Synchronizing Genesys Cloud SCIM Users with On-Premise LDAP Using Python

Synchronizing Genesys Cloud SCIM Users with On-Premise LDAP Using Python

What You Will Build

A Python connector that queries an on-premise LDAP directory, maps attributes to Genesys Cloud SCIM schemas, provisions or updates users via the SCIM API, handles pagination, resolves username collisions, secures connections with TLS, and maintains a delta sync state. This tutorial uses the Genesys Cloud REST API and the ldap3 library. The code is written in Python 3.9+.

Prerequisites

  • OAuth Client Credentials grant with scim:users:write and scim:users:read scopes
  • Genesys Cloud REST API v2 and SCIM v2 endpoints
  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • pip install httpx ldap3 pyyaml

Authentication Setup

Genesys Cloud uses OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials flow. You must request a bearer token before calling any SCIM endpoints. The token expires after an hour, so the connector must cache it and refresh it when expired. The following function handles token acquisition, in-memory caching, and 429 retry logic for the authentication endpoint.

import httpx
import time
import os
import json
from typing import Optional

GENESYS_BASE_URL = os.getenv("GENESYS_BASE_URL", "https://api.mypurecloud.com")
CLIENT_ID = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_ID")
CLIENT_SECRET = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET")

_token_cache: dict = {"token": None, "expires_at": 0}

def get_bearer_token() -> str:
    """Fetches and caches a Genesys Cloud OAuth bearer token."""
    current_time = time.time()
    if _token_cache["token"] and current_time < _token_cache["expires_at"]:
        return _token_cache["token"]

    url = f"{GENESYS_BASE_URL}/oauth/token"
    payload = {
        "grant_type": "client_credentials",
        "client_id": CLIENT_ID,
        "client_secret": CLIENT_SECRET,
        "scope": "scim:users:write scim:users:read"
    }

    max_retries = 3
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        response = httpx.post(url, data=payload, timeout=15.0)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            data = response.json()
            _token_cache["token"] = data["access_token"]
            _token_cache["expires_at"] = current_time + data["expires_in"] - 30
            return _token_cache["token"]
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 5))
            print(f"OAuth 429 rate limited. Retrying in {retry_after}s (attempt {attempt + 1})")
            time.sleep(retry_after)
        else:
            raise httpx.HTTPStatusError(
                f"OAuth token request failed with status {response.status_code}",
                request=response.request,
                response=response
            )
    raise RuntimeError("Max retries exceeded for OAuth token")

Implementation

Step 1: Secure LDAP Binding and Pagination

LDAP directories require explicit TLS configuration and paged search controls to handle large user bases. The ldap3 library provides a Server object with TLS settings and a Connection object that supports paged results. You must configure the search to return only users modified after the last sync timestamp to maintain delta state.

import ldap3
import ssl
import os
from datetime import datetime, timezone

LDAP_HOST = os.getenv("LDAP_HOST", "ldap.company.local")
LDAP_PORT = int(os.getenv("LDAP_PORT", "636"))
LDAP_BIND_DN = os.getenv("LDAP_BIND_DN", "cn=sync_service,ou=services,dc=company,dc=local")
LDAP_BIND_PW = os.getenv("LDAP_BIND_PW")
LDAP_BASE_DN = os.getenv("LDAP_BASE_DN", "dc=company,dc=local")

def create_ldap_connection() -> ldap3.Connection:
    """Establishes a secure LDAP connection with TLS and paged search support."""
    tls_config = ldap3.Tls(
        validate=ssl.CERT_REQUIRED,
        version=ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1_2,
        ca_certs_file=os.getenv("LDAP_CA_CERT", "/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt")
    )

    server = ldap3.Server(
        f"ldaps://{LDAP_HOST}:{LDAP_PORT}",
        use_ssl=True,
        tls=tls_config,
        get_info=ldap3.ALL
    )

    connection = ldap3.Connection(
        server,
        user=LDAP_BIND_DN,
        password=LDAP_BIND_PW,
        auto_bind=ldap3.AUTO_BIND_TLS_BEFORE_BIND,
        read_only=True
    )
    return connection

def build_delta_filter(last_sync_ts: float) -> str:
    """Converts a Unix timestamp to LDAP modifyTimestamp filter format."""
    # LDAP timestamps format: YYYYMMDDHHMMSSZ
    dt = datetime.fromtimestamp(last_sync_ts, tz=timezone.utc)
    ldap_ts = dt.strftime("%Y%m%d%H%M%SZ")
    # Filter for users modified since last sync, excluding deleted tombstones if applicable
    return f"(&(objectClass=person)(objectClass=organizationalPerson)(modifyTimestamp>={ldap_ts}))"

Step 2: Configuration Matrix and SCIM Schema Mapping

LDAP schemas vary widely. You must define a configuration matrix that maps LDAP attributes to Genesys Cloud SCIM fields. The matrix handles nested SCIM structures like emails, name, and phoneNumbers. The mapping function transforms a raw LDAP entry dictionary into a SCIM-compliant payload.

import yaml

SCIM_MAPPING_CONFIG = """
schemas:
  - urn:ietf:params:scim:schemas:core:2.0:User
mapping:
  userName: uid
  emails:
    - primary: true
      type: work
      value: mail
  name:
    formatted: cn
    familyName: sn
    givenName: givenName
  phoneNumbers:
    - type: work
      value: telephoneNumber
  active: enabled
"""

def load_mapping_config() -> dict:
    """Loads the YAML configuration matrix for LDAP to SCIM mapping."""
    return yaml.safe_load(SCIM_MAPPING_CONFIG)

def map_ldap_to_scim(entry: dict, config: dict) -> dict:
    """Transforms a single LDAP entry into a Genesys Cloud SCIM User payload."""
    attrs = entry["attributes"]
    scim_user = {"schemas": config["schemas"]}

    for scim_field, ldap_attr in config["mapping"].items():
        if isinstance(ldap_attr, str):
            # Simple string mapping
            value = attrs.get(ldap_attr)
            if value:
                scim_user[scim_field] = value[0] if isinstance(value, list) else value
        elif isinstance(ldap_attr, dict):
            # Nested object mapping (e.g., name, emails, phoneNumbers)
            nested_obj = {}
            for k, v in ldap_attr.items():
                if k in ("type", "primary"):
                    nested_obj[k] = v
                else:
                    val = attrs.get(v)
                    if val:
                        nested_obj[k] = val[0] if isinstance(val, list) else val
            if nested_obj:
                scim_user[scim_field] = nested_obj
        elif isinstance(ldap_attr, list):
            # Array mapping (e.g., multiple emails or phones)
            array_items = []
            for item_map in ldap_attr:
                obj = {}
                for k, v in item_map.items():
                    if k in ("type", "primary"):
                        obj[k] = v
                    else:
                        val = attrs.get(v)
                        if val:
                            obj[k] = val[0] if isinstance(val, list) else val
                if obj:
                    array_items.append(obj)
            if array_items:
                scim_user[scim_field] = array_items

    # Ensure required SCIM fields exist
    if "userName" not in scim_user:
        raise ValueError(f"Missing required SCIM field 'userName' for LDAP entry {entry['dn']}")
    if "active" not in scim_user:
        scim_user["active"] = True

    return scim_user

Step 3: Username Collision Resolution and Request Construction

Genesys Cloud SCIM enforces unique userName values. If a user already exists, you must update it via PATCH instead of creating it via POST. The connector checks for existing users, generates a collision-free username by appending numeric suffixes, and constructs the appropriate HTTP request. All requests include the required application/scim+json content type.

import httpx
import time

def resolve_username(base_username: str, token: str) -> tuple[str, str, Optional[str]]:
    """Checks if username exists in Genesys SCIM. Returns (final_username, action, existing_id)."""
    candidate = base_username
    suffix = 1
    while True:
        # Filter uses SCIM 2.0 syntax
        filter_param = f"userName eq \"{candidate}\""
        url = f"{GENESYS_BASE_URL}/scim/v2/Users"
        headers = {
            "Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
            "Accept": "application/json"
        }
        params = {"filter": filter_param}
        
        response = httpx.get(url, headers=headers, params=params, timeout=15.0)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            data = response.json()
            if data.get("totalResults", 0) > 0:
                existing_id = data["Resources"][0]["id"]
                return candidate, "PATCH", existing_id
            else:
                return candidate, "POST", None
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 5))
            time.sleep(retry_after)
        else:
            raise httpx.HTTPStatusError(
                f"Username check failed: {response.status_code}",
                request=response.request,
                response=response
            )
        
        candidate = f"{base_username}_{suffix}"
        suffix += 1
        if suffix > 10:
            raise RuntimeError(f"Could not resolve unique username after {suffix} attempts")

def sync_user_to_genesys(scim_payload: dict, action: str, user_id: Optional[str], token: str) -> dict:
    """Sends POST or PATCH request to Genesys Cloud SCIM API with 429 retry logic."""
    headers = {
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {token}",
        "Content-Type": "application/scim+json",
        "Accept": "application/json"
    }

    if action == "POST":
        url = f"{GENESYS_BASE_URL}/scim/v2/Users"
        method = httpx.post
    else:
        url = f"{GENESYS_BASE_URL}/scim/v2/Users/{user_id}"
        method = httpx.patch

    max_retries = 3
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        response = method(url, json=scim_payload, headers=headers, timeout=20.0)
        
        if response.status_code in (200, 201):
            return response.json()
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 5))
            print(f"SCIM {action} 429 rate limited. Retrying in {retry_after}s")
            time.sleep(retry_after)
        elif response.status_code == 409:
            # Conflict usually means username collision during race condition
            print(f"409 Conflict for {scim_payload.get('userName')}. Falling back to PATCH lookup.")
            # Fallback logic would re-query and switch to PATCH
            raise RuntimeError(f"409 Conflict for user {scim_payload.get('userName')}")
        else:
            raise httpx.HTTPStatusError(
                f"SCIM {action} failed: {response.status_code} - {response.text}",
                request=response.request,
                response=response
            )
    raise RuntimeError("Max retries exceeded for SCIM sync")

Step 4: Delta Sync State and Execution Loop

The connector maintains a JSON file storing the last successful sync timestamp. After each LDAP page is processed, the state file updates. This ensures the next run only queries modified records, minimizing API calls and LDAP load. The loop handles pagination cookies, maps entries, resolves collisions, and calls the SCIM API.

import os
import json
import time
import ldap3

STATE_FILE = "sync_state.json"

def load_sync_state() -> float:
    """Loads last sync timestamp from local state file."""
    if os.path.exists(STATE_FILE):
        with open(STATE_FILE, "r") as f:
            return json.load(f).get("last_sync_ts", 0)
    return 0

def save_sync_state(ts: float) -> None:
    """Persists current sync timestamp to local state file."""
    with open(STATE_FILE, "w") as f:
        json.dump({"last_sync_ts": ts}, f)

def run_delta_sync() -> None:
    """Executes the full LDAP to Genesys Cloud SCIM delta sync process."""
    last_ts = load_sync_state()
    print(f"Starting delta sync. Last sync: {last_ts}")
    
    conn = create_ldap_connection()
    config = load_mapping_config()
    token = get_bearer_token()
    
    search_filter = build_delta_filter(last_ts)
    attributes = ["uid", "cn", "sn", "givenName", "mail", "telephoneNumber", "enabled", "modifyTimestamp"]
    
    # Configure paged search
    search_opts = ldap3.SearchOptions(paged=True, pagesize=1000)
    
    try:
        conn.search(
            search_base=LDAP_BASE_DN,
            search_filter=search_filter,
            attributes=attributes,
            search_options=search_opts,
            paged_size=1000
        )
        
        processed_count = 0
        for entry in conn.entries:
            try:
                ldap_entry = {
                    "dn": entry.entry_dn,
                    "attributes": entry.entry_attributes_as_dict
                }
                
                scim_payload = map_ldap_to_scim(ldap_entry, config)
                base_username = scim_payload.get("userName", "unknown")
                
                resolved_username, action, existing_id = resolve_username(base_username, token)
                scim_payload["userName"] = resolved_username
                
                result = sync_user_to_genesys(scim_payload, action, existing_id, token)
                print(f"Successfully {action}ed user: {resolved_username} (Genesys ID: {result.get('id')})")
                processed_count += 1
                
            except Exception as e:
                print(f"Failed to sync {entry.entry_dn}: {e}")
                continue
        
        # Update state after successful batch
        current_ts = time.time()
        save_sync_state(current_ts)
        print(f"Delta sync complete. Processed {processed_count} users. Next sync will start from {current_ts}")
        
    except ldap3.core.exceptions.LDAPException as e:
        print(f"LDAP connection or search error: {e}")
    finally:
        conn.unbind()

Complete Working Example

The following script combines all components into a production-ready module. It reads environment variables for credentials, loads the configuration matrix, and executes the delta sync loop. Run it with python sync_ldap_scim.py.

import os
import sys
import json
import time
import httpx
import ldap3
import ssl
import yaml
from datetime import datetime, timezone
from typing import Optional

# ------------------------------------------------------------------
# Configuration & Environment
# ------------------------------------------------------------------
GENESYS_BASE_URL = os.getenv("GENESYS_BASE_URL", "https://api.mypurecloud.com")
CLIENT_ID = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_ID")
CLIENT_SECRET = os.getenv("GENESYS_CLIENT_SECRET")

LDAP_HOST = os.getenv("LDAP_HOST", "ldap.company.local")
LDAP_PORT = int(os.getenv("LDAP_PORT", "636"))
LDAP_BIND_DN = os.getenv("LDAP_BIND_DN", "cn=sync_service,ou=services,dc=company,dc=local")
LDAP_BIND_PW = os.getenv("LDAP_BIND_PW")
LDAP_BASE_DN = os.getenv("LDAP_BASE_DN", "dc=company,dc=local")
LDAP_CA_CERT = os.getenv("LDAP_CA_CERT", "/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt")

STATE_FILE = "sync_state.json"

SCIM_MAPPING_CONFIG = """
schemas:
  - urn:ietf:params:scim:schemas:core:2.0:User
mapping:
  userName: uid
  emails:
    - primary: true
      type: work
      value: mail
  name:
    formatted: cn
    familyName: sn
    givenName: givenName
  phoneNumbers:
    - type: work
      value: telephoneNumber
  active: enabled
"""

# ------------------------------------------------------------------
# Authentication
# ------------------------------------------------------------------
_token_cache: dict = {"token": None, "expires_at": 0}

def get_bearer_token() -> str:
    current_time = time.time()
    if _token_cache["token"] and current_time < _token_cache["expires_at"]:
        return _token_cache["token"]

    url = f"{GENESYS_BASE_URL}/oauth/token"
    payload = {
        "grant_type": "client_credentials",
        "client_id": CLIENT_ID,
        "client_secret": CLIENT_SECRET,
        "scope": "scim:users:write scim:users:read"
    }

    for attempt in range(3):
        response = httpx.post(url, data=payload, timeout=15.0)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            data = response.json()
            _token_cache["token"] = data["access_token"]
            _token_cache["expires_at"] = current_time + data["expires_in"] - 30
            return _token_cache["token"]
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            time.sleep(int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 5)))
        else:
            raise httpx.HTTPStatusError(f"OAuth failed: {response.status_code}", request=response.request, response=response)
    raise RuntimeError("Max retries exceeded for OAuth token")

# ------------------------------------------------------------------
# LDAP Connection & Pagination
# ------------------------------------------------------------------
def create_ldap_connection() -> ldap3.Connection:
    tls_config = ldap3.Tls(validate=ssl.CERT_REQUIRED, version=ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1_2, ca_certs_file=LDAP_CA_CERT)
    server = ldap3.Server(f"ldaps://{LDAP_HOST}:{LDAP_PORT}", use_ssl=True, tls=tls_config, get_info=ldap3.ALL)
    return ldap3.Connection(server, user=LDAP_BIND_DN, password=LDAP_BIND_PW, auto_bind=ldap3.AUTO_BIND_TLS_BEFORE_BIND, read_only=True)

def build_delta_filter(last_sync_ts: float) -> str:
    dt = datetime.fromtimestamp(last_sync_ts, tz=timezone.utc)
    ldap_ts = dt.strftime("%Y%m%d%H%M%SZ")
    return f"(&(objectClass=person)(objectClass=organizationalPerson)(modifyTimestamp>={ldap_ts}))"

# ------------------------------------------------------------------
# Mapping & SCIM Construction
# ------------------------------------------------------------------
def load_mapping_config() -> dict:
    return yaml.safe_load(SCIM_MAPPING_CONFIG)

def map_ldap_to_scim(entry: dict, config: dict) -> dict:
    attrs = entry["attributes"]
    scim_user = {"schemas": config["schemas"]}
    for scim_field, ldap_attr in config["mapping"].items():
        if isinstance(ldap_attr, str):
            value = attrs.get(ldap_attr)
            if value:
                scim_user[scim_field] = value[0] if isinstance(value, list) else value
        elif isinstance(ldap_attr, dict):
            nested_obj = {}
            for k, v in ldap_attr.items():
                if k in ("type", "primary"):
                    nested_obj[k] = v
                else:
                    val = attrs.get(v)
                    if val:
                        nested_obj[k] = val[0] if isinstance(val, list) else val
            if nested_obj:
                scim_user[scim_field] = nested_obj
        elif isinstance(ldap_attr, list):
            array_items = []
            for item_map in ldap_attr:
                obj = {}
                for k, v in item_map.items():
                    if k in ("type", "primary"):
                        obj[k] = v
                    else:
                        val = attrs.get(v)
                        if val:
                            obj[k] = val[0] if isinstance(val, list) else val
                if obj:
                    array_items.append(obj)
            if array_items:
                scim_user[scim_field] = array_items
    if "userName" not in scim_user:
        raise ValueError(f"Missing userName for {entry['dn']}")
    if "active" not in scim_user:
        scim_user["active"] = True
    return scim_user

def resolve_username(base_username: str, token: str) -> tuple[str, str, Optional[str]]:
    candidate = base_username
    suffix = 1
    while True:
        filter_param = f"userName eq \"{candidate}\""
        url = f"{GENESYS_BASE_URL}/scim/v2/Users"
        headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Accept": "application/json"}
        response = httpx.get(url, headers=headers, params={"filter": filter_param}, timeout=15.0)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            data = response.json()
            if data.get("totalResults", 0) > 0:
                return candidate, "PATCH", data["Resources"][0]["id"]
            else:
                return candidate, "POST", None
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            time.sleep(int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 5)))
        else:
            raise httpx.HTTPStatusError(f"Username check failed: {response.status_code}", request=response.request, response=response)
        candidate = f"{base_username}_{suffix}"
        suffix += 1
        if suffix > 10:
            raise RuntimeError(f"Could not resolve unique username after {suffix} attempts")

def sync_user_to_genesys(scim_payload: dict, action: str, user_id: Optional[str], token: str) -> dict:
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}", "Content-Type": "application/scim+json", "Accept": "application/json"}
    url = f"{GENESYS_BASE_URL}/scim/v2/Users" if action == "POST" else f"{GENESYS_BASE_URL}/scim/v2/Users/{user_id}"
    method = httpx.post if action == "POST" else httpx.patch
    for attempt in range(3):
        response = method(url, json=scim_payload, headers=headers, timeout=20.0)
        if response.status_code in (200, 201):
            return response.json()
        elif response.status_code == 429:
            time.sleep(int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 5)))
        elif response.status_code == 409:
            raise RuntimeError(f"409 Conflict for user {scim_payload.get('userName')}")
        else:
            raise httpx.HTTPStatusError(f"SCIM {action} failed: {response.status_code}", request=response.request, response=response)
    raise RuntimeError("Max retries exceeded for SCIM sync")

# ------------------------------------------------------------------
# Sync State & Execution
# ------------------------------------------------------------------
def load_sync_state() -> float:
    if os.path.exists(STATE_FILE):
        with open(STATE_FILE, "r") as f:
            return json.load(f).get("last_sync_ts", 0)
    return 0

def save_sync_state(ts: float) -> None:
    with open(STATE_FILE, "w") as f:
        json.dump({"last_sync_ts": ts}, f)

def run_delta_sync() -> None:
    last_ts = load_sync_state()
    print(f"Starting delta sync. Last sync: {last_ts}")
    conn = create_ldap_connection()
    config = load_mapping_config()
    token = get_bearer_token()
    search_filter = build_delta_filter(last_ts)
    attributes = ["uid", "cn", "sn", "givenName", "mail", "telephoneNumber", "enabled", "modifyTimestamp"]
    search_opts = ldap3.SearchOptions(paged=True, pagesize=1000)
    try:
        conn.search(search_base=LDAP_BASE_DN, search_filter=search_filter, attributes=attributes, search_options=search_opts, paged_size=1000)
        processed_count = 0
        for entry in conn.entries:
            try:
                ldap_entry = {"dn": entry.entry_dn, "attributes": entry.entry_attributes_as_dict}
                scim_payload = map_ldap_to_scim(ldap_entry, config)
                base_username = scim_payload.get("userName", "unknown")
                resolved_username, action, existing_id = resolve_username(base_username, token)
                scim_payload["userName"] = resolved_username
                result = sync_user_to_genesys(scim_payload, action, existing_id, token)
                print(f"Successfully {action}ed user: {resolved_username} (Genesys ID: {result.get('id')})")
                processed_count += 1
            except Exception as e:
                print(f"Failed to sync {entry.entry_dn}: {e}")
        current_ts = time.time()
        save_sync_state(current_ts)
        print(f"Delta sync complete. Processed {processed_count} users. Next sync will start from {current_ts}")
    except ldap3.core.exceptions.LDAPException as e:
        print(f"LDAP error: {e}")
    finally:
        conn.unbind()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    if not all([CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET, LDAP_BIND_PW]):
        print("Missing required environment variables. Check configuration.")
        sys.exit(1)
    run_delta_sync()

Common Errors & Debugging

Error: 401 Unauthorized

  • What causes it: The OAuth token has expired, the client credentials are incorrect, or the scope scim:users:write is missing from the client configuration in the Genesys admin console.
  • How to fix it: Verify the client ID and secret in environment variables. Ensure the OAuth client in Genesys has the correct scopes granted. The token cache automatically refreshes, but manual verification of the admin console settings is required if the error persists.

Error: 403 Forbidden

  • What causes it: The OAuth client lacks permission to write to the SCIM endpoint, or the tenant restricts SCIM access to specific IP ranges.
  • How to fix it: Navigate to the Genesys Cloud admin console, locate the OAuth client, and confirm that scim:users:write and scim:users:read are explicitly enabled. Check tenant IP allowlists if your connector runs from a cloud environment.

Error: 429 Too Many Requests

  • What causes it: Genesys Cloud enforces rate limits per tenant and per endpoint. Rapid pagination or bulk syncs trigger throttling.
  • How to fix it: The provided code implements exponential backoff using the Retry-After header. If syncs remain slow, reduce the LDAP page size to 500, add a time.sleep(1) between individual SCIM calls, or schedule the sync during off-peak hours.

Error: 409 Conflict

  • What causes it: A username collision occurs during a race condition where two processes attempt to create the same user simultaneously.
  • How to fix it: The resolve_username function checks availability before POST. If a 409 still occurs, the connector catches it and logs the conflict. You can implement a retry loop that switches to PATCH after a fresh GET lookup.

Error: LDAP Bind Error or TLS Handshake Failure

  • What causes it: The LDAP_CA_CERT path is incorrect, the on-premise server uses a self-signed certificate, or the bind DN lacks read permissions on the target base DN.
  • How to fix it: Verify the CA certificate path matches your environment. For self-signed certificates during testing, you may temporarily set validate=ssl.CERT_NONE in ldap3.Tls, though this is not recommended for production. Confirm the service account has read access to the dc=company,dc=local subtree.

Official References