
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.
| Method | What it does | Use when |
|---|---|---|
<Record> verb | Records the CALLER only (voicemail-style) | Leaving a message, capturing input |
<Dial record> | Records BOTH parties on a call | Call recording for two-party calls |
<Start><Recording> | Starts a recording alongside other verbs | ConversationRelay, multi-verb flows |
Conference record | Records the conference mix | Multi-party calls |
| Recordings REST API | Programmatic control mid-call | Pause during payment (PCI) |
Prerequisites
- Twilio account with a voice-capable phone number — see
twilio-account-setup TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SIDandTWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN— seetwilio-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-Signatureon 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>
| Mode | What's recorded | Use case |
|---|---|---|
record-from-answer | Single channel, both parties mixed | Simple recording |
record-from-answer-dual | Dual channel — caller on left, agent on right | QA (separate agent/caller audio) |
record-from-ringing | Records from ring, not answer | Capture ring time + full call |
record-from-ringing-dual | Dual channel from ring | QA 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
| Feature | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Storage location | Twilio cloud | Can configure external storage (S3, GCS) |
| Retention | Indefinite | Delete manually via API or set auto-delete policy |
| Formats | WAV (default), MP3 | Request MP3 by appending .mp3 to URL |
| Encryption | At rest | Additional encryption with PCI Mode |
Common Errors
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Recording captures only caller (no agent) | Used <Record> verb instead of <Dial record> | Switch to <Dial record="record-from-answer"> |
| No recording at all | Used REST API record:true with ConversationRelay | Use <Start><Recording> in TwiML |
| Recording is empty / silent | Webhook endpoint unreachable, recording never started | Check StatusCallback URL reachability |
| Recording has both parties on same channel | Used record-from-answer (mono) | Use record-from-answer-dual for separate channels |
| Coach audio missing from conference recording | Expected behavior — coach audio isn't in the mix | Record coach's call leg separately |
CANNOT
recordingTrackhas no observable effect via TwiML — The<Start><Recording>TwiML parameterrecordingTrackdoes not isolate tracks. Use the Recordings REST API withrecordingTrackfor actual track isolation.- Cannot start API recordings on ConversationRelay calls — REST API
record:trueis 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 (
updatewithstatus="paused"orstatus="in-progress"). - Cannot get dual-channel conference recordings — Conference recording is always mono (mixed).
- Cannot get dual-channel from Calls API without explicit param —
Record=truedefaults to mono. Must specifyrecordingChannels: '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
More skills from the plugins repository
View all 600 skillsaccessibility-and-inclusive-visualization
make data visualizations accessible
Jun 30AccessibilityChartsData VisualizationDesignagent-browser
automate browser interactions for agents
Apr 6AgentsBrowser AutomationTestingagent-browser-verify
verify dev server output with automated browser
Apr 6Browser AutomationLocal DevelopmentTestingagents-sdk
build AI agents on Cloudflare Workers
Apr 6AgentsCloudflare WorkersSDKServerless +1ai-elements
build chat UIs with AI Elements
Apr 6FrontendReactshadcn/uiUI Components +1ai-gateway
configure Vercel AI Gateway
Apr 6AI InfrastructureCost OptimizationLLMPerformance +1
More from OpenAI
View publisherprior-auth-packet-builder
build healthcare prior authorization packets
openai-agents-python
Apr 16DocumentsHealthcareInsuranceRegulatory Complianceaspnet-core
build ASP.NET Core web applications
skills
Apr 12.NETASP.NET CoreBlazorC# +1chatgpt-apps
build ChatGPT Apps SDK applications
skills
Apr 12Apps SDKChatGPTMCPOpenAIcli-creator
build CLIs from API docs
skills
Apr 12API DevelopmentCLICodexcloudflare-deploy
deploy projects to Cloudflare
skills
Apr 12CloudflareCloudflare PagesCloudflare WorkersDeploymentdefine-goal
define and set measurable project goals
skills
May 23ProductivityProject ManagementStrategyTask Management