How to set up an RA Extensions override for a DID

If you need calls coming in on a specific DID (direct inward dialing) to reach a different Dialplan extension than the one a Remote agent record normally uses, VICIdial's RA Extensions override feature is the right tool. You configure it from Inbound → RA Extensions in the admin panel. This walkthrough covers how to create an override entry, what the User Start field means, and what happens when you have multiple active entries for the same DID.

Before you start

You need at least one Remote Agent record already set up, with a User Start value filled in on that record. The override entry will reference that same User Start to know which agent (or group of agents) to affect. You also need to know the DID route — the inbound phone number — that should trigger the override.

Creating the override entry

1. Go to Inbound → RA Extensions in the VICIdial admin panel.
2. Click to add a new entry.
3. In the DID field, enter the inbound phone number exactly as it appears in your DID records (usually in E.164 format, e.g. 15551234567).
4. In the User Start field, enter the User Start value from the Remote Agent record you want to target — or type ---ALL--- to match all Remote Agents for this DID.
5. Enter the override extension — the dialplan extension VICIdial should use for this DID instead of the one on the Remote Agent record.
6. Set the entry to Active and save.

Multiple entries and round-robin

You can create more than one active override entry for the same DID and User Start combination. When that happens, VICIdial cycles through all the active entries in a round-robin method. The first call uses entry A's extension, the next call uses entry B's extension, and so on. This is distinct from the Ring-all method — each call goes to one extension at a time, rotating through the list.

sequenceDiagram
  participant Carrier
  participant DID as DID: 15551234567
  participant InGroup as In-Group Queue
  participant VICIdial as VICIdial RA Matcher
  participant EntryA as Override Entry A (Ext 2001)
  participant EntryB as Override Entry B (Ext 2002)
  Carrier->>DID: Call 1
  DID->>InGroup: Queued
  InGroup->>VICIdial: Matched Remote Agent
  VICIdial->>EntryA: Round-robin pick → Ext 2001
  Carrier->>DID: Call 2
  DID->>InGroup: Queued
  InGroup->>VICIdial: Matched Remote Agent
  VICIdial->>EntryB: Round-robin pick → Ext 2002

This is most useful when a single inbound line needs to reach different physical endpoints on successive calls — for example, two office phones sharing an inbound number, or a Failover setup where you want calls spread across multiple trunks rather than stacked on one.

For more context on how Remote Agents and Ingroup routing fit together, read VICIdial Remote Agents explained. If you are just getting started with Remote Agents, How to add a Remote Agent covers the base record setup before you layer in DID overrides.

Running this on a self-managed box takes time to get right. If you want a managed VICIdial stack where DID route routing, Campaign configuration, and RA Extensions are all pre-wired, see VICIfast plans.