Launching Genesys Cloud Architect Flows Programmatically via POST /api/v2/flows/executions

What You Will Build

• A Python script that triggers a specific Genesys Cloud Architect flow by passing custom data attributes into the execution context.
• This tutorial uses the Genesys Cloud REST API endpoint POST /api/v2/flows/executions and the official genesyscloud Python SDK.
• The implementation covers Python 3.9+ using httpx for raw HTTP requests and the genesyscloud SDK for type-safe interactions.

Prerequisites

• OAuth Client Type: Confidential Client (Client Credentials Grant) or Public Client (PKCE) depending on your integration pattern. For server-to-server automation, Confidential Client is standard.
• Required Scopes: flow:execution:write is mandatory to start a flow. flow:execution:read is recommended if you plan to poll for status updates.
• SDK Version: genesyscloud >= 1.0.0 (Python).
• Runtime Requirements: Python 3.9 or higher.
• External Dependencies:
  • httpx: For making raw HTTP requests with async support.
  • genesyscloud: The official Genesys Cloud Python SDK.
  • python-dotenv: For managing environment variables securely.

Install dependencies via pip:

pip install httpx genesyscloud python-dotenv

Authentication Setup

Genesys Cloud APIs require an active OAuth access token. The following code demonstrates how to obtain a token using the Client Credentials grant flow, which is suitable for backend services.

The httpx library is used here to demonstrate the raw HTTP cycle, ensuring you understand the underlying mechanics before relying on SDK abstractions.

import httpx
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

# Configuration from environment variables
GENESYS_DOMAIN = os.getenv("GENESYS_DOMAIN", "mycompany.mypurecloud.com")
CLIENT_ID = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_ID")
CLIENT_SECRET = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET")

def get_access_token() -> str:
    """
    Obtains an OAuth2 access token using Client Credentials Grant.
    
    Returns:
        str: The access token string.
        
    Raises:
        httpx.HTTPStatusError: If the authentication request fails.
    """
    if not CLIENT_ID or not CLIENT_SECRET:
        raise ValueError("GENESYS_CLIENT_ID and GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET must be set in environment variables.")

    token_url = f"https://{GENESYS_DOMAIN}/oauth/token"
    
    headers = {
        "Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
    }
    
    data = {
        "grant_type": "client_credentials",
        "client_id": CLIENT_ID,
        "client_secret": CLIENT_SECRET,
        "audience": "https://api.mypurecloud.com"
    }

    try:
        response = httpx.post(token_url, headers=headers, data=data, timeout=10.0)
        response.raise_for_status()
        token_data = response.json()
        return token_data["access_token"]
    except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
        print(f"Authentication failed: {e.response.status_code} - {e.response.text}")
        raise

# Example usage
# token = get_access_token()

Note on Token Lifecycle: Access tokens expire after 30 minutes. In a production application, implement a caching mechanism or use the SDK’s built-in token management to handle refreshes automatically.

Implementation

Step 1: Identify the Flow and Prepare Execution Data

Before calling the execution endpoint, you must know the flowId of the Architect flow you wish to trigger. You can find this in the Genesys Cloud Admin console under Architecture > Flows, or by querying the GET /api/v2/flows endpoint.

The POST /api/v2/flows/executions endpoint accepts a JSON body containing the flowId and optional data. The data object is critical: it allows you to inject custom attributes into the flow execution context. These attributes are accessible within the flow via the {{ data.myKey }} syntax.

import json

def prepare_execution_payload(flow_id: str, customer_data: dict) -> dict:
    """
    Constructs the JSON payload for the flow execution request.
    
    Args:
        flow_id (str): The UUID of the Architect flow to execute.
        customer_data (dict): A dictionary of key-value pairs to pass into the flow.
        
    Returns:
        dict: The JSON-serializable payload.
    """
    payload = {
        "flowId": flow_id,
        "data": customer_data
    }
    return payload

# Example data structure
# This data will be available in the flow as {{ data.userId }}, {{ data.action }}, etc.
sample_customer_data = {
    "userId": "12345-abcde",
    "action": "reset_password",
    "preferredChannel": "email",
    "timestamp": "2023-10-27T10:00:00Z"
}

Step 2: Execute the Flow via HTTP API

We will first implement the raw HTTP request using httpx. This approach provides full visibility into headers and response bodies, which is essential for debugging rate limits (429) or schema validation errors (400).

OAuth Scope Required: flow:execution:write

import httpx
import json
import logging

logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def trigger_flow_http(access_token: str, flow_id: str, data: dict) -> httpx.Response:
    """
    Triggers a Genesys Cloud Architect flow using raw HTTP POST.
    
    Args:
        access_token (str): Valid OAuth2 access token.
        flow_id (str): The ID of the flow to execute.
        data (dict): Custom data to pass into the flow.
        
    Returns:
        httpx.Response: The HTTP response object.
    """
    base_url = f"https://{GENESYS_DOMAIN}/api/v2/flows/executions"
    
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Accept": "application/json"
    }
    
    payload = {
        "flowId": flow_id,
        "data": data
    }

    try:
        logger.info(f"Triggering flow {flow_id} with data: {json.dumps(data)}")
        response = httpx.post(
            base_url,
            headers=headers,
            json=payload,
            timeout=10.0
        )
        
        # Handle successful responses
        if response.status_code == 200:
            logger.info(f"Flow execution initiated successfully. Response: {response.json()}")
        else:
            logger.error(f"Failed to trigger flow. Status: {response.status_code}, Body: {response.text}")
            
        return response
        
    except httpx.TimeoutException:
        logger.error("Request timed out.")
        raise
    except httpx.RequestError as e:
        logger.error(f"Request error: {e}")
        raise

Step 3: Execute the Flow via Python SDK

The genesyscloud Python SDK simplifies this process by handling serialization and providing type hints. It also manages retries for transient errors more gracefully than raw HTTP calls.

OAuth Scope Required: flow:execution:write

from genesyscloud.platform.client import PlatformClient
from genesyscloud.flow.executions.api import FlowExecutionsApi
from genesyscloud.flow.executions.model.flow_execution_request import FlowExecutionRequest

def trigger_flow_sdk(flow_id: str, data: dict) -> dict:
    """
    Triggers a Genesys Cloud Architect flow using the official Python SDK.
    
    Args:
        flow_id (str): The ID of the flow to execute.
        data (dict): Custom data to pass into the flow.
        
    Returns:
        dict: The response object from the API.
    """
    # Initialize the platform client
    # The SDK handles token acquisition if you provide client_id/secret, 
    # but here we assume you have a token or configure it via environment.
    # For this example, we use the token obtained in Step 1.
    
    client = PlatformClient()
    
    # Configure the client with the domain and token
    # Note: In a real app, you might use client.set_oauth_client_id() etc.
    client.set_oauth_access_token(get_access_token())
    client.set_base_url(f"https://{GENESYS_DOMAIN}")
    
    flow_api = FlowExecutionsApi(client)
    
    # Construct the request object
    # The SDK model ensures type safety
    execution_request = FlowExecutionRequest(
        flow_id=flow_id,
        data=data
    )
    
    try:
        # Post the execution request
        response = flow_api.post_flow_executions(body=execution_request)
        
        logger.info(f"Flow executed via SDK. Response code: {response.status_code}")
        return response.body
        
    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(f"SDK Error: {str(e)}")
        raise

Step 4: Processing Results and Handling Async Nature

It is critical to understand that POST /api/v2/flows/executions is asynchronous. A 200 OK response does not mean the flow has completed. It means the request to start the flow was accepted.

The response body typically contains an executionId. You can use this ID to poll for status using GET /api/v2/flows/executions/{executionId} if you need to know when the flow finishes or what data it produced.

Response Structure Example:

{
  "executionId": "abc123-def456-ghi789",
  "flowId": "flow-uuid-here",
  "status": "running",
  "createdAt": "2023-10-27T10:00:00Z"
}

If your flow is designed to return data (e.g., via a Return Data block), you must poll for the executionId until the status becomes completed or failed.

import time
import httpx

def poll_flow_status(access_token: str, execution_id: str, timeout_seconds: int = 60) -> dict:
    """
    Polls the Genesys Cloud API for the status of a flow execution.
    
    Args:
        access_token (str): Valid OAuth2 access token.
        execution_id (str): The ID returned from the initial POST request.
        timeout_seconds (int): Maximum time to wait for completion.
        
    Returns:
        dict: The final status of the execution.
    """
    base_url = f"https://{GENESYS_DOMAIN}/api/v2/flows/executions/{execution_id}"
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
        "Accept": "application/json"
    }
    
    start_time = time.time()
    
    while time.time() - start_time < timeout_seconds:
        try:
            response = httpx.get(base_url, headers=headers, timeout=5.0)
            
            if response.status_code == 200:
                status_data = response.json()
                status = status_data.get("status")
                
                logger.info(f"Current status: {status}")
                
                if status in ["completed", "failed", "abandoned"]:
                    logger.info(f"Flow execution finished with status: {status}")
                    return status_data
                    
                # Wait before polling again to avoid rate limiting
                time.sleep(2)
                
            else:
                logger.warning(f"Polling failed with status: {response.status_code}")
                time.sleep(5)
                
        except Exception as e:
            logger.error(f"Error polling status: {e}")
            break
            
    logger.warning("Timeout reached while waiting for flow completion.")
    return {"status": "timeout"}

Complete Working Example

This script combines authentication, flow triggering, and status polling into a single runnable module. Replace the placeholder environment variables with your actual credentials.

import os
import httpx
import time
import logging
from dotenv import load_dotenv

# Load environment variables
load_dotenv()

# Configuration
GENESYS_DOMAIN = os.getenv("GENESYS_DOMAIN", "mycompany.mypurecloud.com")
CLIENT_ID = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_ID")
CLIENT_SECRET = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET")
FLOW_ID = os.getenv("FLOW_ID") # The UUID of the flow to trigger

logging.basicConfig(
    level=logging.INFO,
    format='%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s'
)
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def get_access_token() -> str:
    """Obtains an OAuth2 access token."""
    if not CLIENT_ID or not CLIENT_SECRET:
        raise ValueError("Missing CLIENT_ID or CLIENT_SECRET in environment variables.")

    token_url = f"https://{GENESYS_DOMAIN}/oauth/token"
    headers = {"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}
    data = {
        "grant_type": "client_credentials",
        "client_id": CLIENT_ID,
        "client_secret": CLIENT_SECRET,
        "audience": "https://api.mypurecloud.com"
    }

    try:
        response = httpx.post(token_url, headers=headers, data=data, timeout=10.0)
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()["access_token"]
    except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
        logger.error(f"Auth failed: {e.response.text}")
        raise

def trigger_flow(access_token: str, flow_id: str, data: dict) -> str:
    """
    Triggers a flow and returns the execution ID.
    
    Returns:
        str: The execution ID.
    """
    base_url = f"https://{GENESYS_DOMAIN}/api/v2/flows/executions"
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Accept": "application/json"
    }
    
    payload = {
        "flowId": flow_id,
        "data": data
    }

    try:
        response = httpx.post(base_url, headers=headers, json=payload, timeout=10.0)
        response.raise_for_status()
        result = response.json()
        execution_id = result.get("executionId")
        logger.info(f"Flow triggered. Execution ID: {execution_id}")
        return execution_id
    except httpx.HTTPError as e:
        logger.error(f"Failed to trigger flow: {e}")
        raise

def wait_for_completion(access_token: str, execution_id: str) -> dict:
    """Polls for flow completion."""
    base_url = f"https://{GENESYS_DOMAIN}/api/v2/flows/executions/{execution_id}"
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
        "Accept": "application/json"
    }
    
    max_retries = 15
    retry_delay = 3
    
    for i in range(max_retries):
        try:
            response = httpx.get(base_url, headers=headers, timeout=5.0)
            if response.status_code == 200:
                status_data = response.json()
                status = status_data.get("status")
                
                if status in ["completed", "failed", "abandoned"]:
                    return status_data
                
                logger.info(f"Waiting for completion... (Attempt {i+1}/{max_retries}, Status: {status})")
                time.sleep(retry_delay)
            else:
                logger.warning(f"Polling error: {response.status_code}")
                time.sleep(retry_delay)
        except Exception as e:
            logger.error(f"Polling exception: {e}")
            break
            
    return {"status": "timeout", "message": "Flow did not complete within timeout."}

def main():
    if not FLOW_ID:
        logger.error("FLOW_ID environment variable is not set.")
        return

    try:
        # 1. Authenticate
        logger.info("Authenticating...")
        token = get_access_token()
        
        # 2. Prepare Data
        # This data will be accessible in the flow as {{ data.key }}
        flow_data = {
            "customerEmail": "user@example.com",
            "requestType": "account_update",
            "sourceSystem": "external_api"
        }
        
        # 3. Trigger Flow
        logger.info(f"Triggering flow {FLOW_ID}...")
        execution_id = trigger_flow(token, FLOW_ID, flow_data)
        
        # 4. Poll for Result
        if execution_id:
            logger.info("Polling for flow status...")
            final_status = wait_for_completion(token, execution_id)
            logger.info(f"Final Status: {final_status.get('status')}")
            
            # If the flow returned data, it will be in the 'data' field of the response
            if 'data' in final_status:
                logger.info(f"Flow returned data: {final_status['data']}")
                
    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(f"Main execution error: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: 401 Unauthorized

• Cause: The access token is expired, invalid, or the Client ID/Secret is incorrect.
• Fix: Verify your environment variables. Ensure the token was obtained within the last 30 minutes. Check that the audience parameter in the token request matches your domain.

Error: 403 Forbidden

• Cause: The OAuth token does not have the required flow:execution:write scope.
• Fix: Go to Admin > Security > OAuth Client Applications. Edit your client application and ensure flow:execution:write is checked under the Scopes section. Regenerate the token.

Error: 400 Bad Request

• Cause: The flowId is invalid, or the data object contains invalid JSON types.
• Fix: Verify the flowId is a valid UUID for an existing flow. Ensure all values in the data dictionary are serializable (strings, numbers, booleans, lists, or nested dicts). Do not pass binary data or complex objects.

Error: 429 Too Many Requests

• Cause: You have exceeded the rate limit for the POST /api/v2/flows/executions endpoint.
• Fix: Implement exponential backoff. The response headers will include Retry-After indicating the number of seconds to wait.

# Example retry logic for 429
if response.status_code == 429:
    retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 1))
    logger.warning(f"Rate limited. Waiting {retry_after} seconds...")
    time.sleep(retry_after)

Official References

• Genesys Cloud API: Post flow executions
• Genesys Cloud Python SDK Documentation
• OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials Grant