---

name: retellai-reference-architecture description: | Implement Retell AI reference architecture with best-practice project layout. Use when designing new Retell AI integrations, reviewing project structure, or establishing architecture standards for Retell AI applications. Trigger with phrases like "retellai architecture", "retellai best practices", "retellai project structure", "how to organize retellai", "retellai layout". allowed-tools: Read, Grep version: 1.0.0 license: MIT author: Jeremy Longshore jeremy@intentsolutions.io

Retell AI Reference Architecture

Overview

Production-ready architecture patterns for Retell AI integrations.

Prerequisites

• Understanding of layered architecture
• Retell AI SDK knowledge
• TypeScript project setup
• Testing framework configured

Project Structure

Copymy-retellai-project/
├── src/
│   ├── retellai/
│   │   ├── client.ts           # Singleton client wrapper
│   │   ├── config.ts           # Environment configuration
│   │   ├── types.ts            # TypeScript types
│   │   ├── errors.ts           # Custom error classes
│   │   └── handlers/
│   │       ├── webhooks.ts     # Webhook handlers
│   │       └── events.ts       # Event processing
│   ├── services/
│   │   └── retellai/
│   │       ├── index.ts        # Service facade
│   │       ├── sync.ts         # Data synchronization
│   │       └── cache.ts        # Caching layer
│   ├── api/
│   │   └── retellai/
│   │       └── webhook.ts      # Webhook endpoint
│   └── jobs/
│       └── retellai/
│           └── sync.ts         # Background sync job
├── tests/
│   ├── unit/
│   │   └── retellai/
│   └── integration/
│       └── retellai/
├── config/
│   ├── retellai.development.json
│   ├── retellai.staging.json
│   └── retellai.production.json
└── docs/
    └── retellai/
        ├── SETUP.md
        └── RUNBOOK.md

Layer Architecture

Copy┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│             API Layer                    │
│   (Controllers, Routes, Webhooks)        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│           Service Layer                  │
│  (Business Logic, Orchestration)         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│          Retell AI Layer        │
│   (Client, Types, Error Handling)        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│         Infrastructure Layer             │
│    (Cache, Queue, Monitoring)            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Components

Step 1: Client Wrapper

Copy// src/retellai/client.ts
export class Retell AIService {
  private client: RetellAIClient;
  private cache: Cache;
  private monitor: Monitor;

  constructor(config: Retell AIConfig) {
    this.client = new RetellAIClient(config);
    this.cache = new Cache(config.cacheOptions);
    this.monitor = new Monitor('retellai');
  }

  async get(id: string): Promise<Resource> {
    return this.cache.getOrFetch(id, () =>
      this.monitor.track('get', () => this.client.get(id))
    );
  }
}

Step 2: Error Boundary

Copy// src/retellai/errors.ts
export class Retell AIServiceError extends Error {
  constructor(
    message: string,
    public readonly code: string,
    public readonly retryable: boolean,
    public readonly originalError?: Error
  ) {
    super(message);
    this.name = 'Retell AIServiceError';
  }
}

export function wrapRetell AIError(error: unknown): Retell AIServiceError {
  // Transform SDK errors to application errors
}

Step 3: Health Check

Copy// src/retellai/health.ts
export async function checkRetell AIHealth(): Promise<HealthStatus> {
  try {
    const start = Date.now();
    await retellaiClient.ping();
    return {
      status: 'healthy',
      latencyMs: Date.now() - start,
    };
  } catch (error) {
    return { status: 'unhealthy', error: error.message };
  }
}

Data Flow Diagram

CopyUser Request
     │
     ▼
┌─────────────┐
│   API       │
│   Gateway   │
└──────┬──────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐
│   Service   │───▶│   Cache     │
│   Layer     │    │   (Redis)   │
└──────┬──────┘    └─────────────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────┐
│ Retell AI    │
│   Client    │
└──────┬──────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────┐
│ Retell AI    │
│   API       │
└─────────────┘

Configuration Management

Copy// config/retellai.ts
export interface Retell AIConfig {
  apiKey: string;
  environment: 'development' | 'staging' | 'production';
  timeout: number;
  retries: number;
  cache: {
    enabled: boolean;
    ttlSeconds: number;
  };
}

export function loadRetell AIConfig(): Retell AIConfig {
  const env = process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development';
  return require(`./retellai.${env}.json`);
}

Instructions

Step 1: Create Directory Structure

Set up the project layout following the reference structure above.

Step 2: Implement Client Wrapper

Create the singleton client with caching and monitoring.

Step 3: Add Error Handling

Implement custom error classes for Retell AI operations.

Step 4: Configure Health Checks

Add health check endpoint for Retell AI connectivity.

Output

• Structured project layout
• Client wrapper with caching
• Error boundary implemented
• Health checks configured

Error Handling

Examples

Quick Setup Script

Copy# Create reference structure
mkdir -p src/retellai/{handlers} src/services/retellai src/api/retellai
touch src/retellai/{client,config,types,errors}.ts
touch src/services/retellai/{index,sync,cache}.ts

Resources

• Retell AI SDK Documentation
• Retell AI Best Practices

Flagship Skills

For multi-environment setup, see retellai-multi-env-setup.