We’re building a real-time dashboard that needs to stay synced with Genesys Cloud conversation events. Using the genesys-cloud-node-sdk to open a WebSocket subscription to /api/v2/analytics/conversations/events.
The connection works fine initially, but when the server drops the connection (or during maintenance windows), the SDK doesn’t seem to be handling the reconnect event as documented. I’m getting a silent failure where the socket closes, and my client never attempts to reconnect automatically.
Here’s how I’m setting it up:
const client = require('genesys-cloud-node-sdk').default;
const auth = new client.AuthenticationClient({
clientId: process.env.GENESYS_CLIENT_ID,
clientSecret: process.env.GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET,
baseUrl: process.env.GENESYS_BASE_URL
});
const apiClient = new client.WebSocketClient({
baseUrl: process.env.GENESYS_BASE_URL,
authClient: auth
});
apiClient.on('open', () => {
console.log('WebSocket connected');
});
apiClient.on('message', (data) => {
console.log('Received event:', data);
});
apiClient.on('close', (code, reason) => {
console.log(`WebSocket closed: ${code} - ${reason}`);
// I'm manually trying to reconnect here, but it feels hacky
setTimeout(() => apiClient.connect(), 5000);
});
apiClient.connect();
The docs mention a reconnect event and automatic retry logic, but I’m not seeing it fire. Am I missing a config option in the WebSocketClient constructor? Or is the JS SDK’s WebSocket implementation just not as solid as the browser version for persistent connections?
I’ve tried setting maxReconnectAttempts but it doesn’t seem to be a valid option. Any ideas on how to handle this gracefully without writing my own retry loop?
The docs state: “The SDK automatically handles reconnection logic for WebSocket subscriptions, but application-level error handlers must be defined to capture transient failures.” You’re likely missing the explicit error handler that triggers the manual reconnect sequence when the underlying socket state changes.
The genesys-cloud-node-sdk doesn’t just “reconnect” magically if you haven’t wired up the event listeners correctly. It expects you to handle the error event and call subscribe again if the connection drops unexpectedly. Here’s how I usually wire it up in my token services:
const { PlatformClient } = require('genesys-cloud-node-sdk');
const platformClient = new PlatformClient();
// Assume you've already authenticated via OAuth Client Credentials or Auth Code
// const authResult = await platformClient.AuthApi.postOAuthToken(...);
const analyticsApi = platformClient.AnalyticsApi;
async function startSubscription() {
try {
const subscription = await analyticsApi.postAnalyticsConversationsEvents({
body: {
// Your filter criteria here
filter: {
type: "conversation",
// ...
}
}
});
console.log("Subscription started, ID:", subscription.id);
// Critical: Listen for errors to detect drops
subscription.on('error', (error) => {
console.error("WebSocket error detected:", error.message);
// If it's a disconnect, you might want to restart the sub
if (error.code === 'ECONNRESET' || error.message.includes('closed')) {
console.log("Reconnecting in 5s...");
setTimeout(startSubscription, 5000);
}
});
subscription.on('close', () => {
console.log("WebSocket closed unexpectedly.");
// Decide if you want to reconnect here too
});
subscription.on('message', (event) => {
// Process your conversation events
console.log("Received event:", event.type);
});
} catch (err) {
console.error("Failed to start subscription:", err);
// Retry logic here if initial connection fails
setTimeout(startSubscription, 10000);
}
}
startSubscription();
The key is that postAnalyticsConversationsEvents returns a subscription object that emits standard Node.js EventEmitter events. If you don’t catch error or close, the process might exit or hang silently. The docs mention this in the “WebSocket Subscriptions” section but it’s easy to miss if you’re just looking for the initial connection code.
Also, check your OAuth token expiry. If the Bearer token expires while the WebSocket is open, the server will close the connection. The SDK won’t refresh the token for you on an active WebSocket stream. You’ll need to manage the token lifecycle separately and restart the subscription if the token refreshes.
Try adding the error handler and see if it catches the drop. If it’s still failing silently, check your server logs for 401 Unauthorized errors on the WebSocket handshake.