Downloading Genesys Cloud Interaction Recordings via API with TypeScript

What You Will Build

• A TypeScript module that downloads interaction recordings from Genesys Cloud, validates processing status against retention policies, streams binary data with SHA-256 chunk verification, archives files to cloud storage, emits webhook notifications, and generates compliance audit logs.
• This implementation uses the Genesys Cloud Recordings API, AWS S3 SDK, and Node.js native streaming utilities.
• The code is written in TypeScript for a Node.js 18+ runtime environment.

Prerequisites

• OAuth client type: Confidential (Client Credentials Grant). Required scopes: recording:read, analytics:read.
• SDK version: @genesyscloud/api-client v2.100.0 or higher.
• Runtime: Node.js 18.0+ (native fetch and ReadableStream support required).
• External dependencies: @genesyscloud/api-client, @aws-sdk/client-s3, dotenv.
• Environment variables: GENESYS_CLOUD_REGION, GENESYS_CLOUD_CLIENT_ID, GENESYS_CLOUD_CLIENT_SECRET, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_REGION, S3_BUCKET_NAME, WEBHOOK_URL.

Authentication Setup

Genesys Cloud uses OAuth 2.0 for all API access. The official TypeScript SDK handles token acquisition, caching, and automatic refresh. You initialize the AuthClient with your client credentials and region. The SDK stores the token in memory and attaches it to subsequent API calls via the platformClient instance.

import { ApiClient, AuthClient, Environment } from '@genesyscloud/api-client';

const REGION = process.env.GENESYS_CLOUD_REGION || 'us-east-1';
const CLIENT_ID = process.env.GENESYS_CLOUD_CLIENT_ID!;
const CLIENT_SECRET = process.env.GENESYS_CLOUD_CLIENT_SECRET!;

const apiClient = ApiClient.instance;
const authClient = new AuthClient({
  region: REGION,
  clientId: CLIENT_ID,
  clientSecret: CLIENT_SECRET,
});

await authClient.login();
console.log('OAuth token acquired. Scope: recording:read, analytics:read');

The authClient.login() call performs the client credentials flow against /api/v2/oauth/token. The SDK caches the bearer token and automatically requests a new token when the current one expires. You will reuse apiClient throughout the implementation to ensure consistent authentication context.

Implementation

Step 1: Initialize Platform Client & Retrieve Recording Metadata

You must query the recording metadata before attempting a download. The Genesys Cloud platform separates metadata retrieval from binary streaming to allow status validation and format negotiation. The endpoint GET /api/v2/recordings/interactions/{interactionId} returns processing state, duration, format availability, and retention policy details.

import { RecordingsApi } from '@genesyscloud/api-client';

const recordingsApi = new RecordingsApi(apiClient);

interface RecordingMetadata {
  id: string;
  status: string;
  duration: number;
  format: string;
  retentionPolicy: { id: string; name: string } | null;
}

async function getRecordingMetadata(interactionId: string): Promise<RecordingMetadata> {
  try {
    const response = await recordingsApi.getRecordingsInteractionsInteractionId(interactionId);
    const body = response.body;
    
    return {
      id: body.id,
      status: body.status,
      duration: body.duration,
      format: body.format,
      retentionPolicy: body.retentionPolicy,
    };
  } catch (error: any) {
    if (error.status === 404) {
      throw new Error(`Interaction ${interactionId} not found or recording not generated.`);
    }
    if (error.status === 403) {
      throw new Error('Insufficient OAuth scopes. Verify recording:read is granted.');
    }
    throw error;
  }
}

The response body contains the status field. Valid values include ready, processing, failed, and not_found. The API design separates metadata from binary data to prevent unnecessary network allocation for unprocessed or expired recordings. You will use this metadata to validate availability before initiating the stream.

Step 2: Validate Processing Status & Retention Policy

Before downloading, you must verify that the recording is ready and complies with organizational retention rules. Genesys Cloud enforces retention policies at the API level. If a recording exceeds its retention window, the platform returns a 410 Gone response on the download endpoint. You check the status field and retention object to short-circuit invalid requests.

function validateRecordingAvailability(metadata: RecordingMetadata): boolean {
  if (metadata.status !== 'ready') {
    console.warn(`Recording ${metadata.id} is in status: ${metadata.status}. Skipping download.`);
    return false;
  }

  if (metadata.retentionPolicy && metadata.retentionPolicy.name) {
    console.log(`Recording subject to retention policy: ${metadata.retentionPolicy.name}`);
  }

  return true;
}

This validation step prevents downstream streaming errors and reduces unnecessary compute cycles. The Genesys Cloud API does not expose retention expiry timestamps in the metadata response, so you rely on the platform to enforce the 410 response at download time. You will handle the 410 explicitly in the streaming layer.

Step 3: Stream Binary Data with Chunk Verification & 429 Retry Logic

Large audio files require streaming to avoid memory exhaustion. The download endpoint GET /api/v2/recordings/interactions/{interactionId}/download accepts query parameters for format and segment markers (start, end). You construct the payload, inject the bearer token, and pipe the response through a ReadableStream. You calculate a running SHA-256 hash to verify integrity and implement exponential backoff for 429 rate limit responses.

import { createHash } from 'crypto';
import { WriteStream } from 'fs';

interface DownloadConfig {
  interactionId: string;
  format: 'wav' | 'mp3' | 'flac';
  startTime?: number;
  endTime?: number;
  outputPath: string;
}

async function downloadRecordingWithRetry(config: DownloadConfig, maxRetries: number = 3): Promise<{ success: boolean; hash: string; size: number; latencyMs: number }> {
  const baseEndpoint = `https://${REGION}.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/recordings/interactions/${config.interactionId}/download`;
  const params = new URLSearchParams({ format: config.format });
  if (config.startTime !== undefined) params.append('start', String(config.startTime));
  if (config.endTime !== undefined) params.append('end', String(config.endTime));

  const url = `${baseEndpoint}?${params.toString()}`;
  let attempt = 0;
  const startTimestamp = Date.now();

  while (attempt < maxRetries) {
    try {
      const token = await apiClient.getAccessToken();
      const response = await fetch(url, {
        headers: {
          'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}`,
          'Accept': 'audio/wav',
        },
      });

      if (response.status === 429) {
        const retryAfter = response.headers.get('Retry-After');
        const delay = retryAfter ? parseInt(retryAfter, 10) * 1000 : Math.pow(2, attempt) * 1000;
        console.warn(`Rate limited (429). Retrying in ${delay}ms.`);
        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, delay));
        attempt++;
        continue;
      }

      if (response.status === 410) {
        throw new Error('Recording has expired due to retention policy (410 Gone).');
      }

      if (!response.ok) {
        throw new Error(`Download failed with status ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`);
      }

      if (!response.body) {
        throw new Error('Response body is null. Stream unavailable.');
      }

      const fileStream = fs.createWriteStream(config.outputPath);
      const hash = createHash('sha256');
      let totalSize = 0;

      const reader = response.body.getReader();
      const writePromise = new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
        fileStream.on('finish', resolve);
        fileStream.on('error', reject);
      });

      while (true) {
        const { done, value } = await reader.read();
        if (done) break;
        hash.update(value);
        totalSize += value.length;
        fileStream.write(value);
      }

      await writePromise;
      fileStream.close();

      const latencyMs = Date.now() - startTimestamp;
      return { success: true, hash: hash.digest('hex'), size: totalSize, latencyMs };
    } catch (error: any) {
      if (error.message.includes('expired') || error.message.includes('410')) {
        throw error;
      }
      attempt++;
      if (attempt >= maxRetries) {
        throw new Error(`Download failed after ${maxRetries} attempts: ${error.message}`);
      }
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, Math.pow(2, attempt) * 1000));
    }
  }

  throw new Error('Unexpected retry loop exit.');
}

The streaming architecture reads chunks sequentially, updates the cryptographic hash, and writes directly to disk. This approach prevents heap allocation spikes. The retry loop respects the Retry-After header when present, falling back to exponential backoff. The Genesys Cloud API returns a 200 OK with binary data. You verify the final hash against platform-generated checksums if your organization maintains a manifest.

Step 4: Archive to Cloud Storage & Emit Webhook Notifications

After local verification, you upload the recording to a cloud storage backend with lifecycle policies for compliance. You use AWS S3 to store the file and attach metadata tags. Upon successful upload, you POST a completion payload to an external webhook for media repository synchronization.

import { S3Client, PutObjectCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-s3';

const s3Client = new S3Client({ region: process.env.AWS_REGION || 'us-east-1' });

async function archiveToCloudStorage(filePath: string, interactionId: string, hash: string, size: number): Promise<void> {
  const bucket = process.env.S3_BUCKET_NAME!;
  const key = `recordings/${interactionId}/${Date.now()}.wav`;

  const fileContent = fs.readFileSync(filePath);

  const command = new PutObjectCommand({
    Bucket: bucket,
    Key: key,
    Body: fileContent,
    ContentType: 'audio/wav',
    Metadata: {
      'interaction-id': interactionId,
      'sha256': hash,
      'size-bytes': String(size),
      'archived-at': new Date().toISOString(),
    },
    Tagging: 'compliance=archive',
  });

  await s3Client.send(command);
  console.log(`Archived to s3://${bucket}/${key}`);
}

async function emitWebhookNotification(interactionId: string, archiveKey: string, hash: string): Promise<void> {
  const webhookUrl = process.env.WEBHOOK_URL!;
  const payload = {
    event: 'recording.download.complete',
    interactionId,
    archiveKey,
    hash,
    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
  };

  const response = await fetch(webhookUrl, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify(payload),
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`Webhook delivery failed: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`);
  }
}

The S3 upload attaches structured metadata for downstream cataloging. Lifecycle policies are configured at the bucket level to transition objects to Glacier after 90 days and delete after 7 years, satisfying typical compliance requirements. The webhook payload provides the external media management system with the exact archive location and integrity hash for catalog updates.

Step 5: Generate Audit Logs & Track Capacity Metrics

Privacy regulations require granular access logging. You record every download attempt, including user context, interaction ID, timestamp, outcome, and storage consumption. You aggregate latency and size metrics for capacity planning.

interface AuditLog {
  timestamp: string;
  action: 'download.initiated' | 'download.completed' | 'download.failed';
  interactionId: string;
  format: string;
  status: string;
  latencyMs?: number;
  sizeBytes?: number;
  hash?: string;
  error?: string;
}

const auditLogs: AuditLog[] = [];

function recordAuditLog(entry: AuditLog): void {
  auditLogs.push(entry);
  console.log(JSON.stringify(entry));
}

export class RecordingDownloader {
  async process(interactionId: string, format: 'wav' | 'mp3' | 'flac' = 'wav'): Promise<void> {
    const logBase: Omit<AuditLog, 'action' | 'latencyMs' | 'sizeBytes' | 'hash' | 'error'> = {
      timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
      interactionId,
      format,
      status: 'initiated',
    };

    try {
      recordAuditLog({ ...logBase, action: 'download.initiated' });

      const metadata = await getRecordingMetadata(interactionId);
      if (!validateRecordingAvailability(metadata)) {
        recordAuditLog({ ...logBase, action: 'download.failed', error: 'Status not ready' });
        return;
      }

      const outputPath = `/tmp/${interactionId}.wav`;
      const result = await downloadRecordingWithRetry({
        interactionId,
        format,
        outputPath,
      });

      recordAuditLog({
        ...logBase,
        action: 'download.completed',
        latencyMs: result.latencyMs,
        sizeBytes: result.size,
        hash: result.hash,
      });

      await archiveToCloudStorage(outputPath, interactionId, result.hash, result.size);
      await emitWebhookNotification(interactionId, `s3://bucket/key`, result.hash);

      fs.unlinkSync(outputPath);
    } catch (error: any) {
      recordAuditLog({
        ...logBase,
        action: 'download.failed',
        error: error.message,
      });
    }
  }
}

The audit log structure captures every state transition. You stream these logs to a SIEM or centralized logging service in production. The latency and size metrics feed into dashboards for capacity planning. The class encapsulates the entire pipeline, exposing a single process method for media repository integration.

Complete Working Example

The following script combines all components into a runnable module. Replace environment variables with your credentials before execution.

import { ApiClient, AuthClient } from '@genesyscloud/api-client';
import { RecordingsApi } from '@genesyscloud/api-client';
import { S3Client, PutObjectCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-s3';
import { createHash } from 'crypto';
import * as fs from 'fs';
import * as path from 'path';

const REGION = process.env.GENESYS_CLOUD_REGION || 'us-east-1';
const CLIENT_ID = process.env.GENESYS_CLOUD_CLIENT_ID!;
const CLIENT_SECRET = process.env.GENESYS_CLOUD_CLIENT_SECRET!;

const apiClient = ApiClient.instance;
const authClient = new AuthClient({
  region: REGION,
  clientId: CLIENT_ID,
  clientSecret: CLIENT_SECRET,
});

const recordingsApi = new RecordingsApi(apiClient);
const s3Client = new S3Client({ region: process.env.AWS_REGION || 'us-east-1' });

interface RecordingMetadata {
  id: string;
  status: string;
  duration: number;
  format: string;
  retentionPolicy: { id: string; name: string } | null;
}

interface AuditLog {
  timestamp: string;
  action: 'download.initiated' | 'download.completed' | 'download.failed';
  interactionId: string;
  format: string;
  status: string;
  latencyMs?: number;
  sizeBytes?: number;
  hash?: string;
  error?: string;
}

const auditLogs: AuditLog[] = [];

function recordAuditLog(entry: AuditLog): void {
  auditLogs.push(entry);
  console.log(JSON.stringify(entry));
}

async function getRecordingMetadata(interactionId: string): Promise<RecordingMetadata> {
  const response = await recordingsApi.getRecordingsInteractionsInteractionId(interactionId);
  const body = response.body;
  return {
    id: body.id,
    status: body.status,
    duration: body.duration,
    format: body.format,
    retentionPolicy: body.retentionPolicy,
  };
}

function validateRecordingAvailability(metadata: RecordingMetadata): boolean {
  if (metadata.status !== 'ready') {
    console.warn(`Recording ${metadata.id} is in status: ${metadata.status}. Skipping download.`);
    return false;
  }
  if (metadata.retentionPolicy && metadata.retentionPolicy.name) {
    console.log(`Recording subject to retention policy: ${metadata.retentionPolicy.name}`);
  }
  return true;
}

async function downloadRecordingWithRetry(interactionId: string, format: string, outputPath: string): Promise<{ success: boolean; hash: string; size: number; latencyMs: number }> {
  const baseEndpoint = `https://${REGION}.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/recordings/interactions/${interactionId}/download`;
  const params = new URLSearchParams({ format });
  const url = `${baseEndpoint}?${params.toString()}`;
  let attempt = 0;
  const maxRetries = 3;
  const startTimestamp = Date.now();

  while (attempt < maxRetries) {
    try {
      const token = await apiClient.getAccessToken();
      const response = await fetch(url, {
        headers: {
          'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}`,
          'Accept': 'audio/wav',
        },
      });

      if (response.status === 429) {
        const retryAfter = response.headers.get('Retry-After');
        const delay = retryAfter ? parseInt(retryAfter, 10) * 1000 : Math.pow(2, attempt) * 1000;
        console.warn(`Rate limited (429). Retrying in ${delay}ms.`);
        await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, delay));
        attempt++;
        continue;
      }

      if (response.status === 410) {
        throw new Error('Recording has expired due to retention policy (410 Gone).');
      }

      if (!response.ok) {
        throw new Error(`Download failed with status ${response.status}: ${response.statusText}`);
      }

      if (!response.body) {
        throw new Error('Response body is null. Stream unavailable.');
      }

      const fileStream = fs.createWriteStream(outputPath);
      const hash = createHash('sha256');
      let totalSize = 0;

      const reader = response.body.getReader();
      const writePromise = new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
        fileStream.on('finish', resolve);
        fileStream.on('error', reject);
      });

      while (true) {
        const { done, value } = await reader.read();
        if (done) break;
        hash.update(value);
        totalSize += value.length;
        fileStream.write(value);
      }

      await writePromise;
      fileStream.close();

      const latencyMs = Date.now() - startTimestamp;
      return { success: true, hash: hash.digest('hex'), size: totalSize, latencyMs };
    } catch (error: any) {
      if (error.message.includes('expired') || error.message.includes('410')) {
        throw error;
      }
      attempt++;
      if (attempt >= maxRetries) {
        throw new Error(`Download failed after ${maxRetries} attempts: ${error.message}`);
      }
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, Math.pow(2, attempt) * 1000));
    }
  }
  throw new Error('Unexpected retry loop exit.');
}

async function archiveToCloudStorage(filePath: string, interactionId: string, hash: string, size: number): Promise<void> {
  const bucket = process.env.S3_BUCKET_NAME!;
  const key = `recordings/${interactionId}/${Date.now()}.wav`;
  const fileContent = fs.readFileSync(filePath);

  const command = new PutObjectCommand({
    Bucket: bucket,
    Key: key,
    Body: fileContent,
    ContentType: 'audio/wav',
    Metadata: {
      'interaction-id': interactionId,
      'sha256': hash,
      'size-bytes': String(size),
      'archived-at': new Date().toISOString(),
    },
    Tagging: 'compliance=archive',
  });

  await s3Client.send(command);
  console.log(`Archived to s3://${bucket}/${key}`);
}

async function emitWebhookNotification(interactionId: string, archiveKey: string, hash: string): Promise<void> {
  const webhookUrl = process.env.WEBHOOK_URL!;
  const payload = {
    event: 'recording.download.complete',
    interactionId,
    archiveKey,
    hash,
    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
  };

  const response = await fetch(webhookUrl, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify(payload),
  });

  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(`Webhook delivery failed: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`);
  }
}

export class RecordingDownloader {
  async process(interactionId: string, format: 'wav' | 'mp3' | 'flac' = 'wav'): Promise<void> {
    const logBase: Omit<AuditLog, 'action' | 'latencyMs' | 'sizeBytes' | 'hash' | 'error'> = {
      timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
      interactionId,
      format,
      status: 'initiated',
    };

    try {
      recordAuditLog({ ...logBase, action: 'download.initiated' });

      const metadata = await getRecordingMetadata(interactionId);
      if (!validateRecordingAvailability(metadata)) {
        recordAuditLog({ ...logBase, action: 'download.failed', error: 'Status not ready' });
        return;
      }

      const outputPath = path.join('/tmp', `${interactionId}.wav`);
      const result = await downloadRecordingWithRetry(interactionId, format, outputPath);

      recordAuditLog({
        ...logBase,
        action: 'download.completed',
        latencyMs: result.latencyMs,
        sizeBytes: result.size,
        hash: result.hash,
      });

      await archiveToCloudStorage(outputPath, interactionId, result.hash, result.size);
      await emitWebhookNotification(interactionId, `s3://bucket/key`, result.hash);

      fs.unlinkSync(outputPath);
    } catch (error: any) {
      recordAuditLog({
        ...logBase,
        action: 'download.failed',
        error: error.message,
      });
    }
  }
}

(async () => {
  await authClient.login();
  const downloader = new RecordingDownloader();
  await downloader.process('00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000');
})();

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: 401 Unauthorized

• Cause: The OAuth token has expired or the client credentials are invalid. The SDK cache may not have refreshed automatically.
• Fix: Call authClient.login() explicitly before initiating downloads. Verify that GENESYS_CLOUD_CLIENT_ID and GENESYS_CLOUD_CLIENT_SECRET match your OAuth application configuration.
• Code adjustment: Add a token validation check before the download loop. If apiClient.getAccessToken() returns null or an empty string, trigger a manual refresh.

Error: 403 Forbidden

• Cause: The OAuth application lacks the recording:read scope. Genesys Cloud enforces scope boundaries at the API gateway level.
• Fix: Navigate to the Genesys Cloud admin console, locate your OAuth application, and add recording:read to the authorized scopes. Restart the client to pick up the new permissions.
• Code adjustment: The metadata retrieval step throws a 403 with a descriptive message. Catch this explicitly and log the missing scope requirement.

Error: 429 Too Many Requests

• Cause: You exceeded the Genesys Cloud API rate limit for your organization. The platform enforces per-tenant and per-endpoint throttling.
• Fix: Implement exponential backoff with jitter. The provided retry loop respects the Retry-After header when present.
• Code adjustment: Increase maxRetries or adjust the base delay. Monitor the Retry-After header value and scale your request queue accordingly.

Error: Stream Corruption or Hash Mismatch

• Cause: Network interruption, proxy interference, or incomplete chunk reads. The SHA-256 verification detects truncated or altered payloads.
• Fix: Verify that the Accept header matches the requested format. Ensure the write stream closes properly before hash finalization.
• Code adjustment: Add a retry mechanism specifically for hash mismatches. Compare the computed hash against a known manifest if your organization maintains one.

Error: 410 Gone

• Cause: The recording has exceeded its retention policy window. Genesys Cloud purges expired media and returns 410 on download attempts.
• Fix: Check the retention policy configuration in Genesys Cloud. Archive recordings before expiration. Update your scheduling logic to download within the retention window.
• Code adjustment: The streaming layer throws a specific error for 410. Catch this and route the interaction to an exception handler or compliance queue.

Official References

• Genesys Cloud Recordings API Documentation
• Genesys Cloud OAuth 2.0 Guide
• AWS S3 SDK for JavaScript v3
• Node.js ReadableStream API