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Definition

Idempotency

A property that lets the same operation be attempted more than once without creating unintended duplicate effects.

Why it matters

The practical consequence.

Webhooks, payment events, queues, and integrations are routinely retried. Idempotency prevents duplicate charges, records, messages, or workflow steps.

Example

How it appears in a system.

A payment webhook can be processed twice while creating only one paid-order update.

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