Programmatically Control Call Recordings with Genesys Cloud CX

What You Will Build

• You will build a script that programmatically starts and stops recordings for active conversations using the Genesys Cloud CX Recording API.
• This tutorial utilizes the Genesys Cloud CX REST API v2 and the Python SDK (genesyscloud).
• The implementation is demonstrated in Python using the httpx library for raw HTTP requests to expose the underlying mechanics, alongside SDK usage patterns.

Prerequisites

• OAuth Client Type: Machine-to-Machine (M2M) OAuth 2.0 Client.
• Required Scopes:
  • recording:read (Required to check recording status and retrieve metadata).
  • recording:write (Required to start and stop recordings).
  • conversation:read (Required to identify active conversations if integrating with conversation logic).
• SDK/API Version: Genesys Cloud CX API v2.
• Language/Runtime: Python 3.9+.
• External Dependencies:
  • httpx (for async HTTP requests).
  • python-dotenv (for secure credential management).

Authentication Setup

Genesys Cloud CX uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. For server-side integrations like automated recording control, the Client Credentials flow is the standard approach. This flow provides an access token that does not expire quickly (typically 1 hour) but requires refresh logic if your process runs longer than the token validity period.

The following code demonstrates how to obtain and cache an access token using httpx.

import httpx
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from typing import Optional

# Load environment variables
load_dotenv()

GENESYS_REGION = os.getenv("GENESYS_REGION", "mypurecloud.com")
CLIENT_ID = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_ID")
CLIENT_SECRET = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET")

# Base URL for Genesys Cloud API
BASE_URL = f"https://{GENESYS_REGION}/api/v2"
AUTH_URL = f"https://api.{GENESYS_REGION}/oauth/token"

class GenesysAuth:
    def __init__(self, client_id: str, client_secret: str):
        self.client_id = client_id
        self.client_secret = client_secret
        self.access_token: Optional[str] = None
        self.http_client = httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30.0)

    async def get_access_token(self) -> str:
        """
        Retrieves an OAuth access token using the Client Credentials flow.
        Implements basic caching to avoid unnecessary token requests.
        """
        if self.access_token:
            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
        }

        try:
            response = await self.http_client.post(
                AUTH_URL,
                headers=headers,
                data=data
            )
            response.raise_for_status()
            token_data = response.json()
            self.access_token = token_data.get("access_token")
            return self.access_token
        except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
            print(f"Authentication failed: {e.response.status_code} - {e.response.text}")
            raise
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"An error occurred during authentication: {e}")
            raise

    async def close(self):
        await self.http_client.aclose()

Important: Never hardcode CLIENT_ID or CLIENT_SECRET. Use environment variables or a secrets manager. The access_token is cached in memory. In a production long-running service, you should also track the expires_in field from the token response and refresh the token before it expires to prevent 401 Unauthorized errors mid-execution.

Implementation

Step 1: Identify the Conversation and Recording Status

Before you can start or stop a recording, you must identify the specific conversation. Genesys Cloud CX records are tied to a conversationId. If you are triggering this logic from an external system, you likely already have this ID. If you are scanning for active calls, you must query the Conversations API.

First, let us check if a recording is already active. Starting a recording on an already recording conversation will result in an error.

Endpoint: GET /api/v2/recordings/conversations/{conversationId}
Scope: recording:read

import httpx
import asyncio
from typing import Dict, Any

class RecordingController:
    def __init__(self, auth: GenesysAuth):
        self.auth = auth
        self.base_url = f"https://{os.getenv('GENESYS_REGION', 'mypurecloud.com')}/api/v2"
        self.http_client = httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30.0)

    async def _get_headers(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
        token = await self.auth.get_access_token()
        return {
            "Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
            "Content-Type": "application/json",
            "Accept": "application/json"
        }

    async def get_recording_status(self, conversation_id: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
        """
        Retrieves the recording status for a specific conversation.
        """
        url = f"{self.base_url}/recordings/conversations/{conversation_id}"
        headers = await self._get_headers()

        try:
            response = await self.http_client.get(url, headers=headers)
            
            if response.status_code == 404:
                return {"status": "not_found", "message": "No recording exists for this conversation yet."}
            
            response.raise_for_status()
            return response.json()
            
        except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
            if e.response.status_code == 401:
                print("Token expired. Refreshing authentication.")
                # In a robust implementation, force a token refresh here
                await self.auth.get_access_token() 
                # Retry logic would go here
                raise
            elif e.response.status_code == 403:
                print("Forbidden: Check if 'recording:read' scope is granted.")
                raise
            else:
                print(f"Error fetching status: {e.response.status_code} - {e.response.text}")
                raise

Step 2: Start a Recording

To start a recording, you issue a POST request to the recording endpoint. Genesys Cloud supports different recording types. The most common is full, which records all participants. You can also specify agent only if your use case requires privacy compliance for customer-side audio.

Endpoint: POST /api/v2/recordings/conversations/{conversationId}
Scope: recording:write
Request Body:

{
  "recordingType": "full"
}

Code Implementation:

    async def start_recording(self, conversation_id: str, recording_type: str = "full") -> Dict[str, Any]:
        """
        Initiates a recording for an active conversation.
        
        Args:
            conversation_id: The UUID of the active conversation.
            recording_type: 'full' (all participants) or 'agent' (agent only).
        """
        url = f"{self.base_url}/recordings/conversations/{conversation_id}"
        headers = await self._get_headers()
        
        payload = {
            "recordingType": recording_type
        }

        try:
            # Check current status first to avoid duplicate start attempts
            status = await self.get_recording_status(conversation_id)
            
            if status.get("status") == "active":
                return {"success": False, "message": "Recording is already active."}

            response = await self.http_client.post(
                url,
                headers=headers,
                json=payload
            )

            if response.status_code == 201:
                return {"success": True, "data": response.json()}
            elif response.status_code == 409:
                # 409 Conflict often means the recording is already started or the conversation is not eligible
                return {"success": False, "message": f"Conflict: {response.text}"}
            else:
                response.raise_for_status()

        except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
            print(f"Failed to start recording: {e.response.status_code} - {e.response.text}")
            raise
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Unexpected error starting recording: {e}")
            raise

Why 201 vs 200? The API returns 201 Created upon successful initiation because you are creating a new recording resource associated with the conversation. If the recording was already active, you might see a 409 Conflict. Always handle this state to prevent errors in automated loops.

Step 3: Stop a Recording

Stopping a recording is equally critical, especially for compliance or cost optimization. You use the DELETE method on the same resource.

Endpoint: DELETE /api/v2/recordings/conversations/{conversationId}
Scope: recording:write

Code Implementation:

    async def stop_recording(self, conversation_id: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
        """
        Stops an active recording for a specific conversation.
        """
        url = f"{self.base_url}/recordings/conversations/{conversation_id}"
        headers = await self._get_headers()

        try:
            # Verify recording is active before attempting to stop
            status = await self.get_recording_status(conversation_id)
            
            if status.get("status") == "not_found":
                return {"success": False, "message": "No active recording found to stop."}

            response = await self.http_client.delete(url, headers=headers)

            if response.status_code == 204:
                # 204 No Content indicates success for DELETE operations
                return {"success": True, "message": "Recording stopped successfully."}
            elif response.status_code == 404:
                return {"success": False, "message": "Recording not found."}
            else:
                response.raise_for_status()

        except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
            print(f"Failed to stop recording: {e.response.status_code} - {e.response.text}")
            raise
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Unexpected error stopping recording: {e}")
            raise

    async def close(self):
        await self.http_client.aclose()
        await self.auth.close()

Step 4: Handling Pagination and Bulk Operations (Advanced)

If you need to stop recordings for multiple conversations (e.g., “Stop all recordings in Queue X”), you cannot simply delete by queue ID. You must first query the active conversations, filter them, and then iterate through the stop logic.

Endpoint: POST /api/v2/analytics/conversations/details/query

This is a heavy operation. Use caution. Below is a simplified pattern for retrieving active conversations.

    async def get_active_conversations_in_queue(self, queue_id: str) -> list:
        """
        Retrieves a list of active conversations for a specific queue.
        Note: This is an analytics query and may have latency.
        """
        url = f"{self.base_url}/analytics/conversations/details/query"
        headers = await self._get_headers()
        
        query_body = {
            "dateFrom": "2023-01-01T00:00:00.000Z", # Adjust as needed
            "dateTo": "2023-12-31T23:59:59.999Z",   # Adjust as needed
            "filter": [
                {
                    "type": "queue",
                    "id": queue_id
                },
                {
                    "type": "status",
                    "values": ["active"]
                }
            ],
            "groupBy": [],
            "size": 100
        }

        try:
            response = await self.http_client.post(
                url,
                headers=headers,
                json=query_body
            )
            response.raise_for_status()
            data = response.json()
            
            # Extract conversation IDs from the response
            # The structure of analytics responses can be complex. 
            # Typically, you look at 'entities' or 'data' depending on the query type.
            # For details query, it returns a list of conversation details.
            conversations = data.get("entities", [])
            return conversations
            
        except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
            print(f"Failed to query conversations: {e.response.text}")
            raise

Complete Working Example

The following script combines authentication, status checking, starting, and stopping into a single runnable module. It uses asyncio to manage the asynchronous nature of the HTTP requests.

import asyncio
import os
import httpx
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from typing import Optional, Dict, Any

# --- Configuration ---
load_dotenv()

GENESYS_REGION = os.getenv("GENESYS_REGION", "mypurecloud.com")
CLIENT_ID = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_ID")
CLIENT_SECRET = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET")

AUTH_URL = f"https://api.{GENESYS_REGION}/oauth/token"
BASE_URL = f"https://{GENESYS_REGION}/api/v2"

# --- Authentication Class ---
class GenesysAuth:
    def __init__(self, client_id: str, client_secret: str):
        self.client_id = client_id
        self.client_secret = client_secret
        self.access_token: Optional[str] = None
        self.http_client = httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30.0)

    async def get_access_token(self) -> str:
        if self.access_token:
            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
        }

        try:
            response = await self.http_client.post(AUTH_URL, headers=headers, data=data)
            response.raise_for_status()
            self.access_token = response.json().get("access_token")
            return self.access_token
        except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
            raise Exception(f"Auth failed: {e.response.text}")

    async def close(self):
        await self.http_client.aclose()

# --- Recording Controller Class ---
class RecordingController:
    def __init__(self, auth: GenesysAuth):
        self.auth = auth
        self.base_url = BASE_URL
        self.http_client = httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30.0)

    async def _get_headers(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
        token = await self.auth.get_access_token()
        return {
            "Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
            "Content-Type": "application/json",
            "Accept": "application/json"
        }

    async def start_recording(self, conversation_id: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
        url = f"{self.base_url}/recordings/conversations/{conversation_id}"
        headers = await self._get_headers()
        payload = {"recordingType": "full"}

        try:
            # Pre-check status
            status_resp = await self.http_client.get(url, headers=headers)
            if status_resp.status_code == 200:
                return {"success": False, "message": "Recording already active."}

            response = await self.http_client.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
            if response.status_code == 201:
                return {"success": True, "data": response.json()}
            else:
                return {"success": False, "message": f"Error {response.status_code}: {response.text}"}
        except Exception as e:
            return {"success": False, "message": str(e)}

    async def stop_recording(self, conversation_id: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
        url = f"{self.base_url}/recordings/conversations/{conversation_id}"
        headers = await self._get_headers()

        try:
            response = await self.http_client.delete(url, headers=headers)
            if response.status_code == 204:
                return {"success": True, "message": "Recording stopped."}
            elif response.status_code == 404:
                return {"success": False, "message": "Recording not found."}
            else:
                return {"success": False, "message": f"Error {response.status_code}: {response.text}"}
        except Exception as e:
            return {"success": False, "message": str(e)}

    async def close(self):
        await self.http_client.aclose()

# --- Main Execution ---
async def main():
    if not CLIENT_ID or not CLIENT_SECRET:
        print("Error: GENESYS_CLIENT_ID and GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET must be set in environment variables.")
        return

    # Replace with a real active conversation ID from your Genesys Cloud instance
    TARGET_CONVERSATION_ID = os.getenv("TARGET_CONVERSATION_ID", "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000")

    auth = GenesysAuth(CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET)
    controller = RecordingController(auth)

    try:
        print(f"Attempting to start recording for conversation: {TARGET_CONVERSATION_ID}")
        start_result = await controller.start_recording(TARGET_CONVERSATION_ID)
        print(f"Start Result: {start_result}")

        if start_result.get("success"):
            print("Waiting 10 seconds before stopping...")
            await asyncio.sleep(10)

            print(f"Attempting to stop recording for conversation: {TARGET_CONVERSATION_ID}")
            stop_result = await controller.stop_recording(TARGET_CONVERSATION_ID)
            print(f"Stop Result: {stop_result}")
        else:
            print("Did not start recording, skipping stop.")

    finally:
        await controller.close()
        await auth.close()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: 401 Unauthorized

Cause: The OAuth token is expired or invalid.
Fix: Ensure your GenesysAuth class is refreshing the token. If you are making many requests, implement a token expiration check based on the expires_in field returned during the initial token grant.

Error: 403 Forbidden

Cause: The OAuth client lacks the necessary scopes.
Fix: Verify that the client in the Genesys Cloud Admin Console has both recording:read and recording:write scopes assigned. If you recently added scopes, wait a few minutes for propagation or re-authenticate.

Error: 404 Not Found

Cause: The conversationId does not exist, or no recording has been initiated for that conversation yet.
Fix: Ensure the conversation is active. If you are calling stop_recording on a conversation that never started a recording, this is expected. Handle this gracefully by checking the status first, as shown in the stop_recording method above.

Error: 409 Conflict

Cause: Attempting to start a recording that is already active.
Fix: Always check the current recording status before issuing a start command. The start_recording method in the complete example includes this pre-check.

Error: 429 Too Many Requests

Cause: You have exceeded the rate limit for the Recording API.
Fix: Implement exponential backoff. If you receive a 429, wait for the duration specified in the Retry-After header (if present) or wait a default 1-2 seconds before retrying.

# Example retry logic snippet
async def make_request_with_retry(self, method, url, headers, max_retries=3):
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        response = await self.http_client.request(method, url, headers=headers)
        if response.status_code == 429:
            retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 2))
            print(f"Rate limited. Waiting {retry_after} seconds...")
            await asyncio.sleep(retry_after)
            continue
        return response
    raise Exception("Max retries exceeded due to rate limiting")

Official References

• Genesys Cloud CX Recording API Documentation
• Genesys Cloud CX OAuth 2.0 Documentation
• Python httpx Documentation