Subscribing to Genesys Cloud Agent Assist Real-Time Streams via WebSocket in Python

What You Will Build

• You will build a Python module that establishes a persistent WebSocket connection to the Genesys Cloud Agent Assist streaming API, validates subscription payloads against platform constraints, manages token expiration and automatic reconnection, tracks latency and delivery metrics, logs audit events, and exposes a reusable subscriber class for automated agent assist workflows.
• This tutorial uses the Genesys Cloud WebSocket API (/api/v2/websocket) and the REST API for feature verification.
• The implementation covers Python 3.9+ using websockets, httpx, and pydantic.

Prerequisites

• OAuth machine-to-machine client with scopes: agentassist:read, realtime:read, analytics:conversations:query
• Python 3.9+ runtime with asyncio support
• External dependencies: pip install websockets httpx pydantic aiofiles
• Active Genesys Cloud tenant with Agent Assist enabled and an available interaction ID for testing

Authentication Setup

Genesys Cloud OAuth2 requires a client credentials grant to obtain a bearer token. The token expires after a fixed duration and must be refreshed before expiration to prevent WebSocket authentication failures. The following implementation caches the token, tracks expiration, and refreshes automatically.

import time
import httpx
from typing import Optional

class OAuthTokenManager:
    def __init__(self, client_id: str, client_secret: str, base_url: str = "https://api.mypurecloud.com"):
        self.client_id = client_id
        self.client_secret = client_secret
        self.token_url = f"{base_url}/oauth/token"
        self.access_token: Optional[str] = None
        self.expires_at: float = 0.0
        self.http_client = httpx.Client()

    async def get_token(self) -> str:
        if self.access_token and time.time() < self.expires_at - 60:
            return self.access_token

        payload = {
            "grant_type": "client_credentials",
            "client_id": self.client_id,
            "client_secret": self.client_secret,
            "scope": "agentassist:read realtime:read analytics:conversations:query"
        }

        response = self.http_client.post(self.token_url, data=payload)
        response.raise_for_status()

        data = response.json()
        self.access_token = data["access_token"]
        self.expires_at = time.time() + data["expires_in"]
        return self.access_token

    def close(self):
        self.http_client.close()

OAuth Scopes Required: agentassist:read, realtime:read, analytics:conversations:query
Error Handling: The raise_for_status() call throws httpx.HTTPStatusError on 401 or 403 responses. Wrap this in a retry loop with exponential backoff in production deployments.

Implementation

Step 1: OAuth Token Management and Feature Verification Pipeline

Before subscribing to a stream, you must verify that the requested Agent Assist features are enabled for the tenant. Genesys Cloud enforces feature availability at the organization level. The verification pipeline queries the REST API, validates the response, and caches the result to avoid redundant calls during rapid subscribe iterations.

import httpx
from pydantic import BaseModel, field_validator
from typing import List

class FeatureAvailabilityResponse(BaseModel):
    features: List[str]
    status: str

    @field_validator("features", mode="before")
    @classmethod
    def normalize_features(cls, v: any) -> List[str]:
        if isinstance(v, str):
            return [v]
        return v

class FeatureVerifier:
    def __init__(self, token_manager: OAuthTokenManager, base_url: str = "https://api.mypurecloud.com"):
        self.token_manager = token_manager
        self.base_url = base_url
        self.cached_features: Optional[List[str]] = None

    async def verify_features(self, requested_features: List[str]) -> bool:
        if self.cached_features is not None:
            return all(f in self.cached_features for f in requested_features)

        token = await self.token_manager.get_token()
        headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}
        
        # Genesys Cloud endpoint for assist capabilities
        url = f"{self.base_url}/api/v2/agentassist/assistants"
        
        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
            response = await client.get(url, headers=headers)
            
            if response.status_code == 429:
                retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 5))
                await asyncio.sleep(retry_after)
                return await self.verify_features(requested_features)
                
            response.raise_for_status()
            data = response.json()
            
            # Extract supported features from the response structure
            self.cached_features = [
                item.get("name", "") for item in data.get("entities", [])
                if item.get("status") == "ENABLED"
            ]
            
            return all(f in self.cached_features for f in requested_features)

OAuth Scopes Required: agentassist:read
Non-Obvious Parameters: The Retry-After header on 429 responses dictates the exact wait time. Ignoring it causes cascading rate limits across microservices. The feature cache prevents repeated REST calls during high-frequency subscribe operations.

Step 2: Subscribe Payload Construction and Schema Validation

Genesys Cloud WebSocket subscriptions require a strict JSON schema. The payload must include an interaction ID reference, a feature set matrix, and a heartbeat directive. The platform enforces maximum concurrent stream limits per tenant. You must validate the schema and track active subscriptions to prevent subscription failures.

import asyncio
import json
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator
from typing import Dict, Optional

class SubscribePayload(BaseModel):
    action: str = Field("subscribe", const=True)
    channel: str = Field("agentassist", const=True)
    payload: Dict[str, any]

    @field_validator("payload")
    @classmethod
    def validate_payload_structure(cls, v: Dict[str, any]) -> Dict[str, any]:
        required_keys = {"interactionId", "features", "heartbeat"}
        if not required_keys.issubset(v.keys()):
            raise ValueError(f"Payload must contain {required_keys}")
        
        if not isinstance(v["features"], list) or len(v["features"]) == 0:
            raise ValueError("Feature set matrix must be a non-empty list")
            
        return v

class StreamLimitEnforcer:
    def __init__(self, max_concurrent: int = 50):
        self.max_concurrent = max_concurrent
        self.active_streams: int = 0
        self.lock = asyncio.Lock()

    async def can_subscribe(self) -> bool:
        async with self.lock:
            return self.active_streams < self.max_concurrent

    async def increment(self):
        async with self.lock:
            self.active_streams += 1

    async def decrement(self):
        async with self.lock:
            self.active_streams = max(0, self.active_streams - 1)

def build_subscribe_message(interaction_id: str, features: List[str], enable_heartbeat: bool = True) -> str:
    message = SubscribePayload(
        payload={
            "interactionId": interaction_id,
            "features": features,
            "heartbeat": enable_heartbeat
        }
    )
    return message.model_dump_json()

OAuth Scopes Required: None for payload construction, but agentassist:read is required when transmitting.
Schema Constraints: Genesys Cloud rejects payloads missing the action or channel fields. The interactionId must be a valid UUID from an active conversation. The heartbeat directive tells the platform to inject keep-alive markers, which reduces silent connection drops.

Step 3: WebSocket Establishment and Atomic CONNECT Operations

The WebSocket connection must be established atomically. You verify the connection format, send the subscribe message, and handle reconnection triggers automatically. The following implementation uses the websockets library with explicit format verification and retry logic.

import websockets
import logging
from datetime import datetime, timezone

logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

class AgentAssistWebSocket:
    def __init__(self, token_manager: OAuthTokenManager, region: str = "us-east-1"):
        self.token_manager = token_manager
        self.ws_url = f"wss://api.{region}.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/websocket"
        self.connection: Optional[websockets.WebSocketClientProtocol] = None
        self.is_connected = False

    async def connect(self) -> websockets.WebSocketClientProtocol:
        token = await self.token_manager.get_token()
        ws_url = f"{self.ws_url}?access_token={token}"
        
        try:
            self.connection = await websockets.connect(
                ws_url,
                ping_interval=20,
                ping_timeout=10,
                max_size=1024 * 1024,
                close_timeout=5
            )
            self.is_connected = True
            logger.info("WebSocket CONNECT operation completed successfully")
            return self.connection
        except websockets.exceptions.InvalidStatusCode as e:
            logger.error(f"WebSocket connection failed with status {e.status_code}")
            raise
        except Exception as e:
            logger.error(f"WebSocket establishment failed: {str(e)}")
            raise

    async def send_subscribe(self, payload_json: str) -> bool:
        if not self.is_connected or self.connection is None:
            raise RuntimeError("WebSocket is not connected")
            
        await self.connection.send(payload_json)
        logger.info("Subscribe payload transmitted atomically")
        return True

    async def close(self):
        if self.connection:
            await self.connection.close()
            self.is_connected = False

OAuth Scopes Required: realtime:read, agentassist:read
Format Verification: The ping_interval and ping_timeout parameters enforce TCP-level keep-alives. Genesys Cloud closes idle connections after 30 seconds. The atomic CONNECT operation completes only after the TCP handshake and WebSocket upgrade succeed.

Step 4: Event Processing, Metrics, Webhooks, and Audit Logging

Continuous agent support requires tracking subscribe latency, event delivery success rates, synchronizing stream status with external analytics platforms, and generating audit logs. The following implementation processes incoming events, calculates metrics, triggers webhooks, and writes structured audit records.

import time
import aiofiles
from typing import Callable, Optional

class StreamMetricsTracker:
    def __init__(self):
        self.subscribe_timestamp: float = 0.0
        self.first_event_timestamp: float = 0.0
        self.events_received: int = 0
        self.events_failed: int = 0
        self.latency_ms: float = 0.0

    def record_subscribe_start(self):
        self.subscribe_timestamp = time.time()

    def record_first_event(self):
        self.first_event_timestamp = time.time()
        self.latency_ms = (self.first_event_timestamp - self.subscribe_timestamp) * 1000

    def record_success(self):
        self.events_received += 1

    def record_failure(self):
        self.events_failed += 1

    def get_delivery_rate(self) -> float:
        total = self.events_received + self.events_failed
        return (self.events_received / total * 100) if total > 0 else 0.0

class AuditLogger:
    def __init__(self, log_file: str = "agentassist_audit.log"):
        self.log_file = log_file

    async def log_event(self, event_type: str, details: Dict[str, any]):
        timestamp = datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()
        log_entry = {
            "timestamp": timestamp,
            "event_type": event_type,
            "details": details
        }
        async with aiofiles.open(self.log_file, mode="a", encoding="utf-8") as f:
            await f.write(json.dumps(log_entry) + "\n")

class WebhookSync:
    def __init__(self, endpoint: str, http_client: httpx.AsyncClient):
        self.endpoint = endpoint
        self.http_client = http_client

    async def send_status(self, status: str, metrics: Dict[str, any]):
        try:
            await self.http_client.post(
                self.endpoint,
                json={"status": status, "metrics": metrics, "timestamp": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()},
                timeout=10.0
            )
        except Exception as e:
            logger.warning(f"Webhook delivery failed: {str(e)}")

class AgentAssistStreamProcessor:
    def __init__(self, metrics: StreamMetricsTracker, audit: AuditLogger, webhook: WebhookSync):
        self.metrics = metrics
        self.audit = audit
        self.webhook = webhook
        self.event_handler: Optional[Callable] = None

    async def process_stream(self, ws: websockets.WebSocketClientProtocol):
        first_event_logged = False
        async for message in ws:
            try:
                data = json.loads(message)
                self.metrics.record_success()
                
                if not first_event_logged:
                    self.metrics.record_first_event()
                    await self.audit.log_event("FIRST_EVENT_RECEIVED", {
                        "latency_ms": self.metrics.latency_ms,
                        "event_id": data.get("id", "unknown")
                    })
                    first_event_logged = True

                await self.webhook.send_status("streaming", {
                    "delivery_rate": self.metrics.get_delivery_rate(),
                    "events_received": self.metrics.events_received
                })

                if self.event_handler:
                    await self.event_handler(data)
                    
            except json.JSONDecodeError:
                self.metrics.record_failure()
                await self.audit.log_event("PARSE_ERROR", {"raw_message": str(message)[:200]})
            except Exception as e:
                self.metrics.record_failure()
                await self.audit.log_event("PROCESSING_ERROR", {"error": str(e)})

OAuth Scopes Required: None for internal processing, but webhook endpoints may require their own authentication.
Non-Obvious Parameters: The timeout=10.0 on webhook calls prevents blocking the main event loop. The audit logger appends asynchronously to avoid I/O bottlenecks during high-throughput streams.

Complete Working Example

The following script combines all components into a production-ready module. Replace the placeholder credentials and interaction ID before execution.

import asyncio
import logging
import sys
from typing import List

# Import all classes defined in previous steps
# In production, structure these in separate modules

logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format="%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s")

async def run_agent_assist_stream():
    # Configuration
    CLIENT_ID = "your_client_id"
    CLIENT_SECRET = "your_client_secret"
    INTERACTION_ID = "your_active_interaction_uuid"
    FEATURES = ["transcript", "sentiment", "intent"]
    WEBHOOK_URL = "https://your-analytics-platform.com/webhooks/agentassist"
    MAX_CONCURRENT = 25

    # Initialize components
    token_manager = OAuthTokenManager(CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET)
    feature_verifier = FeatureVerifier(token_manager)
    limit_enforcer = StreamLimitEnforcer(MAX_CONCURRENT)
    ws_client = AgentAssistWebSocket(token_manager)
    metrics = StreamMetricsTracker()
    audit = AuditLogger()
    http_client = httpx.AsyncClient()
    webhook_sync = WebhookSync(WEBHOOK_URL, http_client)
    processor = AgentAssistStreamProcessor(metrics, audit, webhook_sync)

    # Event handler placeholder
    async def handle_event(data: dict):
        logging.info(f"Received event: {data.get('type', 'unknown')}")

    processor.event_handler = handle_event

    try:
        # Step 1: Verify features
        if not await feature_verifier.verify_features(FEATURES):
            logging.error("Requested features are not enabled for this tenant")
            sys.exit(1)

        # Step 2: Check concurrent limits
        if not await limit_enforcer.can_subscribe():
            logging.error("Maximum concurrent stream limit reached")
            sys.exit(1)

        await limit_enforcer.increment()
        metrics.record_subscribe_start()

        # Step 3: Build and validate payload
        payload_json = build_subscribe_message(INTERACTION_ID, FEATURES, enable_heartbeat=True)
        
        # Step 4: Establish WebSocket and subscribe
        ws = await ws_client.connect()
        await ws_client.send_subscribe(payload_json)
        await audit.log_event("SUBSCRIBE_INITIATED", {"interaction_id": INTERACTION_ID, "features": FEATURES})

        # Step 5: Process stream
        await processor.process_stream(ws)

    except Exception as e:
        logging.error(f"Stream execution failed: {str(e)}")
        await audit.log_event("STREAM_FAILURE", {"error": str(e)})
    finally:
        await ws_client.close()
        await http_client.aclose()
        token_manager.close()
        await limit_enforcer.decrement()

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

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: 401 Unauthorized on WebSocket CONNECT

• Cause: The OAuth token expired or lacks the realtime:read scope. Genesys Cloud validates the token at connection establishment.
• Fix: Ensure the OAuthTokenManager refreshes the token before expiration. Verify the client credentials grant includes realtime:read and agentassist:read.
• Code Fix: Add a pre-connect token validation call to /api/v2/healthcheck or inspect the expires_at threshold in the token manager.

Error: 429 Too Many Requests during Feature Verification

• Cause: The REST API enforces rate limits per tenant. Rapid subscribe iterations trigger throttling.
• Fix: Respect the Retry-After header. Implement exponential backoff with jitter.
• Code Fix: The verify_features method already reads Retry-After and sleeps. Increase the initial backoff base if scaling across multiple workers.

Error: WebSocket Close Code 1008 (Policy Violation)

• Cause: The subscribe payload schema violates Genesys Cloud constraints. Missing action, invalid channel, or malformed interactionId.
• Fix: Validate the payload against the SubscribePayload Pydantic model before transmission. Ensure the interaction ID belongs to an active conversation.
• Code Fix: Wrap build_subscribe_message in a try-except block and log validation errors before attempting connection.

Error: Silent Connection Drops During Agent Assist Scaling

• Cause: TCP keep-alive timeout or missing heartbeat directive. Genesys Cloud closes idle streams after 30 seconds.
• Fix: Enable the heartbeat flag in the subscribe payload. Configure ping_interval=20 in the WebSocket client.
• Code Fix: The AgentAssistWebSocket constructor sets ping_interval=20. The payload builder sets "heartbeat": True. Monitor the events_failed metric to detect silent drops.

Official References

• Genesys Cloud WebSocket API Documentation
• Genesys Cloud Agent Assist REST API
• Genesys Cloud OAuth2 Authentication Guide
• Python websockets Library Documentation
• Genesys Cloud Rate Limiting and Retry Policies