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Skill

twilio-call-recordings

record and manage Twilio voice calls

Published by OpenAI Updated Jun 30
Covers Operations QA Communications Twilio

Description

Record Twilio voice calls correctly. Covers the critical distinction between Record verb (voicemail) and Dial record (call recording), dual-channel for QA, mid-call pause for PCI, Conference recording, and the ConversationRelay workaround. Use this skill whenever you need to capture call audio for compliance, QA, or analytics.

SKILL.md

Overview

Twilio offers multiple recording methods. Choosing the wrong one is the #1 developer mistake in voice — using <Record> when you mean <Dial record> produces voicemail behavior instead of call recording.

MethodWhat it doesUse when
<Record> verbRecords the CALLER only (voicemail-style)Leaving a message, capturing input
<Dial record>Records BOTH parties on a callCall recording for two-party calls
<Start><Recording>Starts a recording alongside other verbsConversationRelay, multi-verb flows
Conference recordRecords the conference mixMulti-party calls
Recordings REST APIProgrammatic control mid-callPause during payment (PCI)

Prerequisites

  • Twilio account with a voice-capable phone number — see twilio-account-setup
  • TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID and TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN — see twilio-iam-auth-setup
  • SDK: pip install twilio / npm install twilio
  • A webhook endpoint for recording status callbacks
  • Compliance check: Recording consent requirements vary by jurisdiction — see twilio-compliance-traffic

Quickstart

Record a Two-Party Call (Most Common)

Use <Dial record> — NOT <Record>.

Python (Flask)

from flask import Flask, request
from twilio.twiml.voice_response import VoiceResponse

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route("/voice", methods=["POST"])
def incoming_call():
    response = VoiceResponse()
    response.say("This call may be recorded for quality assurance.")
    dial = response.dial(
        record="record-from-answer-dual",  # dual-channel: agent on one, caller on other
        recording_status_callback="https://yourapp.com/recording-status"
    )
    dial.number("+15558675310")  # agent's phone
    return str(response)

Node.js (Express)

app.post("/voice", (req, res) => {
    const response = new VoiceResponse();
    response.say("This call may be recorded for quality assurance.");
    const dial = response.dial({
        record: "record-from-answer-dual",
        recordingStatusCallback: "https://yourapp.com/recording-status",
    });
    dial.number("+15558675310");
    res.type("text/xml").send(response.toString());
});

Handle the Recording Status Callback

Security: Validate X-Twilio-Signature on recording callbacks in production. Without validation, attackers could POST fake recording URLs to your endpoint.

Python (Flask)

@app.route("/recording-status", methods=["POST"])
def recording_status():
    recording_sid = request.form["RecordingSid"]
    recording_url = request.form["RecordingUrl"]
    call_sid = request.form["CallSid"]
    status = request.form["RecordingStatus"]  # "completed", "failed"
    duration = request.form.get("RecordingDuration", 0)

    if status == "completed":
        # Store recording reference
        save_recording(call_sid, recording_sid, recording_url, duration)

    return "", 200

Key Patterns

Recording Modes for <Dial record>

ModeWhat's recordedUse case
record-from-answerSingle channel, both parties mixedSimple recording
record-from-answer-dualDual channel — caller on left, agent on rightQA (separate agent/caller audio)
record-from-ringingRecords from ring, not answerCapture ring time + full call
record-from-ringing-dualDual channel from ringQA with ring time

Always use dual for QA and analytics. Dual-channel lets speech analytics tools (like Conversation Intelligence) distinguish agent from caller.

Conference Recording

Record multi-party calls via the Conference:

Python

response = VoiceResponse()
dial = response.dial()
dial.conference(
    "support-room-123",
    record="record-from-start",  # Records from when conference starts
    recording_status_callback="https://yourapp.com/conf-recording-status"
)

Note: Conference recording captures the main audio mix. Coach/whisper audio is NOT included. See twilio-conference-calls.

ConversationRelay Recording

Critical: record:true on the REST API call is silently ignored with ConversationRelay. No error. No recording.

Correct approach: Use <Start><Recording> in TwiML before <Connect>:

Python

@app.route("/voice", methods=["POST"])
def voice():
    response = VoiceResponse()
    response.say("This call may be recorded.")
    
    # Start recording BEFORE connecting ConversationRelay
    start = Start()
    start.recording(
        recording_status_callback="https://yourapp.com/recording-status",
        recording_status_callback_event="completed"
    )
    response.append(start)
    
    # Now connect ConversationRelay
    connect = Connect()
    connect.conversation_relay(url="wss://yourapp.com/ws/voice")
    response.append(connect)
    
    return str(response)

Node.js

app.post("/voice", (req, res) => {
    const response = new VoiceResponse();
    response.say("This call may be recorded.");
    
    const start = response.start();
    start.recording({
        recordingStatusCallback: "https://yourapp.com/recording-status",
        recordingStatusCallbackEvent: "completed",
    });
    
    const connect = response.connect();
    connect.conversationRelay({ url: "wss://yourapp.com/ws/voice" });
    
    res.type("text/xml").send(response.toString());
});

Mid-Call Pause for PCI Compliance

Pause recording when a customer provides payment information:

Python

def pause_recording_for_payment(call_sid, recording_sid):
    """Pause recording during credit card capture."""
    client.calls(call_sid).recordings(recording_sid).update(
        status="paused"
    )

def resume_recording(call_sid, recording_sid):
    """Resume recording after payment processed."""
    client.calls(call_sid).recordings(recording_sid).update(
        status="in-progress"
    )

Node.js

async function pauseForPayment(callSid, recordingSid) {
    await client.calls(callSid).recordings(recordingSid).update({
        status: "paused",
    });
}

async function resumeRecording(callSid, recordingSid) {
    await client.calls(callSid).recordings(recordingSid).update({
        status: "in-progress",
    });
}

PCI DSS: Never record card numbers. Use Twilio's <Pay> verb when possible. If collecting verbally, pause recording for the duration. PCI Mode is IRREVERSIBLE and account-wide — use a sub-account if only some calls need PCI.

Accessing Recordings

Python

# List recordings for a specific call
recordings = client.recordings.list(call_sid=call_sid)

for recording in recordings:
    print(f"SID: {recording.sid}")
    print(f"Duration: {recording.duration}s")
    print(f"URL: https://api.twilio.com{recording.uri.replace('.json', '.mp3')}")

# Download a recording
import requests as req
audio = req.get(
    f"https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{account_sid}/Recordings/{recording_sid}.mp3",
    auth=(account_sid, auth_token)
)
with open("recording.mp3", "wb") as f:
    f.write(audio.content)

# Delete a recording (GDPR right to deletion)
client.recordings(recording_sid).delete()

Recording Storage & Retention

FeatureDefaultNotes
Storage locationTwilio cloudCan configure external storage (S3, GCS)
RetentionIndefiniteDelete manually via API or set auto-delete policy
FormatsWAV (default), MP3Request MP3 by appending .mp3 to URL
EncryptionAt restAdditional encryption with PCI Mode

Common Errors

SymptomCauseFix
Recording captures only caller (no agent)Used <Record> verb instead of <Dial record>Switch to <Dial record="record-from-answer">
No recording at allUsed REST API record:true with ConversationRelayUse <Start><Recording> in TwiML
Recording is empty / silentWebhook endpoint unreachable, recording never startedCheck StatusCallback URL reachability
Recording has both parties on same channelUsed record-from-answer (mono)Use record-from-answer-dual for separate channels
Coach audio missing from conference recordingExpected behavior — coach audio isn't in the mixRecord coach's call leg separately

CANNOT

  • recordingTrack has no observable effect via TwiML — The <Start><Recording> TwiML parameter recordingTrack does not isolate tracks. Use the Recordings REST API with recordingTrack for actual track isolation.
  • Cannot start API recordings on ConversationRelay calls — REST API record:true is silently ignored ("not eligible for recording"). Must use <Start><Recording> before <Connect> in TwiML.
  • Cannot pause/resume recordings via TwiML — Only available via the REST API (update with status="paused" or status="in-progress").
  • Cannot get dual-channel conference recordings — Conference recording is always mono (mixed).
  • Cannot get dual-channel from Calls API without explicit paramRecord=true defaults to mono. Must specify recordingChannels: 'dual'.
  • Cannot transcribe PCI-mode recordings — Recordings created while PCI mode was enabled cannot be transcribed, even after PCI is disabled.
  • Cannot use <Record> verb for call recording<Record> captures the caller only (voicemail-style). Use <Dial record> or <Start><Recording> for call recording.
  • Cannot capture coach/whisper audio in conference recordings — Supervisor whisper is excluded from the mix
  • Cannot reverse PCI Mode — PCI Mode is irreversible and account-wide. Once enabled, all recordings are encrypted.
  • Cannot auto-delete recordings without configuration — Recordings are retained indefinitely unless you configure auto-deletion
  • Cannot avoid larger file sizes with dual-channel — Dual-channel recordings are ~2x the size of mono. Factor into storage costs.

Next Steps

  • Conference calls: twilio-conference-calls
  • Agent routing: twilio-taskrouter-routing
  • Compliance: twilio-compliance-traffic
  • Debug recording issues: twilio-debugging-observability

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