---
title: >-
  Concurrency protection features for inventory and refund mutations - Shopify
  developer changelog
description: >-
  Shopify’s developer changelog documents all changes to Shopify’s platform.
  Find the latest news and learn about new platform opportunities.
source_url:
  html: 'https://shopify.dev/changelog/posts/concurrency-protection-features'
  md: 'https://shopify.dev/changelog/posts/concurrency-protection-features.md'
metadata:
  effectiveApiVersion: 2026-01
  affectedApi:
    - displayName: Admin GraphQL API
      handle: admin-graphql
  primaryTag:
    displayName: API
    handle: api
  secondaryTag:
    displayName: New
    handle: new
  indicatesActionRequired: true
  createdAt: '2025-12-05T18:00:02-05:00'
  postedAt: '2025-12-12T12:00:00-05:00'
  updatedAt: '2025-12-07T08:46:41-05:00'
  effectiveAt: '2025-12-12T12:00:00-05:00'
---

December 12, 2025

# Concurrency protection features for inventory and refund mutations

DateDecember 12, 2025

Version[2026-01](https://shopify.dev/changelog?api_version=2026-01)

FlagsNew[Action required](https://shopify.dev/changelog?action_required=true)

SurfacesAPI

Affected APIs[Admin GraphQL API](https://shopify.dev/changelog?api_type=admin-graphql)

This changelog consolidates all updates related to concurrency protection features for inventory and refund mutations.

## Compare and swap changes

To prevent race conditions in inventory updates, we're introducing compare and swap protection through the `changeFromQuantity` field across multiple API versions:

* `2026-01` : [Introducing a `changeFromQuantity` field for various inventory mutations](https://shopify.dev/changelog/compare-and-swap-for-inventory-mutations-with-change-from-quantity)
* `2026-01`: [Introducing a `changeFromQuantity` field for the `inventorySetQuantities` mutation and deprecating the old compare And swap fields](https://shopify.dev/changelog/compare-and-swap-redesign-for-inventory-set-quantities)
* `2026-04`: [Making the `changeFromQuantity` field required (with explict opt-out) for various inventory mutations](https://shopify.dev/changelog/making-changefromquantity-field-required) **(BREAKING)**
* `2026-04`: [Making the `changeFromQuantity` field required (with explict opt-out) for the `inventorySetQuantities` mutation and removing the old compare And swap fields](https://shopify.dev/changelog/finalizing-compare-and-swap-redesign-for-inventory-set-quantities) **(BREAKING)**

## Idempotency changes

To prevent duplicate operations when requests are retried, we're introducing idempotency protection through the idempotent directive:

* `2026-01`: [Introducing an optional `idempotent` directive for various inventory and refund mutations](https://shopify.dev/changelog/adding-idempotency-for-inventory-adjustments-and-refund-mutations)
* `2026-04` [Making the `idempotent` directive required for various inventory and refund mutations](https://shopify.dev/changelog/making-idempotency-mandatory-for-inventory-adjustments-and-refund-mutations) **(BREAKING)**

## Why we made these changes

Most inventory adjustments lack concurrency and idempotency protection, leaving systems vulnerable to race conditions, duplicate updates, and integrity issues—especially when commands are retried due to network disruptions. To solve this we will standardize concurrency and idempotency checks across Inventory APIs.

For more information, refer to our [idempotency](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/usage/idempotent-requests) and [compare and swap](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/orders-fulfillment/inventory-management-apps/manage-quantities-states#compare-and-swap) docs.