How to read a VICIdial recording filename

Every Call recording VICIdial saves gets a filename assembled from variable tokens. The default pattern is FULLDATE_AGENT, which produces something like 20051020-103108_6666. If you know the tokens, you can decode any filename at a glance — or build a custom pattern that makes recordings easier to find.

Available variables

• FULLDATE — timestamp in YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS format, e.g. 20051020-103108
• TINYDATE — compact timestamp without the dash, e.g. 51020103108
• EPOCH — Unix epoch timestamp in seconds
• AGENT — the Agent user ID who handled the call
• CAMPAIGN — the Campaign ID
• INGROUP — the inbound group ID if the call was routed through one
• CUSTPHONE — the customer phone number
• VENDORLEADCODE — the vendor lead code from the lead record
• LEADID — the internal lead ID in VICIdial
• CALLID — the unique call ID generated at call start
• RECID — the recording record ID from the vicidial_recordings table

POST processing variables

Four additional variables only resolve after the call ends, when post-recording processing runs on the dialer: POSTVLC, POSTSP, POSTARRD3, and POSTSTATUS. These require the --POST recording processing flag to be enabled on the dialer. They alter the filename retroactively, which means the file might be on disk with a temporary name before post-processing renames it. This can confuse scripts that look for the file immediately after hangup.

The 90-character limit

**Heads up:** The maximum filename length is 90 characters. If your pattern resolves to something longer, VICIdial will truncate it. Patterns using CAMPAIGN + CUSTPHONE + FULLDATE + AGENT can easily exceed 90 characters for long campaign IDs or international E.164 numbers. Test your pattern before deploying to production.

Filename construction flow

flowchart TD
    A[Call ends] --> B[Campaign recording filename field]
    B --> C{POST processing enabled?}
    C -- No --> D[Resolve standard variables at call end]
    C -- Yes --> E[Resolve standard variables at call end]
    E --> F[Post-processing runs after hangup]
    F --> G[POSTVLC POSTSP POSTARRD3 POSTSTATUS resolved]
    G --> H[File renamed with final values]
    D --> I{Filename length over 90 chars?}
    H --> I
    I -- Yes --> J[Filename truncated to 90 chars]
    I -- No --> K[File saved with full name]

Example patterns

• FULLDATE_AGENT (default) → 20051020-103108_6666
• CAMPAIGN_TINYDATE_CUSTPHONE → TESTCAMP_51020103108_3125551212
• LEADID_AGENT_FULLDATE → useful when you need to join recordings to a CRM lead ID

For a broader look at recording configuration, visit VICIdial call recording explained. To see how inbound groups can override the campaign filename, read how to turn on recording for an inbound group.

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