Start recording via API returns 400 Bad Request

NICE CXone API & Integrations
1

Trying to kick off a recording for a voice conversation using the REST API. I’m sending a request to /api/v2/conversations/{conversationId}/recordingstate with the correct auth token, but it keeps failing.

The body is just {“recordingType”:“ALL”}. I get a 400 response every time. Is there a specific state the conversation needs to be in before this works?

2

The 400 Bad Request usually isn’t about the conversation state, though the call must be active. It’s almost always a scope or payload structure issue.

First, check your OAuth token. You need recordings:write scope. If you’re using a service account, verify the permissions in Admin > Integrations.

Second, the payload might be too minimal or malformed. The API expects specific fields. Try this explicit JSON structure:

{
 "recordingType": "ALL",
 "recordingPolicyId": null
}

If you leave recordingPolicyId out entirely, some SDKs or curl versions might send an empty body or malformed JSON. Explicitly setting it to null or omitting it with a strict JSON header helps.

Also, verify the conversationId. It must be the full UUID of the voice conversation, not the participant ID. You can grab it from the conversation details.

Here is a working curl example:

curl -X PUT "https://api.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/conversations/calls/{conversationId}/recordingstate" \
 -H "Authorization: Bearer {your_token}" \
 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
 -d '{"recordingType":"ALL"}'

If you still get a 400, check the response body. Genesys Cloud returns a message field that often says “Conversation is not in a recordable state” or “Invalid recording type”.

One gotcha: if the conversation is already recording, you’ll get a 409 Conflict, not a 400. So a 400 means the request itself is invalid.

I’ve seen this happen when the token expires mid-request. Double-check the token’s exp claim.

Also, ensure the user or service account has the “Recordings: Write” permission. Without it, the API returns 403, but sometimes the middleware throws a 400 if the token is malformed.

Try the curl command above. If it works, the issue is in your code’s JSON serialization.

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