What is the reason the Screen Recording API endpoints are returning a 403 Forbidden error specifically for agents who hold the ‘Restricted’ security role?
We are running a standard Genesys Cloud CX environment (v2023.10) and have screen recording enabled for our QA team. The integration works perfectly for agents with the standard ‘Agent’ or ‘Supervisor’ roles. We can fetch the recording URLs via GET /api/v2/recordings/screen/{recordingId} without issue. However, when we attempt to fetch recordings for agents assigned the custom ‘Restricted’ role (which inherits from the base Agent role but has specific permissions stripped for compliance reasons in our Chicago hub), the API call fails immediately.
The error payload is consistent:
{
"message": "The requested resource is not available.",
"status": 403,
"code": "forbidden"
}
I have verified the following:
The ‘Restricted’ role has the recordings:view permission enabled in the Admin console.
The agents are actively logged in and screen recording is toggled ‘On’ in their client settings.
We are using the same OAuth2 client credentials that successfully fetch recordings for other agents.
According to the Genesys Docs, the permission matrix suggests that recordings:view should be sufficient. Yet, it seems like there might be an implicit dependency on a base role permission that is being stripped in our custom role configuration.
Has anyone encountered this specific permission conflict with custom roles? We are currently blocked from automating our QA review process for this specific cohort of agents. Any insights into hidden permission dependencies or known bugs with custom roles and screen recordings would be greatly appreciated. We are trying to avoid having to grant full supervisor access just to retrieve these files.
The root of the issue is likely a mismatch between the security role permissions and the specific scope required for screen recording assets. In legal discovery workflows, ‘Restricted’ roles often have tighter constraints on data access to maintain chain of custody.
Check if the ‘Restricted’ role includes the recording:view permission specifically for screen media types. Audio recordings sometimes inherit different default permissions than screen captures.
Try assigning a temporary test role with explicit recording:export and recording:view scopes to one of these agents. If the 403 disappears, the issue is purely permission-based.
Also, verify the API key being used. If it is a user-based token, the user’s role matters. If it is an app-based token, ensure the application has the necessary scopes granted by an admin. The documentation notes that screen recordings require additional consent flags compared to audio.
Review the audit trail for the failed request. It should log exactly which permission check failed. This helps narrow down whether it is a role issue or an application scope issue.
Make sure you verify the OAuth token scopes attached to the application performing the API call, rather than solely relying on the agent’s security role configuration. The recording:view permission mentioned in the previous suggestion is necessary, but it is not sufficient if the integration lacks the specific screen_recording:read scope.
In our multi-trunk environment, we often see 403 errors when the API key used for automation is missing granular permissions for non-audio media types. Check the permissions array in your OAuth client settings. It should explicitly include:
Additionally, ensure the recordingId passed to GET /api/v2/recordings/screen/{recordingId} actually belongs to a session initiated by an agent with active screen recording capabilities. If the Restricted role has disabled screen capture at the endpoint level, the recording might not exist, leading to a 404 or 403 depending on the error handling logic. Validate the recording status first using GET /api/v2/recordings/screen before attempting individual fetches.
The docs actually state that security roles in Genesys Cloud are additive but strictly bounded by the application’s OAuth scope. The 403 is not just a role issue; it is a scope validation failure at the API gateway level.
When automating this via Terraform, the genesyscloud_oauth_client resource often inherits default scopes that exclude sensitive media types like screen recordings unless explicitly declared. The ‘Restricted’ role might have the internal permission, but the API key used for the fetch lacks the external scope to validate that permission.
Error: 403 Forbidden. Message: “Access denied. The client does not have the required scope ‘screen_recording:read’ for the requested resource.”
To fix this, update the Terraform configuration for the OAuth client. Ensure the scopes list includes both recording:view and the specific screen recording scope.
resource "genesyscloud_oauth_client" "qa_screen_fetcher" {
name = "QA-Screen-Recorder"
description = "Client for fetching restricted screen recordings"
scopes = [
"recording:view",
"screen_recording:read",
"agent:login:read"
]
redirect_uris = []
}
# Ensure the client is linked to the correct security profile if using role-based access
resource "genesyscloud_security_profile" "screen_reader" {
name = "Screen Reader Profile"
description = "Profile for reading screen recordings"
permissions = [
"recording:view",
"screen_recording:read"
]
}
Also, verify the genesyscloud_user assignment. If the agent has the ‘Restricted’ role, ensure the user resource explicitly references this profile. The API does not infer role permissions from user groups alone in automation contexts.