Bringing your old call recordings to VICIdial

When you move to VICIdial, your historical Call recording files from the old system do not automatically appear in the new dialer's interface. This post explains where VICIdial stores recordings, what file names it expects, and why keeping old recordings in an archive is usually cleaner than forcing them into VICIdial's directory structure.

How VICIdial stores recordings

VICIdial writes recordings to /var/spool/asterisk/monitor/ by default. Each file is named after the call's unique ID and the date, in a format like 20240615-143022_3125550100_IN_campname_agentlogin.wav. The Recording format (WAV/MP3) is typically WAV (PCM 8kHz mono) or GSM, depending on how your Asterisk is configured. The file name ties back to a row in the vicidial_log and vicidial_agent_log tables - that is how the playback link in the admin interface knows which file to fetch.

Your old dialer almost certainly used a different naming convention and a different directory structure. Even if you copy the files to the monitor/ directory, VICIdial will not show them in the call log because no vicidial_log row references those file names. They become orphan files on disk.

Archive vs. re-import

For most migrations the right call is to archive, not re-import. Keep your old recordings in cold storage (an S3-compatible bucket works well) tagged with the original call metadata from your old system. Access them through your old platform's export interface or directly from storage. Do not try to backfill VICIdial's database with fabricated call log rows just to make old recordings appear in the new UI - that creates misleading reporting data.

Recording storage decision flow

flowchart TD
  A[Old recordings from previous dialer] --> B{Do you need them in VICIdial UI?}
  B -->|No| C[Archive to S3 cold storage]
  B -->|Yes| D{Do you have call metadata to rebuild log rows?}
  D -->|No| C
  D -->|Yes| E[Script: insert vicidial_log rows + rename files]
  E --> F[Place files in monitor/ directory]
  F --> G[Test playback link in VICIdial admin]
  C --> H[Document archive location for compliance audits]

Retention and compliance

Check your Recording retention requirements before the migration. Financial services often require 7 years; healthcare varies by state. If you have a legal hold on any calls, those recordings must remain accessible regardless of which system you are running. Keep a spreadsheet mapping the hold reference number, the call date, and the archive bucket path so you can pull any specific recording quickly.

For new recordings on VICIdial, the box writes directly to the monitor/ directory. If you are on a managed server, those files live on the server's attached volume. For long-term retention, set up a nightly job to sync completed recordings to an S3 bucket and then delete the local copy after a rolling window (30 days is common) to keep the disk from filling up. The Lead that triggered a recording is always identifiable by the uniqueid field in the filename.

Next steps

Plan your archive before the cutover date, not after. Export recordings from your old system in batches by date range, verify each batch is intact, then upload to cold storage. The full migration checklist in the VICIdial migration guide lists recordings alongside leads and DNC data as a required export step. Also see the full data export checklist for a complete pre-migration inventory.

If you want a VICIdial server with adequate disk provisioned for your recording volume, VICIfast managed plans give you a dedicated server in under 40 seconds with storage sized for call centers. You own the recordings; they stay on your box.