What VICIdial Extension Groups are

Every Remote agent record has an External Extension field — a single Dialplan number that calls get forwarded to. That works fine when you have one destination. But what if you want calls to go to several different extensions, rotating through them in a set order? That is what Extension Groups are for.

What an Extension Group does

An Extension Group is a named container that holds a list of Extension entries. Each entry in the group has an associated RANK — a number that tells VICIdial the order to send calls to them. When the Remote Agent field "Extension Group" is set to anything other than NONE, it overrides the External Extension field entirely. From that point on, incoming calls use the group's entries rather than the single external number.

This is useful when the Remote Agent is handling a hunt group or a pool of phone lines. Instead of a caller hitting one number and getting a busy signal if that line is taken, the system works through the ranked extensions until it finds a free one.

How to create and assign an Extension Group

flowchart TD
  A[Go to Remote Agents admin section] --> B[Find the Extension Groups area]
  B --> C[Click 'Add New Extension Group']
  C --> D[Give the group a name and save]
  D --> E[Add individual extensions to the group]
  E --> F[Set a RANK for each extension]
  F --> G[Open the Remote Agent modification page]
  G --> H[Set Extension Group field to your new group]
  H --> I[External Extension field is now overridden]

1. Go to the Remote Agents section in the VICIdial admin panel.
2. Find the Extension Groups area and create a new group. Give it a meaningful name.
3. Add extensions to the group. For each one, assign a RANK. Lower numbers are tried first.
4. Open the Remote Agent modification page and set the Extension Group field to the group you just created.
5. Save the record. The External Extension field is now ignored for as long as Extension Group is set.

When to use Extension Groups

Extension Groups fit naturally when the Remote Agent is handling Concurrent calls across multiple physical phone lines — for example, a small office where several desk phones share the same remote agent record. The rank order lets you define a preference: try the main desk first, then the backup number, then the overflow line. The Campaign keeps routing calls into the group without needing separate remote agent records per extension.

For inbound setups especially, Extension Groups give you a lightweight way to distribute calls that would otherwise require a full IVR or skills-based queue — useful when you want simple sequential distribution without the overhead.

For the broader context of how Remote Agents are configured, see VICIdial Remote Agents explained. If you are setting up your first Remote Agent, how to add a Remote Agent covers the initial form fields.

If you want a managed VICIdial host where you can configure Extension Groups without managing the underlying server, take a look at our pricing page.