Setting Participant Attributes Mid-Conversation via the Genesys Cloud Conversations API
What You Will Build
- You will build a script that updates participant-level attributes on an active Genesys Cloud conversation in real time.
- You will use the Genesys Cloud Conversations API (
/api/v2/conversations/...) and the Python SDK (genesyscloud). - You will use Python 3.9+ with
asyncioandhttpxfor robust, production-grade execution.
Prerequisites
- OAuth Client: A Genesys Cloud OAuth client with the
agentorapigrant type. - Required Scopes:
conversation:participant:write,conversation:view,user:read(for validation). - SDK Version:
genesyscloud>= 12.0.0. - Runtime: Python 3.9 or higher.
- Dependencies:
pip install genesyscloud httpx pydantic
Authentication Setup
Genesys Cloud uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication. For server-to-server integrations (such as this tutorial), the Client Credentials Grant flow is the standard. You must cache the access token and handle expiration, as tokens typically expire after 3600 seconds (1 hour).
The following class handles token acquisition and caching. It uses httpx for HTTP requests to avoid blocking the event loop in async contexts.
import httpx
import time
from typing import Optional
class GenesysAuthManager:
def __init__(self, client_id: str, client_secret: str, environment: str = "mypurecloud.com"):
self.client_id = client_id
self.client_secret = client_secret
self.base_url = f"https://api.{environment}"
self.token_url = f"{self.base_url}/oauth/token"
self.access_token: Optional[str] = None
self.token_expiry: float = 0
self.http_client = httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30.0)
async def get_access_token(self) -> str:
"""
Retrieves an access token if not present or expired.
Implements basic in-memory caching with a 5-minute safety buffer.
"""
current_time = time.time()
# Check if we have a valid token (with a 300-second buffer to avoid edge-case expiry)
if self.access_token and current_time < (self.token_expiry - 300):
return self.access_token
payload = {
"grant_type": "client_credentials",
"client_id": self.client_id,
"client_secret": self.client_secret
}
try:
response = await self.http_client.post(
self.token_url,
data=payload,
headers={"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}
)
response.raise_for_status()
token_data = response.json()
self.access_token = token_data["access_token"]
self.token_expiry = current_time + token_data["expires_in"]
return self.access_token
except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
if e.response.status_code == 401:
raise Exception("OAuth Authentication Failed: Invalid Client ID or Secret.")
elif e.response.status_code == 400:
raise Exception("OAuth Request Bad Format: Check payload structure.")
else:
raise Exception(f"OAuth Request Failed: {e.response.status_code} - {e.response.text}")
async def close(self):
await self.http_client.aclose()
Key Implementation Detail: The expires_in field in the OAuth response is relative. You must add it to the current timestamp to determine absolute expiry. The 300-second buffer prevents race conditions where a token expires while a request is in flight.
Implementation
Step 1: Identify the Conversation and Participant
Before updating attributes, you must identify the specific conversationId and participantId. You cannot update a participant without these two identifiers.
In a production environment, you might receive these via an Event Stream subscription or a webhook. For this tutorial, we will simulate retrieving an active conversation for a specific user.
Endpoint: GET /api/v2/conversations/users/{userId}
Scope: conversation:view
import httpx
from typing import List, Dict, Any
class ConversationFinder:
def __init__(self, auth: GenesysAuthManager, environment: str = "mypurecloud.com"):
self.auth = auth
self.base_url = f"https://api.{environment}"
self.http_client = httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30.0)
async def get_active_conversations_for_user(self, user_id: str) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
"""
Retrieves all active conversations for a specific user.
Returns a list of participants with their conversationId and participantId.
"""
token = await self.auth.get_access_token()
endpoint = f"{self.base_url}/api/v2/conversations/users/{user_id}"
headers = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
try:
response = await self.http_client.get(endpoint, headers=headers)
response.raise_for_status()
data = response.json()
participants = []
# Iterate through conversations and find the user's participant ID
for conv in data.get("conversations", []):
conv_id = conv["conversationId"]
for participant in conv.get("participants", []):
if participant.get("userId") == user_id:
participants.append({
"conversationId": conv_id,
"participantId": participant["participantId"],
"status": participant.get("status", "unknown")
})
return participants
except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
if e.response.status_code == 404:
return [] # User has no active conversations
else:
raise Exception(f"Failed to fetch conversations: {e.response.status_code}")
async def close(self):
await self.http_client.aclose()
Why this approach? Directly querying /api/v2/conversations/users/{userId} is more efficient than paginating through all global conversations. It limits the scope to the relevant user, reducing payload size and latency.
Step 2: Update Participant Attributes
The core operation is the PUT request to the participant endpoint. This endpoint supports partial updates, but you must send the full set of attributes you wish to persist. If you omit an attribute, it is not deleted; however, if you send a new object, it replaces the existing one.
Endpoint: PUT /api/v2/conversations/{conversationId}/participants/{participantId}
Scope: conversation:participant:write
Critical Note on Attributes: Genesys Cloud distinguishes between attributes (custom key-value pairs) and status. You can update both in the same call. Attributes are arbitrary JSON objects. They are often used for routing hints, logging metadata, or passing data to downstream integrations.
import httpx
from typing import Dict, Any, Optional
class ParticipantUpdater:
def __init__(self, auth: GenesysAuthManager, environment: str = "mypurecloud.com"):
self.auth = auth
self.base_url = f"https://api.{environment}"
self.http_client = httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=30.0)
async def update_participant_attributes(
self,
conversation_id: str,
participant_id: str,
new_attributes: Dict[str, Any],
status: Optional[str] = None
) -> Dict[str, Any]:
"""
Updates participant attributes and optionally status.
Args:
conversation_id: The UUID of the conversation.
participant_id: The UUID of the participant.
new_attributes: Dictionary of key-value pairs to merge/replace.
status: Optional status string (e.g., "connected", "queued").
Returns:
The updated participant object.
"""
token = await self.auth.get_access_token()
endpoint = f"{self.base_url}/api/v2/conversations/{conversation_id}/participants/{participant_id}"
headers = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
# Construct the payload
payload: Dict[str, Any] = {}
# If attributes are provided, include them.
# Note: This replaces the existing attributes object entirely.
if new_attributes:
payload["attributes"] = new_attributes
# If status is provided, include it.
if status:
payload["status"] = status
try:
# Perform the PUT request
response = await self.http_client.put(
endpoint,
json=payload,
headers=headers
)
# Handle 429 Rate Limiting with simple retry logic
if response.status_code == 429:
retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 1))
print(f"Rate limited. Retrying in {retry_after} seconds...")
import asyncio
await asyncio.sleep(retry_after)
response = await self.http_client.put(
endpoint,
json=payload,
headers=headers
)
response.raise_for_status()
return response.json()
except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
if e.response.status_code == 401:
raise Exception("Authentication Failed: Token expired or invalid.")
elif e.response.status_code == 403:
raise Exception("Forbidden: Insufficient scopes. Requires 'conversation:participant:write'.")
elif e.response.status_code == 404:
raise Exception("Not Found: Conversation or Participant ID is invalid or conversation ended.")
elif e.response.status_code == 409:
raise Exception("Conflict: Participant status change not allowed in current state.")
else:
raise Exception(f"API Error: {e.response.status_code} - {e.response.text}")
async def close(self):
await self.http_client.aclose()
Implementation Detail: The PUT method replaces the target resource’s properties. If you only want to update attributes, you do not need to send status. However, if you send attributes, you must send the complete attributes object you want to exist on the participant. Genesys Cloud does not perform a deep merge of the attributes object. If the participant currently has {"key1": "val1"} and you send {"key2": "val2"}, the result will be {"key2": "val2"}. key1 is lost.
To perform a merge, you must first fetch the participant, update the local dictionary, and then send the merged object.
Step 3: Fetching and Merging Attributes (Safe Update)
To avoid data loss, a production-safe update pattern involves fetching the current state, merging the new data, and then pushing the result.
async def safe_update_attributes(
self,
conversation_id: str,
participant_id: str,
new_attributes: Dict[str, Any]
) -> Dict[str, Any]:
"""
Fetches current attributes, merges with new_attributes, and updates.
"""
token = await self.auth.get_access_token()
get_endpoint = f"{self.base_url}/api/v2/conversations/{conversation_id}/participants/{participant_id}"
put_endpoint = get_endpoint # Same URL for PUT
headers = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
try:
# 1. Fetch Current Participant
get_response = await self.http_client.get(get_endpoint, headers=headers)
get_response.raise_for_status()
current_participant = get_response.json()
# 2. Merge Attributes
existing_attrs = current_participant.get("attributes", {})
merged_attrs = {**existing_attrs, **new_attributes}
# 3. Prepare Payload
payload = {
"attributes": merged_attrs
# Note: We do not include 'status' here to avoid unintended state changes
}
# 4. Update
put_response = await self.http_client.put(
put_endpoint,
json=payload,
headers=headers
)
# Handle 429
if put_response.status_code == 429:
retry_after = int(put_response.headers.get("Retry-After", 1))
import asyncio
await asyncio.sleep(retry_after)
put_response = await self.http_client.put(
put_endpoint,
json=payload,
headers=headers
)
put_response.raise_for_status()
return put_response.json()
except httpx.HTTPStatusError as e:
raise Exception(f"Safe Update Failed: {e.response.status_code} - {e.response.text}")
Complete Working Example
This script ties all components together. It authenticates, finds an active conversation for a user, and updates a specific attribute (routing_priority) on that participant.
import asyncio
import sys
async def main():
# Configuration
CLIENT_ID = "YOUR_CLIENT_ID"
CLIENT_SECRET = "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"
ENVIRONMENT = "mypurecloud.com" # e.g., "mypurecloud.com", "au.mygenesys.com"
USER_ID = "TARGET_USER_ID" # The User ID of the agent/customer
# New attributes to add/overwrite
NEW_ATTRIBUTES = {
"routing_priority": "high",
"customer_segment": "vip",
"session_id": "sess_123456789"
}
# Initialize Managers
auth = GenesysAuthManager(CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET, ENVIRONMENT)
finder = ConversationFinder(auth, ENVIRONMENT)
updater = ParticipantUpdater(auth, ENVIRONMENT)
try:
# 1. Authenticate
print("Authenticating...")
token = await auth.get_access_token()
print("Authentication successful.")
# 2. Find Active Conversation
print(f"Finding active conversations for user {USER_ID}...")
participants = await finder.get_active_conversations_for_user(USER_ID)
if not participants:
print("No active conversations found for this user.")
return
# Select the first active conversation (for demo purposes)
target = participants[0]
conv_id = target["conversationId"]
part_id = target["participantId"]
print(f"Found conversation: {conv_id}, Participant: {part_id}")
# 3. Update Attributes
print("Updating participant attributes...")
updated_participant = await updater.safe_update_attributes(
conversation_id=conv_id,
participant_id=part_id,
new_attributes=NEW_ATTRIBUTES
)
print("Update successful.")
print(f"New Attributes: {updated_participant.get('attributes', {})}")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
sys.exit(1)
finally:
# Cleanup
await auth.close()
await finder.close()
await updater.close()
if __name__ == "__main__":
asyncio.run(main())
Common Errors & Debugging
Error: 403 Forbidden
Cause: The OAuth token lacks the conversation:participant:write scope.
Fix: Verify your OAuth client configuration in the Genesys Cloud Admin Console. Ensure the “API” or “Agent” client type is selected and the correct scopes are checked. Re-generate the token.
Error: 409 Conflict
Cause: You attempted to change the status of a participant to an invalid state. For example, setting a participant to connected when they are already connected, or setting a customer to queued when they are abandoned.
Fix: Check the current status of the participant before updating. Only update status if a state transition is valid according to the Conversation State Machine documentation.
Error: 404 Not Found
Cause: The conversationId or participantId is incorrect, or the conversation has ended.
Fix: Ensure you are using the correct IDs. Conversations are immutable once ended; you cannot update attributes on a closed conversation via this endpoint. Use the Analytics API for historical data if needed.
Error: Attributes Not Persisting
Cause: You used PUT without fetching the existing attributes first, thereby overwriting them with an empty or partial object.
Fix: Use the safe_update_attributes method shown in Step 3. Always fetch, merge, and then push.
Error: 429 Too Many Requests
Cause: You exceeded the API rate limits (typically 20 requests per second for this endpoint, but varies by org).
Fix: Implement exponential backoff. The code example above includes a basic retry for 429. In high-volume scenarios, use a queueing system to throttle requests.