 2: Configure IAM Role and Policy

Genesys Cloud CX uses an AWS Account Link to invoke Lambda functions. This link requires an IAM Role that Genesys can assume. Crucially, this role must have a Trust Policy allowing the Genesys Cloud AWS account to assume it, and a Permissions Policy allowing it to invoke the specific Lambda function.

Critical Note: Genesys Cloud uses a specific AWS Account ID for its integration service. As of 2023/2024, the Genesys Cloud AWS Account ID for Lambda integrations is 336418635985. You must verify this in the official Genesys Cloud documentation, as it may change per region or product version.

2.1 Define the Trust Policy

The Trust Policy defines who can assume the role. It must allow sts:AssumeRole from the Genesys Cloud AWS account.

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": {
                "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::336418635985:root"
            },
            "Action": "sts:AssumeRole",
            "Condition": {}
        }
    ]
}

2.2 Define the Permissions Policy

The Permissions Policy defines what the role can do. It must allow lambda:InvokeFunction on your specific Lambda ARN.

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "lambda:InvokeFunction",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:MyGenesysTrigger"
        }
    ]
}

2.3 Python Script to Create the IAM Role

Use boto3 to create this role programmatically. This ensures the policies are attached correctly.

import boto3
import json

def setup_genesys_iam_role(role_name: str, lambda_arn: str, region: str = "us-east-1"):
    iam = boto3.client('iam', region_name=region)
    
    # 1. Define the Trust Policy (Who can assume the role)
    trust_policy = {
        "Version": "2012-10-17",
        "Statement": [
            {
                "Effect": "Allow",
                "Principal": {
                    "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::336418635985:root"  # Genesys Cloud AWS Account
                },
                "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
            }
        ]
    }
    
    # 2. Define the Permissions Policy (What the role can do)
    permissions_policy = {
        "Version": "2012-10-17",
        "Statement": [
            {
                "Effect": "Allow",
                "Action": "lambda:InvokeFunction",
                "Resource": lambda_arn
            }
        ]
    }

    try:
        # 3. Create the Role
        iam.create_role(
            RoleName=role_name,
            AssumeRolePolicyDocument=json.dumps(trust_policy),
            Description="Role for Genesys Cloud Lambda Integration"
        )
        print(f"Role '{role_name}' created successfully.")
        
        # 4. Attach the Permissions Policy
        iam.put_role_policy(
            RoleName=role_name,
            PolicyName="GenesysLambdaInvokePolicy",
            PolicyDocument=json.dumps(permissions_policy)
        )
        print(f"Policy attached to role '{role_name}'.")
        
        # 5. Get the Role ARN
        role_response = iam.get_role(RoleName=role_name)
        role_arn = role_response['Role']['Arn']
        print(f"Role ARN: {role_arn}")
        return role_arn

    except iam.exceptions.EntityAlreadyExistsException:
        print(f"Role '{role_name}' already exists. Updating policy...")
        # Update policy if role exists
        iam.put_role_policy(
            RoleName=role_name,
            PolicyName="GenesysLambdaInvokePolicy",
            PolicyDocument=json.dumps(permissions_policy)
        )
        role_response = iam.get_role(RoleName=role_name)
        return role_response['Role']['Arn']
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error creating IAM role: {e}")
        raise e

# Usage
# LAMBDA_ARN = "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:MyGenesysTrigger"
# ROLE_ARN = setup_genesys_iam_role("GenesysLambdaRole", LAMBDA_ARN)

Step 3: Create the AWS Account Link in Genesys Cloud

Genesys Cloud does not store your AWS credentials. Instead, you create an AWS Account Link resource. This resource contains the ARN of the IAM Role you just created. Genesys will assume this role to invoke the Lambda.

API Endpoint: POST /api/v2/integrations/awsaccountlinks
Required Scope: integrations:write (or dataactions:write depending on permission model, but usually integrations:write is required for the link itself).

import requests

def create_aws_account_link(access_token: str, role_arn: str, name: str = "GenesysLambdaLink", environment: str = "mypurecloud.com"):
    url = f"https://api.{environment}/api/v2/integrations/awsaccountlinks"
    
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    }
    
    payload = {
        "name": name,
        "description": "IAM Role for Lambda Data Action",
        "type": "aws",
        "configuration": {
            "roleArn": role_arn,
            "region": "us-east-1"  # Must match the Lambda's region
        }
    }

    response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
    
    if response.status_code == 201:
        data = response.json()
        print(f"AWS Account Link created. ID: {data['id']}")
        return data['id']
    else:
        print(f"Error creating AWS Account Link: {response.status_code}")
        print(response.text)
        raise Exception("Failed to create AWS Account Link")

# Usage
# GENESYS_TOKEN = auth.get_token()
# LINK_ID = create_aws_account_link(GENESYS_TOKEN, ROLE_ARN)

Step 4: Create the Data Action in Genesys Cloud

Now that the IAM role and AWS Account Link are set up, you can create a Data Action in Genesys Cloud. This Data Action will be available in Architect as a “Lambda” node.

API Endpoint: POST /api/v2/dataactions
Required Scope: dataactions:write

The Data Action definition must specify:

  1. type: aws.lambda
  2. configuration: The ID of the AWS Account Link created in Step 3.
  3. lambdaArn: The ARN of the Lambda function.
  4. timeout: The maximum time in milliseconds to wait for the Lambda to respond.
def create_lambda_data_action(access_token: str, link_id: str, lambda_arn: str, name: str = "MyLambdaAction", environment: str = "mypurecloud.com"):
    url = f"https://api.{environment}/api/v2/dataactions"
    
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    }
    
    payload = {
        "name": name,
        "description": "Data Action to invoke AWS Lambda",
        "type": "aws.lambda",
        "configuration": {
            "awsAccountLinkId": link_id,
            "lambdaArn": lambda_arn,
            "timeout": 10000  // 10 seconds
        },
        "inputSchema": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "callerName": {"type": "string"},
                "phone": {"type": "string"}
            },
            "required": ["phone"]
        },
        "outputSchema": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "statusCode": {"type": "integer"},
                "body": {"type": "string"}
            }
        }
    }

    response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
    
    if response.status_code == 201:
        data = response.json()
        print(f"Data Action created. ID: {data['id']}")
        print(f"Data Action Key: {data['key']}")
        return data['id']
    else:
        print(f"Error creating Data Action: {response.status_code}")
        print(response.text)
        raise Exception("Failed to create Data Action")

# Usage
# ACTION_ID = create_lambda_data_action(GENESYS_TOKEN, LINK_ID, LAMBDA_ARN)

Step 5: Testing the Data Action via API

Before using it in Architect, test it via the API to ensure the IAM permissions and Lambda execution are working.

API Endpoint: POST /api/v2/dataactions/{id}/run
Required Scope: dataactions:run

def test_data_action(access_token: str, action_id: str, environment: str = "mypurecloud.com"):
    url = f"https://api.{environment}/api/v2/dataactions/{action_id}/run"
    
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    }
    
    # Input data to send to Lambda
    input_data = {
        "callerName": "John Doe",
        "phone": "+15551234567"
    }

    response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=input_data)
    
    # Data action execution is asynchronous. The initial response returns a 'status' of 'queued' or 'running'.
    # You must poll the status or check the final result.
    
    if response.status_code == 200:
        run_id = response.json().get('id')
        print(f"Data Action run initiated. Run ID: {run_id}")
        
        # Poll for result
        import time
        time.sleep(2)  # Wait for Lambda to execute
        
        result_url = f"https://api.{environment}/api/v2/dataactions/{action_id}/runs/{run_id}"
        result_response = requests.get(result_url, headers=headers)
        
        if result_response.status_code == 200:
            result_data = result_response.json()
            print(f"Status: {result_data['status']}")
            if result_data['status'] == 'completed':
                print(f"Output: {result_data['output']}")
            else:
                print(f"Error: {result_data.get('error', 'Unknown error')}")
        else:
            print(f"Failed to get result: {result_response.status_code}")
    else:
        print(f"Failed to run data action: {response.status_code}")
        print(response.text)

# Usage
# test_data_action(GENESYS_TOKEN, ACTION_ID)

Complete Working Example

Below is a consolidated Python script that performs all steps. Replace the placeholder credentials and ARNs.

import boto3
import requests
import json
import time

# --- Configuration ---
GENESYS_CLIENT_ID = "your_genesys_client_id"
GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET = "your_genesys_client_secret"
GENESYS_ENVIRONMENT = "mypurecloud.com"

AWS_REGION = "us-east-1"
LAMBDA_ARN = "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:MyGenesysTrigger"
IAM_ROLE_NAME = "GenesysLambdaRole"

# --- Genesys Auth ---
class GenesysAuth:
    def __init__(self, client_id, client_secret, environment):
        self.client_id = client_id
        self.client_secret = client_secret
        self.auth_url = f"https://api.{environment}/oauth/token"
        self.access_token = None
        self.token_expiry = 0

    def get_token(self):
        if self.access_token and time.time() < self.token_expiry - 60:
            return self.access_token

        headers = {"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}
        data = {
            "grant_type": "client_credentials",
            "client_id": self.client_id,
            "client_secret": self.client_secret,
            "scope": "dataactions:write integrations:write"
        }
        response = requests.post(self.auth_url, headers=headers, data=data)
        response.raise_for_status()
        token_data = response.json()
        self.access_token = token_data["access_token"]
        self.token_expiry = time.time() + token_data["expires_in"]
        return self.access_token

# --- AWS IAM Setup ---
def setup_iam_role(role_name, lambda_arn, region):
    iam = boto3.client('iam', region_name=region)
    trust_policy = {
        "Version": "2012-10-17",
        "Statement": [{"Effect": "Allow", "Principal": {"AWS": "arn:aws:iam::336418635985:root"}, "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"}]
    }
    permissions_policy = {
        "Version": "2012-10-17",
        "Statement": [{"Effect": "Allow", "Action": "lambda:InvokeFunction", "Resource": lambda_arn}]
    }
    try:
        iam.create_role(RoleName=role_name, AssumeRolePolicyDocument=json.dumps(trust_policy))
    except iam.exceptions.EntityAlreadyExistsException:
        pass
    iam.put_role_policy(RoleName=role_name, PolicyName="GenesysLambdaInvokePolicy", PolicyDocument=json.dumps(permissions_policy))
    return iam.get_role(RoleName=role_name)['Role']['Arn']

# --- Genesys Cloud Integration ---
def create_aws_link(token, role_arn, env):
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}
    payload = {"name": "LambdaLink", "type": "aws", "configuration": {"roleArn": role_arn, "region": AWS_REGION}}
    resp = requests.post(f"https://api.{env}/api/v2/integrations/awsaccountlinks", headers=headers, json=payload)
    resp.raise_for_status()
    return resp.json()['id']

def create_data_action(token, link_id, lambda_arn, env):
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}
    payload = {
        "name": "TestLambdaAction",
        "type": "aws.lambda",
        "configuration": {"awsAccountLinkId": link_id, "lambdaArn": lambda_arn, "timeout": 10000}
    }
    resp = requests.post(f"https://api.{env}/api/v2/dataactions", headers=headers, json=payload)
    resp.raise_for_status()
    return resp.json()['id']

# --- Execution ---
if __name__ == "__main__":
    # 1. Auth
    auth = GenesysAuth(GENESYS_CLIENT_ID, GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET, GENESYS_ENVIRONMENT)
    token = auth.get_token()
    
    # 2. AWS IAM
    print("Setting up IAM Role...")
    role_arn = setup_iam_role(IAM_ROLE_NAME, LAMBDA_ARN, AWS_REGION)
    print(f"IAM Role ARN: {role_arn}")
    
    # 3. Genesys AWS Link
    print("Creating AWS Account Link...")
    link_id = create_aws_link(token, role_arn, GENESYS_ENVIRONMENT)
    print(f"AWS Link ID: {link_id}")
    
    # 4. Genesys Data Action
    print("Creating Data Action...")
    action_id = create_data_action(token, link_id, LAMBDA_ARN, GENESYS_ENVIRONMENT)
    print(f"Data Action ID: {action_id}")
    
    print("Setup complete. Use this Data Action in Architect.")

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: AccessDeniedException (AWS)

What causes it: The IAM Role attached to the AWS Account Link does not have permission to invoke the Lambda function, or the Trust Policy does not allow Genesys to assume the role.
How to fix it:

  1. Verify the Trust Policy includes arn:aws:iam::336418635985:root.
  2. Verify the Permissions Policy allows lambda:InvokeFunction on the exact ARN.
  3. Check for typos in the ARN.
    Code Check:
# Ensure the ARN in the policy matches the Lambda exactly
permissions_policy = {
    "Resource": "arn:aws:lambda:us-east-1:123456789012:function:MyGenesysTrigger" # No wildcards recommended for security
}

Error: 401 Unauthorized (Genesys)

What causes it: The OAuth token used to create the Data Action or AWS Link is invalid or expired.
How to fix it: Ensure your get_token method refreshes the token if time.time() > self.token_expiry.
Code Check:

if not self.access_token or time.time() >= self.token_expiry:
    self.get_token() # Force refresh

Error: 403 Forbidden (Genesys)

What causes it: The OAuth token lacks the required scopes.
How to fix it: Ensure the token request includes dataactions:write and integrations:write.
Code Check:

data = {
    "scope": "dataactions:write integrations:write" # Add missing scopes
}

Error: Timeout (Genesys Data Action)

What causes it: The Lambda function takes longer to execute than the timeout specified in the Data Action configuration.
How to fix it: Increase the timeout value in the Data Action configuration (max 30,000 ms).
Code Check:

"configuration": {
    "timeout": 30000 # Increase timeout to 30 seconds
}

Official References