NICE CXone routing and Studio scripts
Verified 2026-09-24 · 60 sources · tier 2–4
Also known as Studio.
NICE CXone directs interactions to agents through automatic contact distribution (ACD) skills, queue priority calculations, and Studio scripts 4035. CXone provides two primary routing experiences: the legacy static delivery model and the recommended default dynamic delivery model 19.
Routing models: dynamic vs. static delivery
NICE describes dynamic delivery as the recommended routing experience and the default for new systems, while static delivery serves as the legacy alternative 19. Both dynamic delivery and Digital Experience (DX) are enabled by default on new CXone systems, whereas existing systems require an account representative to enable dynamic delivery 20. NICE recommends consulting an account representative before reverting a system from dynamic delivery to static delivery 38.
Static delivery restricts agents to 1 interaction from 1 channel at a time, with exceptions for concurrent chats and email parking 53. Under static delivery, CXone selects agents based on their configured proficiency in the skill and how long they have remained in the Available state 52. In contrast, dynamic delivery supports preferred agent routing, multiple routing attributes, real-time routing rules, and contact elevation across channels, none of which are available under static delivery 22.
Dynamic delivery does have specific operational limits: it does not support Advanced Chat v1, limits Advanced Chat v2 to MAX without co-browse, and omits the email Interruptible and Auto-Park Email skill settings 21. Furthermore, NICE lists legacy Email, Chat, and SMS channels with an end-of-support date of 31 December 2027, replaced by DX 26.
Routing criteria and queue priority
CXone routes interactions using an ACD skill, priority upon entering the queue, a bullseye proficiency range, and any defined routing attributes 40. Every ACD skill must be assigned to a campaign to group skills for reporting, and a single tenant can configure up to 10,000 active ACD skills 4748. Agent proficiency values for an ACD skill range from 1 (highest) to 20 (lowest) 32.
Under dynamic delivery, overall queue priority is computed as (time in queue x Acceleration) + Initial Priority 30. This computed priority is capped at Maximum Priority 30. Acceleration specifies the value added to priority for each minute spent in queue, applied in seconds increments, defaulting to 1 with a minimum of 0 1. WarmTransfer's reading of the sources is that a contact reaches Maximum Priority after roughly (Maximum Priority - Initial Priority) / Acceleration minutes in queue, and priority never escalates when Acceleration is set to 0 25. For ACD skills, Initial Priority and Maximum Priority range up to 9999, while digital skills allow values up to 1000; Maximum Priority defaults to 1000 31. With Initial Priority 110 and Acceleration 10, a contact queued for 4 minutes reaches priority 150 29. A Studio script overrides these skill-level settings whenever the Reqagent Priority Management property is changed from Default 45.
Routing attributes and bullseye routing
Routing attributes provide a bullseye routing mechanism using custom traits to narrow the agent pool within an ACD skill, functioning either with or without skill proficiencies 39. A tenant can support up to 5,000 active routing attributes 8. Studio actions that support routing attributes include Reqagent, UpdateContact, Queuevm, Queuecallback, and CountAgents 7.
In static delivery, an action can reference only 1 routing attribute, whereas dynamic delivery supports multiple attributes when enabled by an account representative 6. NICE recommends using no more than 5 routing attributes per routing action to avoid interactions becoming stuck in queue 4. WarmTransfer's reading of the sources is that a Studio script configured with multiple routing attributes in a single Reqagent action under dynamic delivery would require redesign to function on a static-delivery tenant 24. Service level agreements cannot be established at the routing attribute level and remain configured strictly at the ACD skill level 5.
Bullseye routing defines proficiency ranges and routing attributes within Reqagent and expands or contracts that agent pool over time using UpdateContact 1159. For example, a contact can start restricted to proficiencies 1 through 5 and expand to proficiencies 1 through 8 after 90 seconds 11. UpdateContact adjusts priority and proficiency ranges while the contact waits 59.
Studio script design and execution
Setting up inbound voice routing follows a defined order: create the campaign, create the ACD skill, assign users, create the Studio script, and configure the point of contact to link the skill and script 23. Studio scripts utilize 1 of 8 media types—Generic, Phone, Email, Chat, SMS, Voicemail, Work Item, or Digital—and each script must match the media type of its assigned channel 55.
Every script begins with a Begin action 9. Script termination should use media-appropriate actions (such as Hangup, End, Exit, Discard, or Return); NICE directs users not to use the Stop action to end a script 28. Subscript workflows rely on the Runsub action to transfer execution, after which the Return action yields control back to the invoking script 44. Renaming a saved script is not supported; performing a Save As creates a duplicate script, and every save operation adds a new version to history 27. Custom programming inside scripts uses Snippet, an in-house language that compiles to MSIL similarly to C# and VB.NET 49.
To queue contacts, scripts use the Reqagent action, which requests an agent with a specific ACD skill and queues the contact when no agent is immediately available 35. Reqagent transitions the interaction from the Prequeue state to the Queued state, with downstream actions defining the holding pattern 36. The action supports Generic, Email, Chat, Phone, Voicemail, Work Item, and SMS scripts, whereas digital scripts utilize a dedicated Reqagent action 34. If left unchanged, Reqagent routes to the skill designated by the point of contact; setting the Skill property redirects the contact to a different skill, and the Target Agent property can target a specific agent 3337.
External systems can start Studio scripts using the POST /scripts/start API, which NICE recommends over other external trigger mechanisms, while the Spawn action launches parallel scripts from within an active script 50. The contact ID returned when spawning a script indicates only that the spawn was triggered, not that execution completed successfully 51. A business unit can execute up to 15,000 concurrent scripts unless configured otherwise, after which no further scripts can start or spawn 10.
Digital scripts and DX routing queues
Digital scripts differ from ACD scripts: they sleep during periods of inactivity and wake when actions are required, rather than executing continuously 18. A digital interaction retains a single contact ID across its entire lifecycle, even when reassigned across multiple agents 15. Digital scripts replace the standard OnAnswer event with OnAssignment, alongside OnUnassignment and OnRelease 17. End is the only valid terminating action in a digital script; running End stops script execution but does not terminate the contact 16.
DX routing queues rely on filter criteria rather than scripts to direct interactions and are currently used primarily for outbound routing, while new inbound digital routing uses ACD skills and Studio scripts 43. If a message satisfies criteria for multiple DX routing queues, CXone directs it to the queue positioned highest in the queue list 41. Users cannot be assigned directly to DX routing queues; these queues synchronize with the ACD skills list, and agents are assigned via the corresponding skill 42.
Authoring environments and debugging
CXone offers two scripting interfaces: the legacy Windows-only Desktop Studio requiring .NET Framework 4.8 or later, and the newer browser-based Studio 14. Desktop Studio stores scripts as XML, whereas browser Studio uses JSON; because of this format difference, exported script files cannot be cross-imported between applications 60. However, scripts saved directly to CXone servers can be opened and edited interchangeably in either environment 46.
Tracing requires a script to be saved first, meaning scripts with compilation errors cannot be traced until corrected 58. Capture Live Contacts enables live debugging by capturing a specific number of interactions matching designated ANI or DNIS parameters 57. Trace sessions can be exported and shared as JSON files with the .TRC.JSON file extension 56.
See also
Applicability
Applies to: NICE CXone ACD, NICE CXone Studio, NICE CXone Desktop Studio, NICE CXone ACD channels, and NICE CXone Digital Experience. Deployments: multi-tenant. Sources checked 2026-09-24.
What remains uncertain
Reconciling Desktop Studio end of support versus end of life is not covered by the sources below. AI focus metrics in agent selection (such as AHT, ATT, and sentiment) and their associated licensing are not covered by the sources below. Virtual Agent Hub bot actions (Voicebotexchange, Textbotexchange, and Voicebotstream) are not covered by the sources below. Outbound Engagement (SmartReach) replacing Personal Connection is not covered by the sources below. Re-verifying claims against raw page HTML is not covered by the sources below. Dynamic delivery contact delivery settings (Total Contact Count and Channel Lock) are not covered by the sources below. Reqagent digital properties and branches are not covered by the sources below. Specific operational details and mechanics of preferred agent routing under dynamic delivery are not covered by the sources below.
See also
Related to
- Five9 routing and campaign model — Peer CCaaS routing model; comparable script-driven routing. Not researched here.
- Genesys Cloud CX routing and Architect flows — Peer CCaaS routing model; comparable skills/priority/queue concepts. Not researched here.
Referenced by
- 8x8 XCaaS platform overview — Competing CCaaS platform
- Five9 routing and campaign model — Competing CCaaS routing and outbound model; comparison questions likely. Proposed by this packet; not previously recorded.
- NICE CXone Mpower AI agents and copilotstub — Virtual agents hand off to live agents through ACD routing; AI Routing is a separate NiCE CXone AI capability
- Setting up CXone Mpower Agent for Salesforce — Studio scripts and skills that route the interactions this integration surfaces in Salesforce
- Troubleshooting NICE CXone agent leg and softphone problems — Contacts routed by the CXone ACD reach the agent over the agent leg; refusal timeouts and requeue behaviour sit at the boundary of the two topics
Sources
- 1Acceleration adds its configured value to priority for every minute in queue, is applied in seconds increments, defaults to 1 and has a minimum of 0.Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery - CXone · Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery; Acceleration field · Checked 2026-09-24
- 2Most, but not all, Studio actions exist in both applications; an action unavailable in the application in use is visible in the script but its properties may not be editable there.disputedNiCE CXone Studio · NiCE CXone Studio; action availability section · Checked 2026-09-24
- 3Organisations using Agent Workspace variants must use dynamic delivery rather than static delivery.Static Delivery - CXone Help Center · Static Delivery; note on Agent Workspace · Checked 2026-09-24
- 4NICE recommends using no more than five routing attributes per routing action to prevent interactions getting stuck in queue.Routing Attributes - CXone Help Center · Routing Attributes; recommendations · Checked 2026-09-24
- 5Service level agreements cannot be configured at the routing-attribute level; SLAs remain at the ACD skill level.Routing Attributes - CXone Help Center · Routing Attributes; limitations · Checked 2026-09-24
- 6Static delivery lets a routing action reference only one routing attribute, while dynamic delivery supports multiple attributes; multiple attributes must be enabled by the account representative.Routing Attributes - CXone Help Center · Routing Attributes; delivery-mode support and enablement note · Checked 2026-09-24
- 7Routing attributes can be configured in the Reqagent, UpdateContact, Queuevm, Queuecallback and CountAgents Studio actions.Routing Attributes - CXone Help Center · Routing Attributes; Studio actions paragraph · Checked 2026-09-24
- 8A CXone tenant can have up to 5,000 active routing attributes.Routing Attributes - CXone Help Center · Routing Attributes; limits · Checked 2026-09-24
- 9Every Studio script starts with the Begin action.Desktop Studio Fundamentals - NiCE CXone Help Center · Desktop Studio Fundamentals; script structure section · Checked 2026-09-24
- 10A business unit can run at most 15,000 scripts concurrently unless otherwise configured; at the limit no further scripts can be started or spawned.Spawn Scripts - HELP CENTER · Spawn Scripts; limits · Checked 2026-09-24
- 11Bullseye routing sets a proficiency range and/or routing attribute in Reqagent and then uses UpdateContact to widen or narrow the agent pool, for example from proficiency 1-5 to 1-8 after 90 seconds.Bullseye Routing - CXone Help Center · Bullseye Routing; example scenario · Checked 2026-09-24
- 12RingCentral's CXone Studio training page states that Desktop Studio end of life is 31 March 2027.disputedSet up IVRs with CXone Studio · Set up IVRs with CXone Studio; Desktop Studio section · Checked 2026-09-24
- 13NICE's lifecycle status page lists Desktop Studio with end of support on 31 March 2026 and names NiCE CXone Studio as the replacement.disputedNiCE CXone Lifecycle Status · NiCE CXone Lifecycle Status; Desktop Studio row · Checked 2026-09-24
- 14Desktop Studio is the legacy, Windows-only Studio application and requires .NET Framework 4.8 or later; browser-based Studio is the newer version.Desktop Studio - CXone Help Center · Desktop Studio; introduction and system requirements · Checked 2026-09-24
- 15A digital contact keeps the same contact ID for the whole interaction, including when it is reassigned between agents.Digital Scripts - CXone · Digital Scripts; contact ID paragraph · Checked 2026-09-24
- 16End is the only supported terminating action in digital scripts, and it ends the script but not the contact.Digital Scripts - CXone · Digital Scripts; terminating actions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 17Digital scripts use OnAssignment in place of the OnAnswer event used in other media types, plus OnUnassignment and OnRelease.Digital Scripts - CXone · Digital Scripts; basic digital script actions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 18Digital scripts sleep when inactive and wake when an action is needed, rather than running continuously like other ACD scripts.Digital Scripts - CXone · Digital Scripts; how digital scripts work · Checked 2026-09-24
- 19NICE describes dynamic delivery as the recommended CXone routing experience and the default for new systems, with static delivery as the legacy alternative.Routing - CXone Help Center · Routing overview; routing experiences (static delivery / dynamic delivery) section · Checked 2026-09-24
- 20Dynamic delivery and Digital Experience (DX) are both enabled by default for new CXone systems; existing systems need the account representative to enable dynamic delivery.Dynamic Delivery - CXone Help Center · Dynamic Delivery; integrated matching paragraph and enablement note · Checked 2026-09-24
- 21Dynamic delivery does not support Advanced Chat v1, supports Advanced Chat v2 only in MAX without co-browse, and does not offer email Interruptible or Auto-Park Email skill settings.Dynamic Delivery - CXone Help Center · Dynamic Delivery; limitations section · Checked 2026-09-24
- 22Preferred agent routing, multiple routing attributes, real-time routing rules and contact elevation across channels are available with dynamic delivery but not with static delivery.Routing - CXone Help Center · Routing overview; comparison of static and dynamic delivery · Checked 2026-09-24
- 23NICE's inbound voice setup order is campaign, ACD skill, user assignment, Studio script, then point of contact linking the skill and script.Set Up Inbound Voice - CXone Help Center · Set Up Inbound Voice; task list · Checked 2026-09-24
- 24A Studio script designed for dynamic delivery that references several routing attributes in one Reqagent would need redesign to run on a static-delivery tenant.inferredRouting Attributes - CXone Help Center · Routing Attributes; delivery-mode support · Checked 2026-09-24
- 25Under the documented formula, a contact reaches Maximum Priority after roughly (Maximum Priority - Initial Priority) / Acceleration minutes in queue, and never escalates when Acceleration is 0.inferredConfigure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery - CXone · Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery; formula and field definitions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 26NICE lists legacy Email, Chat and SMS channels with end of support on 31 December 2027, replaced by Digital Experience (DX).NiCE CXone Lifecycle Status · NiCE CXone Lifecycle Status; Channels: Legacy Email, Chat, SMS row · Checked 2026-09-24
- 27A saved Studio script cannot be renamed; Save As creates a copy, and each save adds a version to the script's history.Studio Fundamentals - CXone Help Center · Studio Fundamentals; saving and versions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 28Studio scripts should end with a media-appropriate terminating action (such as Hangup, End, Exit, Discard or Return) and NICE says not to use the Stop action to end a script.Studio Fundamentals - CXone Help Center · Studio Fundamentals; terminating actions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 29With Initial Priority 110 and Acceleration 10, a contact queued for four minutes reaches priority 150.Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery - CXone · Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery; worked example · Checked 2026-09-24
- 30CXone computes an interaction's overall queue priority as (time in queue x Acceleration) + Initial Priority, capped at Maximum Priority.Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery - CXone · Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery; formula under Acceleration · Checked 2026-09-24
- 31Initial Priority and Maximum Priority range up to 9999 for ACD skills and up to 1000 for digital skills; Maximum Priority defaults to 1000.Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery - CXone · Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery; Initial Priority and Maximum Priority fields · Checked 2026-09-24
- 32Agent proficiency in a CXone ACD skill runs from 1 (highest) to 20 (lowest).Omnichannel Routing (ACD) skill - CXone Help Center · ACD skill; proficiency paragraph · Checked 2026-09-24
- 33If the Reqagent Skill property is not changed, the contact routes to the ACD skill assigned to the point of contact; changing the Skill property routes to a different skill.Set Up Inbound Voice - CXone Help Center · Set Up Inbound Voice; create script task, note on REQAGENT Skill property · Checked 2026-09-24
- 34The standard Reqagent action supports Generic, Email, Chat, Phone, Voicemail, Work Item and SMS scripts; digital scripts use a separate Reqagent implementation.Reqagent (CXone Studio) - HELP CENTER · Reqagent (CXone Studio); supported script types · Checked 2026-09-24
- 35The Studio Reqagent action requests an agent with a specific ACD skill to handle an active contact, queuing the contact if no agent is available.Reqagent (CXone Studio) - HELP CENTER · Reqagent (CXone Studio); action description · Checked 2026-09-24
- 36Reqagent is the point in a script where the contact moves from the Prequeue state to the Queued state; actions after it form the holding pattern while the contact waits.Reqagent (CXone Studio) - HELP CENTER · Reqagent (CXone Studio); behaviour notes · Checked 2026-09-24
- 37The Reqagent Target Agent property routes to a specific agent and queues the contact if that agent is unavailable.Reqagent (CXone Studio) - HELP CENTER · Reqagent (CXone Studio); properties table, Target Agent · Checked 2026-09-24
- 38NICE recommends consulting the account representative before reverting a system from dynamic delivery to static delivery.Dynamic Delivery - CXone Help Center · Dynamic Delivery; note on reverting to static delivery · Checked 2026-09-24
- 39CXone routing attributes are a bullseye routing method: custom traits that narrow the pool of potential agents within an ACD skill, usable with or without skill proficiencies.Routing Attributes - CXone Help Center · Routing Attributes; opening paragraph · Checked 2026-09-24
- 40CXone routing criteria for an interaction include its ACD skill, its priority when placed in queue, a bullseye proficiency range, and any routing attribute defined for the skill.Routing - CXone Help Center · Routing overview; routing criteria list · Checked 2026-09-24
- 41When a message matches more than one DX routing queue, it is routed to the highest-priority queue, determined by position in the queue list.Manage Routing Queues - CXone · Manage Routing Queues; filters and priority · Checked 2026-09-24
- 42Users cannot be assigned directly to a DX routing queue; routing queues sync to the ACD skills list and users are assigned through the skill.Manage Routing Queues - CXone · Manage Routing Queues; relationship to ACD skills · Checked 2026-09-24
- 43DX routing queues use filtering criteria instead of scripts to route interactions and are now mainly for outbound; new inbound digital routing uses ACD skills and Studio scripts.Manage Routing Queues - CXone · Manage Routing Queues; introduction · Checked 2026-09-24
- 44The Runsub action calls a subscript, which uses the Return action to hand control back to the calling script.Studio Actions - CXone Help Center · Studio Actions; RUNSUB entry · Checked 2026-09-24
- 45A Studio script overrides the skill's priority settings when the Reqagent Priority Management property is changed from Default, which uses the skill's settings.Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery - CXone · Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery; note on Studio script override · Checked 2026-09-24
- 46Any script saved to the CXone servers can be opened and edited in either Desktop Studio or browser Studio.NiCE CXone Studio · NiCE CXone Studio; script compatibility section · Checked 2026-09-24
- 47Every CXone ACD skill must be assigned to a campaign, which groups skills for reporting.Omnichannel Routing (ACD) skill - CXone Help Center · ACD skill; campaigns paragraph · Checked 2026-09-24
- 48A CXone tenant can have up to 10,000 active ACD skills; inactive skills do not count toward the limit.Omnichannel Routing (ACD) skill - CXone Help Center · ACD skill; limits paragraph · Checked 2026-09-24
- 49Snippet is NICE's in-house scripting language for custom code in Studio scripts and compiles to MSIL like C# and VB.NET.Desktop Studio Fundamentals - NiCE CXone Help Center · Desktop Studio Fundamentals; Snippet section · Checked 2026-09-24
- 50NICE recommends the POST /scripts/start API to spawn a Studio script from an external process; the Spawn action starts a second script in parallel from within a script.Spawn Scripts - HELP CENTER · Spawn Scripts; ways to spawn a script · Checked 2026-09-24
- 51The contact ID returned when spawning a script only indicates the spawn was triggered, not that the script ran successfully.Spawn Scripts - HELP CENTER · Spawn Scripts; API response note · Checked 2026-09-24
- 52Under static delivery, CXone selects agents based on how long they have been Available and their configured proficiency in the skill.Static Delivery - CXone Help Center · Static Delivery; how static delivery routes interactions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 53Static delivery is the legacy CXone routing method and limits agents to one interaction from one channel at a time, with exceptions for concurrent chats and email parking.Static Delivery - CXone Help Center · Static Delivery; opening paragraph · Checked 2026-09-24
- 54NICE states that browser-based Studio has feature parity with Desktop Studio.disputedNiCE CXone Studio · NiCE CXone Studio; introduction · Checked 2026-09-24
- 55Studio scripts have one of eight media types (Generic, Phone, Email, Chat, SMS, Voicemail, Work Item, Digital), and a script must match the media type of the channel it serves.Studio Fundamentals - CXone Help Center · Studio Fundamentals; script media types · Checked 2026-09-24
- 56Studio trace output can be saved as a JSON file with a .TRC.JSON extension and shared with other users or support.Trace and Debug Scripts - CXone Help Center · Trace and Debug Scripts; save trace output · Checked 2026-09-24
- 57Studio's Capture Live Contacts traces a specified number of live contacts filtered by matching ANI or DNIS.Trace and Debug Scripts - CXone Help Center · Trace and Debug Scripts; Capture Live Contacts · Checked 2026-09-24
- 58A Studio trace can only be captured on a saved script, and a script with compile errors cannot be saved until the errors are fixed.Trace and Debug Scripts - CXone Help Center · Trace and Debug Scripts; before you trace · Checked 2026-09-24
- 59The UpdateContact Studio action updates a contact's priority and proficiency ranges to broaden the pool of potential agents.Studio Actions - CXone Help Center · Studio Actions; UPDATECONTACT entry · Checked 2026-09-24
- 60Desktop Studio scripts are XML and browser Studio scripts are JSON, so exported script files cannot be imported into the other application.NiCE CXone Studio · NiCE CXone Studio; script compatibility section · Checked 2026-09-24
Documents
Bullseye Routing - CXone Help Center
Configure Priority for a Skill for Dynamic Delivery - CXone
Desktop Studio - CXone Help Center
Desktop Studio Fundamentals - NiCE CXone Help Center
Digital Scripts - CXone
Dynamic Delivery - CXone Help Center
Manage Routing Queues - CXone
NiCE CXone Lifecycle Status
NiCE CXone Studio
Omnichannel Routing (ACD) skill - CXone Help Center
Reqagent (CXone Studio) - HELP CENTER
Routing - CXone Help Center
Routing Attributes - CXone Help Center
Set Up Inbound Voice - CXone Help Center
Spawn Scripts - HELP CENTER
Static Delivery - CXone Help Center
Studio Actions - CXone Help Center
Studio Fundamentals - CXone Help Center
Trace and Debug Scripts - CXone Help Center
Set up IVRs with CXone Studio
Cite this page
APA
WarmTransfer. (2026, September 24). NICE CXone routing and Studio scripts. WarmTransfer. https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/nice-cxone-routing
BibTeX
@misc{warmtransfer-nice-cxone-routing,
title = {NICE CXone routing and Studio scripts},
author = {{WarmTransfer}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/nice-cxone-routing},
note = {Verified 2026-09-24}
}