Shopify Enhances Webhook Retry Mechanism for Improved Delivery

In an effort to improve the reliability and efficiency of its webhook delivery, Shopify has announced updates to its webhook retry mechanism API. The new system will attempt to deliver webhooks a total of eight times over a four-hour window, following an exponential backoff schedule. This approach is designed to give enough time for temporary errors to be resolved, ensuring smoother and more reliable data transmission.

Importantly, retried webhooks will carry the original payload from the moment they were first triggered. To manage potential staleness of data, partners are encouraged to reference the X-Shopify-Triggered-At timestamp found in the header or a timestamp within the payload itself.

Webhooks will continue to be sent to the subscription address set at the time of the original trigger. Any changes to the subscription address during a retry cycle will not redirect the webhook to a new address. Shopify advises that when moving webhooks to a different endpoint, both the old and new endpoints should remain active for a transitional period to ensure seamless service.

These updates are part of Shopify's ongoing efforts to enhance the consistency and dependability of its services, minimizing disruptions for its partners.