The recording AGIs explained: NVA, IVR verification, VICIrecGateway

VICIdial ships three specialist AGI (Asterisk Gateway Interface) scripts that handle recording jobs the standard campaign settings cannot cover on their own. Knowing what each one does — and when to use it — saves you from wiring the wrong tool into your Dialplan.

The three recording AGIs at a glance

Each script solves a distinct problem. NVA_recording fills the gap when agents dial without the VICIdial browser screen. IVR_recording_verification runs a complete automated 3rd-party verification session and logs results to the vicidial_ivr table. VICIrecGateway sits on a separate Asterisk box and captures true Stereo recording — carrier audio on one channel, dialer audio on the other.

flowchart TD
  A[Call arrives] --> B{Who is recording?}
  B -->|Agent without browser screen| C[NVA_recording AGI]
  B -->|3rd-party consent IVR| D[IVR_recording_verification AGI]
  B -->|Dedicated gateway box| E[VICIrecGateway AGI]
  C --> F[Logs to user_call_log]
  D --> G[Logs to vicidial_ivr table]
  E --> H[Stereo MixMonitor on gateway]

NVA_recording — recording outside the agent screen

The NVA_recording AGI is designed for agents who make calls from a plain phone or a non-VICIdial interface. It hooks into your Asterisk Dialplan via a custom extension or a Call Menu entry. A typical invocation looks like: agi-NVA_recording.agi,BOTH------Y---N---Y---N — the dashes separate the 16 parameters that control logging, recording, phone-number lookup, and NVA list insertion.

You can tell the script to log the call in user_call_log or call_log, play the recording ID before the call starts, include that ID in the filename, search vicidial_list for the dialed number, and even run a custom NVA Call URL on match. If the phone number is not found, the script can insert a new lead into a designated NVA list with status and phone-code overrides.

IVR_recording_verification — automated 3rd-party consent

Some industries require a third-party system to record a customer's verbal consent — separate from the agent. The IVR_recording_verification AGI handles that automatically. It optionally asks for a company code and a customer phone number, then plays a series of prompts where the caller presses 1 for yes or 3 for no (only digits 1–9 are accepted; hash, star, and 0 are rejected).

All session data is logged to the vicidial_ivr table and, if configured, to a log file or Asterisk STDERR. The script works inbound on a DID or can be reached via a VICIdial transfer extension. The same AGI can also power automated outbound surveys with a modified transfer script.

VICIrecGateway — stereo recording on a dedicated server

When you need true Stereo recording and want to keep recording I/O off your main dialer server, VICIrecGateway runs on a stand-alone Asterisk box. Inbound and outbound call legs are routed through the gateway, which runs MixMonitor with the r(${CARRIER_FILENAME})t(${DIALER_FILENAME}) flags to write carrier audio and dialer audio into separate channels of the same file.

For the full background on how VICIdial handles recording in general, see VICIdial call recording explained. For a deep look at how the gateway fits into your storage strategy, see when to move recording onto a dedicated gateway server.

Choosing the right AGI

• Agents dialing from a non-VICIdial phone or softphone: use NVA_recording.
• Compliance flows that need verbal consent recorded and logged: use IVR_recording_verification.
• High call volumes where disk I/O or transcription requires a separate box: use VICIrecGateway.

VICIfast runs on managed infrastructure sized for whichever recording path you choose. See VICIfast pricing to compare plans.