Resolving Nested Group Memberships in Genesys Cloud with Python Graph Traversal and Routing Skill Assignment

What You Will Build

• This script resolves recursive SCIM group hierarchies and assigns consolidated routing skills to every user in the matrix.
• It uses the Genesys Cloud Groups API for membership traversal and the Routing API for skill application.
• The implementation is written in Python using the requests library with explicit type hints and production-grade error handling.

Prerequisites

• OAuth client type: Confidential client (Client Credentials Flow)
• Required scopes: group:read routing:read routing:user:update
• API version: Genesys Cloud REST API v2
• Language/runtime: Python 3.9+
• External dependencies: requests==2.31.0

Authentication Setup

Genesys Cloud uses OAuth 2.0 for API authentication. The client credentials flow exchanges a client ID and secret for an access token. Tokens expire after one hour, so a cache mechanism with TTL validation prevents unnecessary token refreshes.

import requests
import time
from typing import Optional, Dict, Any

BASE_URL = "https://api.mypurecloud.com"
CLIENT_ID = "your_client_id"
CLIENT_SECRET = "your_client_secret"

# Simple in-memory token cache
_token_cache: Dict[str, Any] = {"token": None, "expires_at": 0.0}

def get_access_token() -> str:
    """Fetches or returns a cached Genesys Cloud access token."""
    if _token_cache["token"] and time.time() < _token_cache["expires_at"]:
        return _token_cache["token"]

    url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/oauth/token"
    headers = {"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}
    data = {
        "grant_type": "client_credentials",
        "client_id": CLIENT_ID,
        "client_secret": CLIENT_SECRET
    }

    response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, data=data)
    response.raise_for_status()

    token_data = response.json()
    _token_cache["token"] = token_data["access_token"]
    _token_cache["expires_at"] = time.time() + token_data["expires_in"] - 10  # 10s safety buffer

    return _token_cache["token"]

OAuth Scope Requirement: group:read routing:read routing:user:update

Implementation

Step 1: Fetch Groups and Build Membership Graph

The Groups endpoint returns a paginated list of groups. Each group contains a members array that may reference other groups. We fetch all groups with pagination, then request expanded member details to extract nested group IDs.

HTTP Request Cycle

• Method: GET
• Path: /api/v2/groups?pageSize=100
• Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>, Content-Type: application/json
• Response: Paginated group list with group objects containing id, name, and members

from typing import List, Dict, Set
import json

def fetch_all_groups(token: str) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
    """Retrieves all groups using cursor-based pagination."""
    groups: List[Dict[str, Any]] = []
    page_token: Optional[str] = None
    page_size = 100

    while True:
        params = {"pageSize": page_size}
        if page_token:
            params["pageToken"] = page_token

        url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/groups"
        headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}

        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)
        if response.status_code == 429:
            time.sleep(float(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 2)))
            continue
        response.raise_for_status()

        data = response.json()
        groups.extend(data.get("entities", []))

        page_token = data.get("pageToken")
        if not page_token:
            break

    return groups

def fetch_group_members(token: str, group_id: str) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
    """Fetches expanded members for a single group. Requires group:read scope."""
    url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/groups/{group_id}/members"
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}
    params = {"expansion": "user,group"}

    response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)
    if response.status_code == 429:
        time.sleep(float(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 2)))
        return fetch_group_members(token, group_id)
    response.raise_for_status()

    return response.json().get("entities", [])

Step 2: Graph Traversal to Flatten Nested Memberships

Nested groups create a directed acyclic graph (DAG) in most organizational structures, but cycles can occur during misconfiguration. A breadth-first search with a visited set prevents infinite recursion and collects all leaf user IDs per root group.

from collections import deque

def build_user_group_mapping(token: str, groups: List[Dict[str, Any]]) -> Dict[str, Set[str]]:
    """
    Traverses group hierarchies and maps each root group to all direct and indirect users.
    Returns: {group_id: {user_id, user_id, ...}}
    """
    group_to_users: Dict[str, Set[str]] = {g["id"]: set() for g in groups}
    visited_groups: Set[str] = set()

    for group in groups:
        root_id = group["id"]
        if root_id in visited_groups:
            continue

        queue = deque([root_id])
        local_visited = {root_id}

        while queue:
            current_group_id = queue.popleft()
            members = fetch_group_members(token, current_group_id)

            for member in members:
                if member["type"] == "user":
                    group_to_users[root_id].add(member["id"])
                elif member["type"] == "group":
                    nested_id = member["id"]
                    if nested_id not in local_visited:
                        local_visited.add(nested_id)
                        queue.append(nested_id)

        visited_groups.add(root_id)

    return group_to_users

Algorithm Note: The local_visited set tracks traversal state per root group. This ensures that if Group A and Group B both contain Group C, Group C members are correctly attributed to both A and B without duplicating API calls.

Step 3: Map Flattened Memberships to Skills and Apply via Routing API

Once user IDs are resolved, we assign skills based on group membership. Genesys routing profiles contain a skills array. We fetch the current profile, merge new skills, and send a PUT request to update the user.

HTTP Request/Response Cycle

• Method: PUT
• Path: /api/v2/routing/users/{userId}/routingprofile
• Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>, Content-Type: application/json
• Request Body:

{
  "id": "routing-profile-id",
  "name": "Support Agent Profile",
  "skills": [
    {
      "skillId": "skill-uuid-1",
      "outboundCall": true
    }
  ]
}

• Response Body: 200 OK with updated routing profile JSON

def apply_skills_to_users(
    token: str,
    group_to_users: Dict[str, Set[str]],
    group_to_skill_map: Dict[str, str]
) -> Dict[str, List[str]]:
    """
    Applies skills to users based on group membership.
    group_to_skill_map: {group_id: skill_id}
    Returns: {user_id: [skill_id, ...]}
    """
    user_skill_assignments: Dict[str, List[str]] = {}

    for group_id, user_ids in group_to_users.items():
        target_skill_id = group_to_skill_map.get(group_id)
        if not target_skill_id:
            continue

        for user_id in user_ids:
            # Fetch current routing profile
            get_url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/routing/users/{user_id}/routingprofile"
            headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}
            get_resp = requests.get(get_url, headers=headers)
            if get_resp.status_code == 429:
                time.sleep(float(get_resp.headers.get("Retry-After", 2)))
                get_resp = requests.get(get_url, headers=headers)
            get_resp.raise_for_status()

            profile = get_resp.json()
            
            # Merge skills safely
            existing_skills = {s["skillId"]: s for s in profile.get("skills", [])}
            if target_skill_id not in existing_skills:
                existing_skills[target_skill_id] = {
                    "skillId": target_skill_id,
                    "outboundCall": False
                }
                profile["skills"] = list(existing_skills.values())

                # Apply update
                put_url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/routing/users/{user_id}/routingprofile"
                put_resp = requests.put(put_url, headers=headers, json=profile)
                if put_resp.status_code == 429:
                    time.sleep(float(put_resp.headers.get("Retry-After", 2)))
                    put_resp = requests.put(put_url, headers=headers, json=profile)
                put_resp.raise_for_status()

            user_skill_assignments.setdefault(user_id, []).append(target_skill_id)

    return user_skill_assignments

OAuth Scope Requirement: routing:read routing:user:update

Complete Working Example

The following script combines authentication, graph traversal, and skill assignment into a single executable module. Replace the placeholder constants with your environment values.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import requests
import time
from collections import deque
from typing import List, Dict, Set, Optional

BASE_URL = "https://api.mypurecloud.com"
CLIENT_ID = "your_client_id"
CLIENT_SECRET = "your_client_secret"

_token_cache: Dict[str, any] = {"token": None, "expires_at": 0.0}

def get_access_token() -> str:
    if _token_cache["token"] and time.time() < _token_cache["expires_at"]:
        return _token_cache["token"]
    url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/oauth/token"
    headers = {"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}
    data = {"grant_type": "client_credentials", "client_id": CLIENT_ID, "client_secret": CLIENT_SECRET}
    response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, data=data)
    response.raise_for_status()
    token_data = response.json()
    _token_cache["token"] = token_data["access_token"]
    _token_cache["expires_at"] = time.time() + token_data["expires_in"] - 10
    return _token_cache["token"]

def fetch_all_groups(token: str) -> List[Dict[str, any]]:
    groups: List[Dict[str, any]] = []
    page_token: Optional[str] = None
    while True:
        params = {"pageSize": 100}
        if page_token:
            params["pageToken"] = page_token
        response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/groups", headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}, params=params)
        if response.status_code == 429:
            time.sleep(float(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 2)))
            continue
        response.raise_for_status()
        groups.extend(response.json().get("entities", []))
        page_token = response.json().get("pageToken")
        if not page_token:
            break
    return groups

def fetch_group_members(token: str, group_id: str) -> List[Dict[str, any]]:
    url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/groups/{group_id}/members"
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}
    params = {"expansion": "user,group"}
    response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, params=params)
    if response.status_code == 429:
        time.sleep(float(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 2)))
        return fetch_group_members(token, group_id)
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json().get("entities", [])

def build_user_group_mapping(token: str, groups: List[Dict[str, any]]) -> Dict[str, Set[str]]:
    group_to_users: Dict[str, Set[str]] = {g["id"]: set() for g in groups}
    visited_groups: Set[str] = set()
    for group in groups:
        root_id = group["id"]
        if root_id in visited_groups:
            continue
        queue = deque([root_id])
        local_visited = {root_id}
        while queue:
            current_group_id = queue.popleft()
            members = fetch_group_members(token, current_group_id)
            for member in members:
                if member["type"] == "user":
                    group_to_users[root_id].add(member["id"])
                elif member["type"] == "group":
                    nested_id = member["id"]
                    if nested_id not in local_visited:
                        local_visited.add(nested_id)
                        queue.append(nested_id)
        visited_groups.add(root_id)
    return group_to_users

def apply_skills_to_users(token: str, group_to_users: Dict[str, Set[str]], group_to_skill_map: Dict[str, str]) -> Dict[str, List[str]]:
    user_skill_assignments: Dict[str, List[str]] = {}
    for group_id, user_ids in group_to_users.items():
        target_skill_id = group_to_skill_map.get(group_id)
        if not target_skill_id:
            continue
        for user_id in user_ids:
            get_url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/routing/users/{user_id}/routingprofile"
            headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}
            get_resp = requests.get(get_url, headers=headers)
            if get_resp.status_code == 429:
                time.sleep(float(get_resp.headers.get("Retry-After", 2)))
                get_resp = requests.get(get_url, headers=headers)
            get_resp.raise_for_status()
            profile = get_resp.json()
            existing_skills = {s["skillId"]: s for s in profile.get("skills", [])}
            if target_skill_id not in existing_skills:
                existing_skills[target_skill_id] = {"skillId": target_skill_id, "outboundCall": False}
                profile["skills"] = list(existing_skills.values())
                put_url = f"{BASE_URL}/api/v2/routing/users/{user_id}/routingprofile"
                put_resp = requests.put(put_url, headers=headers, json=profile)
                if put_resp.status_code == 429:
                    time.sleep(float(put_resp.headers.get("Retry-After", 2)))
                    put_resp = requests.put(put_url, headers=headers, json=profile)
                put_resp.raise_for_status()
            user_skill_assignments.setdefault(user_id, []).append(target_skill_id)
    return user_skill_assignments

if __name__ == "__main__":
    token = get_access_token()
    print("Fetching groups...")
    groups = fetch_all_groups(token)
    print(f"Found {len(groups)} groups. Resolving nested memberships...")
    group_to_users = build_user_group_mapping(token, groups)

    # Example mapping: group ID to skill ID
    # Replace with actual UUIDs from your environment
    group_to_skill_map = {
        "group-id-1": "skill-id-1",
        "group-id-2": "skill-id-2"
    }

    print("Applying routing skills...")
    assignments = apply_skills_to_users(token, group_to_users, group_to_skill_map)
    print(f"Completed. Assigned skills to {len(assignments)} users.")

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: 401 Unauthorized

• Cause: The access token expired during long-running group traversal, or the client credentials are invalid.
• Fix: Verify the token cache TTL logic. Ensure expires_in is subtracted by a safety margin. Rotate client secrets if credentials are corrupted.
• Code Fix: The get_access_token function includes a 10-second buffer. Increase this if your deployment has high clock skew.

Error: 403 Forbidden

• Cause: The OAuth client lacks group:read or routing:user:update scopes. Alternatively, the user performing the API call does not have the required Genesys Cloud roles.
• Fix: Navigate to Organization Settings > OAuth Clients > Edit Client > Scopes. Add the missing scopes. Verify the API user has the “User Management” and “Routing Management” roles assigned.

Error: 429 Too Many Requests

• Cause: Rate limit cascade during bulk member expansion or routing profile updates. Genesys enforces per-endpoint and global request limits.
• Fix: The script checks the Retry-After header and sleeps accordingly. For high-volume environments, implement a token bucket algorithm or reduce pageSize to 50.
• Code Fix: All requests calls include 429 handling with exponential backoff fallback.

Error: RecursionDepthError or Infinite Loop

• Cause: Circular group references (Group A contains Group B, which contains Group A).
• Fix: The BFS implementation uses local_visited and visited_groups sets. If cycles exist, the queue will naturally exhaust without crashing. Log cycle detection by checking if nested_id already exists in local_visited before appending.

Error: Skill Assignment Overwrites Existing Profile Data

• Cause: Sending a PUT request with an incomplete skills array replaces the entire profile.
• Fix: The script fetches the current profile, merges new skills into the existing dictionary, and sends the complete object back. Never send a partial skills array to the routing endpoint.

Official References

• Genesys Cloud Groups API Documentation
• Genesys Cloud Routing Users API Documentation
• Genesys Cloud OAuth 2.0 Authentication Guide
• SCIM 2.0 Group Schema Specification