Synchronizing Genesys Cloud SCIM User Attributes with Active Directory Using Python

What You Will Build

• A Python script that queries Active Directory via LDAP for users modified since the last sync, maps attributes to Genesys Cloud SCIM paths, and executes incremental PATCH requests.
• The integration uses the Genesys Cloud SCIM 2.0 API (/scim/v2/users/{id}) and the ldap3 library for directory queries.
• The implementation runs in Python 3.9+ with requests, sqlite3, and standard library modules.

Prerequisites

• Genesys Cloud OAuth 2.0 client credentials with scim:write scope
• Python 3.9+ runtime environment
• ldap3 and requests packages installed (pip install ldap3 requests)
• Read access to Active Directory LDAP endpoint with a service account that can query user objects

Authentication Setup

The Genesys Cloud platform requires OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials flow. The following function handles token acquisition, caching, and automatic refresh before expiration.

import time
import requests
from typing import Optional

class GenesysAuth:
    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._token: Optional[str] = None
        self._expires_at: float = 0.0

    def _get_token(self) -> dict:
        payload = {
            "grant_type": "client_credentials",
            "scope": "scim:write"
        }
        response = requests.post(
            self.token_url,
            auth=(self.client_id, self.client_secret),
            data=payload,
            timeout=10
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()

    def get_bearer_header(self) -> dict:
        if self._token and time.time() < self._expires_at:
            return {"Authorization": f"Bearer {self._token}"}
        
        token_data = self._get_token()
        self._token = token_data["access_token"]
        self._expires_at = time.time() + (token_data["expires_in"] - 30)
        return {"Authorization": f"Bearer {self._token}"}

The get_bearer_header method checks the local cache. If the token is valid, it returns the header immediately. If expired, it requests a new token and subtracts thirty seconds from the expiration window to prevent boundary failures.

Implementation

Step 1: Query Active Directory for Modified Users

Active Directory stores modification timestamps in the modifyTimestamp attribute. The script queries for users updated after the last recorded sync time. LDAP requires paged results control to handle directories with more than one thousand objects.

import ldap3
from datetime import datetime, timezone

def query_modified_users(server: str, bind_dn: str, bind_password: str, base_dn: str, last_sync: datetime, page_size: int = 500) -> list[dict]:
    conn = ldap3.Connection(
        ldap3.Server(server, get_info=ldap3.ALL),
        user=bind_dn,
        password=bind_password,
        auto_bind=ldap3.AUTO_BIND_READ_ONLY
    )
    
    # LDAP timestamps are in format YYYYMMDDHHmmSS.0Z
    ldap_timestamp = last_sync.strftime("%Y%m%d%H%M%S.0Z")
    search_filter = f"(&(objectClass=user)(!(objectClass=computer))(modifyTimestamp>={ldap_timestamp}))"
    attributes = ["sAMAccountName", "displayName", "givenName", "sn", "mail", "modifyTimestamp"]
    
    users = []
    while True:
        conn.search(
            base_dn,
            search_filter,
            attributes=attributes,
            paged_size=page_size,
            paged_critical=False
        )
        
        for entry in conn.entries:
            ts_raw = str(entry.modifyTimestamp)
            if not ts_raw or ts_raw == "None":
                continue
            # Parse LDAP timestamp
            ts_formatted = ts_raw.replace(".0Z", "")
            modify_dt = datetime.strptime(ts_formatted, "%Y%m%d%H%M%S").replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
            
            users.append({
                "sAMAccountName": str(entry.sAMAccountName),
                "displayName": str(entry.displayName) if entry.displayName else "",
                "givenName": str(entry.givenName) if entry.givenName else "",
                "sn": str(entry.sn) if entry.sn else "",
                "mail": str(entry.mail) if entry.mail else "",
                "modifyTimestamp": modify_dt
            })
        
        if conn.result["controls"] is None or "1.2.840.113556.1.4.319" not in conn.result["controls"]:
            break
        conn.search(
            base_dn,
            search_filter,
            attributes=attributes,
            paged_size=page_size,
            paged_cookie=conn.result["controls"]["1.2.840.113556.1.4.319"]["value"]["cookie"]
        )
        
    conn.unbind()
    return users

The paged results control (1.2.840.113556.1.4.319) returns a cookie. The loop consumes the cookie until the server stops returning it, ensuring complete directory traversal without hitting the default one thousand object limit.

Step 2: Map AD Attributes to SCIM Schemas

Genesys Cloud SCIM uses standard paths for user attributes. A JSON configuration file maps Active Directory properties to SCIM update paths. The script reads this configuration and builds the PATCH operations array.

Configuration file (mapping.json):

{
  "attributes": [
    {"ad_field": "givenName", "scim_path": "name.givenName"},
    {"ad_field": "sn", "scim_path": "name.familyName"},
    {"ad_field": "mail", "scim_path": "emails[type eq \"work\"].value"}
  ]
}

Mapping function:

import json
from typing import Any

def build_scim_patch_operations(user_data: dict, mapping_config: dict[str, Any]) -> list[dict]:
    operations = []
    for mapping in mapping_config["attributes"]:
        ad_value = user_data.get(mapping["ad_field"], "")
        if ad_value:
            operations.append({
                "op": "replace",
                "path": mapping["scim_path"],
                "value": ad_value
            })
    return operations

The function filters out empty values. Genesys Cloud SCIM rejects PATCH requests with null or empty string values for required fields. Filtering at the source prevents 400 Bad Request responses.

Step 3: Construct and Execute SCIM PATCH Requests

The SCIM API endpoint for user updates is PATCH https://api.mypurecloud.com/scim/v2/users/{id}. The script wraps the HTTP call with explicit 429 rate limit handling. The Retry-After header specifies seconds to wait. If missing, the script applies exponential backoff.

import time
import requests
from typing import Optional

def patch_genesis_user(auth: GenesysAuth, scim_base: str, user_id: str, operations: list[dict], max_retries: int = 3) -> requests.Response:
    url = f"{scim_base}/users/{user_id}"
    payload = {"Operations": operations}
    headers = {
        **auth.get_bearer_header(),
        "Content-Type": "application/scim+json",
        "Accept": "application/scim+json"
    }
    
    retries = 0
    while retries <= max_retries:
        response = requests.patch(url, json=payload, headers=headers, timeout=15)
        
        if response.status_code == 200:
            return response
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            retry_after = response.headers.get("Retry-After")
            if retry_after:
                wait_time = int(retry_after)
            else:
                wait_time = 2 ** retries
            print(f"Rate limited. Waiting {wait_time} seconds. Retry {retries + 1}/{max_retries}")
            time.sleep(wait_time)
            retries += 1
        elif response.status_code in (401, 403):
            print(f"Authentication failure: {response.status_code}. Refreshing token.")
            # Force token refresh on next auth call
            auth._token = None
            auth._expires_at = 0.0
            time.sleep(1)
            retries += 1
        else:
            print(f"SCIM PATCH failed for {user_id}: {response.status_code} {response.text}")
            raise requests.HTTPError(response.text, response=response)
            
    raise requests.HTTPError("Max retries exceeded for 429 rate limiting", response=response)

The function parses the Retry-After header directly. It falls back to exponential backoff when the header is absent. It clears the cached token on 401 or 403 to force a fresh OAuth request on the next iteration.

Step 4: Maintain Sync State in SQLite

Tracking the last modified timestamp prevents reprocessing unchanged users. The script uses SQLite to store the highest modifyTimestamp encountered during each run.

import sqlite3
from datetime import datetime, timezone

def init_sync_db(db_path: str) -> sqlite3.Connection:
    conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
    conn.execute("""
        CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS sync_state (
            directory_dn TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
            last_sync_timestamp TEXT NOT NULL
        )
    """)
    conn.commit()
    return conn

def get_last_sync(db_conn: sqlite3.Connection, base_dn: str) -> datetime:
    cursor = db_conn.execute("SELECT last_sync_timestamp FROM sync_state WHERE directory_dn = ?", (base_dn,))
    row = cursor.fetchone()
    if row:
        return datetime.fromisoformat(row[0])
    return datetime(1970, 1, 1, tzinfo=timezone.utc)

def update_last_sync(db_conn: sqlite3.Connection, base_dn: str, timestamp: datetime) -> None:
    db_conn.execute("""
        INSERT INTO sync_state (directory_dn, last_sync_timestamp)
        VALUES (?, ?)
        ON CONFLICT(directory_dn) DO UPDATE SET last_sync_timestamp = ?
    """, (base_dn, timestamp.isoformat(), timestamp.isoformat()))
    db_conn.commit()

The ON CONFLICT clause updates the timestamp if the directory already exists. The initial fallback timestamp (1970-01-01) ensures the first run processes all users.

Complete Working Example

The following script combines all components into a single executable module. Replace the configuration values with your environment credentials.

import json
import sqlite3
import requests
import time
import ldap3
from datetime import datetime, timezone
from typing import Optional

class GenesysAuth:
    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._token: Optional[str] = None
        self._expires_at: float = 0.0

    def _get_token(self) -> dict:
        payload = {
            "grant_type": "client_credentials",
            "scope": "scim:write"
        }
        response = requests.post(
            self.token_url,
            auth=(self.client_id, self.client_secret),
            data=payload,
            timeout=10
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()

    def get_bearer_header(self) -> dict:
        if self._token and time.time() < self._expires_at:
            return {"Authorization": f"Bearer {self._token}"}
        token_data = self._get_token()
        self._token = token_data["access_token"]
        self._expires_at = time.time() + (token_data["expires_in"] - 30)
        return {"Authorization": f"Bearer {self._token}"}

def query_modified_users(server: str, bind_dn: str, bind_password: str, base_dn: str, last_sync: datetime, page_size: int = 500) -> list[dict]:
    conn = ldap3.Connection(
        ldap3.Server(server, get_info=ldap3.ALL),
        user=bind_dn,
        password=bind_password,
        auto_bind=ldap3.AUTO_BIND_READ_ONLY
    )
    ldap_timestamp = last_sync.strftime("%Y%m%d%H%M%S.0Z")
    search_filter = f"(&(objectClass=user)(!(objectClass=computer))(modifyTimestamp>={ldap_timestamp}))"
    attributes = ["sAMAccountName", "displayName", "givenName", "sn", "mail", "modifyTimestamp"]
    users = []
    while True:
        conn.search(base_dn, search_filter, attributes=attributes, paged_size=page_size, paged_critical=False)
        for entry in conn.entries:
            ts_raw = str(entry.modifyTimestamp)
            if not ts_raw or ts_raw == "None":
                continue
            ts_formatted = ts_raw.replace(".0Z", "")
            modify_dt = datetime.strptime(ts_formatted, "%Y%m%d%H%M%S").replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
            users.append({
                "sAMAccountName": str(entry.sAMAccountName),
                "displayName": str(entry.displayName) if entry.displayName else "",
                "givenName": str(entry.givenName) if entry.givenName else "",
                "sn": str(entry.sn) if entry.sn else "",
                "mail": str(entry.mail) if entry.mail else "",
                "modifyTimestamp": modify_dt
            })
        if conn.result["controls"] is None or "1.2.840.113556.1.4.319" not in conn.result["controls"]:
            break
        conn.search(base_dn, search_filter, attributes=attributes, paged_size=page_size, paged_cookie=conn.result["controls"]["1.2.840.113556.1.4.319"]["value"]["cookie"])
    conn.unbind()
    return users

def build_scim_patch_operations(user_data: dict, mapping_config: dict) -> list[dict]:
    operations = []
    for mapping in mapping_config["attributes"]:
        ad_value = user_data.get(mapping["ad_field"], "")
        if ad_value:
            operations.append({"op": "replace", "path": mapping["scim_path"], "value": ad_value})
    return operations

def patch_genesis_user(auth: GenesysAuth, scim_base: str, user_id: str, operations: list[dict], max_retries: int = 3) -> requests.Response:
    url = f"{scim_base}/users/{user_id}"
    payload = {"Operations": operations}
    headers = {**auth.get_bearer_header(), "Content-Type": "application/scim+json", "Accept": "application/scim+json"}
    retries = 0
    while retries <= max_retries:
        response = requests.patch(url, json=payload, headers=headers, timeout=15)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            return response
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            retry_after = response.headers.get("Retry-After")
            wait_time = int(retry_after) if retry_after else 2 ** retries
            print(f"Rate limited. Waiting {wait_time} seconds. Retry {retries + 1}/{max_retries}")
            time.sleep(wait_time)
            retries += 1
        elif response.status_code in (401, 403):
            print(f"Authentication failure: {response.status_code}. Refreshing token.")
            auth._token = None
            auth._expires_at = 0.0
            time.sleep(1)
            retries += 1
        else:
            print(f"SCIM PATCH failed for {user_id}: {response.status_code} {response.text}")
            raise requests.HTTPError(response.text, response=response)
    raise requests.HTTPError("Max retries exceeded for 429 rate limiting", response=response)

def init_sync_db(db_path: str) -> sqlite3.Connection:
    conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
    conn.execute("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS sync_state (directory_dn TEXT PRIMARY KEY, last_sync_timestamp TEXT NOT NULL)")
    conn.commit()
    return conn

def get_last_sync(db_conn: sqlite3.Connection, base_dn: str) -> datetime:
    cursor = db_conn.execute("SELECT last_sync_timestamp FROM sync_state WHERE directory_dn = ?", (base_dn,))
    row = cursor.fetchone()
    return datetime.fromisoformat(row[0]) if row else datetime(1970, 1, 1, tzinfo=timezone.utc)

def update_last_sync(db_conn: sqlite3.Connection, base_dn: str, timestamp: datetime) -> None:
    db_conn.execute("INSERT INTO sync_state (directory_dn, last_sync_timestamp) VALUES (?, ?) ON CONFLICT(directory_dn) DO UPDATE SET last_sync_timestamp = ?", (base_dn, timestamp.isoformat(), timestamp.isoformat()))
    db_conn.commit()

def main():
    # Configuration
    AD_SERVER = "ldap://dc01.corp.local"
    AD_BIND_DN = "CN=svc_sync,OU=ServiceAccounts,DC=corp,DC=local"
    AD_PASSWORD = "SecurePassword123"
    AD_BASE_DN = "DC=corp,DC=local"
    
    GENESYS_CLIENT_ID = "your_client_id"
    GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET = "your_client_secret"
    SCIM_BASE = "https://api.mypurecloud.com/scim/v2"
    
    DB_PATH = "sync_state.db"
    MAPPING_PATH = "mapping.json"
    
    with open(MAPPING_PATH, "r") as f:
        mapping_config = json.load(f)
        
    db_conn = init_sync_db(DB_PATH)
    last_sync = get_last_sync(db_conn, AD_BASE_DN)
    print(f"Querying AD for users modified after {last_sync.isoformat()}")
    
    auth = GenesysAuth(GENESYS_CLIENT_ID, GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET)
    modified_users = query_modified_users(AD_SERVER, AD_BIND_DN, AD_PASSWORD, AD_BASE_DN, last_sync)
    
    max_timestamp = last_sync
    success_count = 0
    failure_count = 0
    
    for user in modified_users:
        try:
            # In production, query Genesys SCIM GET /users?userName={sAMAccountName} to resolve SCIM ID
            # For this tutorial, we assume the sAMAccountName matches the SCIM userName
            scim_user_id = user["sAMAccountName"] 
            operations = build_scim_patch_operations(user, mapping_config)
            if operations:
                patch_genesis_user(auth, SCIM_BASE, scim_user_id, operations)
                success_count += 1
            if user["modifyTimestamp"] > max_timestamp:
                max_timestamp = user["modifyTimestamp"]
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Failed to sync user {user['sAMAccountName']}: {e}")
            failure_count += 1
            
    update_last_sync(db_conn, AD_BASE_DN, max_timestamp)
    print(f"Sync complete. Success: {success_count}, Failures: {failure_count}")
    db_conn.close()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: 401 Unauthorized or 403 Forbidden

• Cause: Expired OAuth token, missing scim:write scope, or client credentials revoked in the Genesys Cloud admin console.
• Fix: Verify the OAuth client has the scim:write scope assigned. Ensure the client credentials match the environment. The script automatically clears the cached token on 401/403 and requests a fresh token. If the error persists, regenerate the client secret.
• Code fix: The patch_genesis_user function resets auth._token and auth._expires_at on authentication failures to force a new token fetch.

Error: 429 Too Many Requests

• Cause: Exceeding Genesys Cloud SCIM API rate limits (typically 100 requests per minute for SCIM endpoints).
• Fix: The script parses the Retry-After header and sleeps accordingly. If the header is missing, it applies exponential backoff. Reduce batch size or add a fixed delay between PATCH calls if rate limits trigger frequently.
• Code fix: Implement the Retry-After parsing logic shown in Step 3. Add a time.sleep(0.5) between user iterations to distribute load.

Error: 400 Bad Request on SCIM PATCH

• Cause: Invalid SCIM path, empty string values, or unsupported operations. Genesys Cloud rejects replace operations on read-only attributes like id or meta.
• Fix: Validate the mapping.json paths against the SCIM 2.0 User Resource schema. Ensure build_scim_patch_operations filters out empty values. Use op: "replace" for standard attributes.
• Code fix: The mapping function checks if ad_value: before adding operations. Remove any paths that target immutable fields.

Error: LDAP Bind Failed or Paged Results Control Missing

• Cause: Incorrect service account credentials, network firewall blocking port 389/636, or AD server configured to reject paged results.
• Fix: Verify the service account has read permissions on the target OU. Test the bind manually with ldapsearch or ldp.exe. Ensure the ldap3 server object uses get_info=ldap3.ALL to negotiate capabilities.
• Code fix: Wrap the ldap3.Connection initialization in a try-except block to catch LDAPBindError. Log the exact exception message for credential debugging.

Official References

• Genesys Cloud SCIM 2.0 API Documentation
• Genesys Cloud OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials Flow
• SCIM 2.0 PATCH Operations Specification
• ldap3 Python Library Documentation