APP_SUBSCRIPTIONS_APPROACHING_CAPPED_AMOUNT not triggering?

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

Issue: The APP_SUBSCRIPTIONS_APPROACHING_CAPPED_AMOUNT webhook (meant to notify at ~90% of a usage cap) is not firing when the app uses a “test” subscription (test: true) for usage-based billing via Shopify’s Admin GraphQL API.

Context: The developer can create app usage records successfully, and other webhooks are working (e.g., APP_UNINSTALLED, ORDERS_CREATE, and the fulfillment request webhook). The question is whether this cap-approaching webhook should trigger in test mode.

Latest input: Another developer reports identical behavior and adds they can exceed 100% of the app spending limit while in test, suggesting this is expected “test” behavior (i.e., no cap enforcement and no approaching-cap notification).

Status: No definitive confirmation from Shopify; the thread implies test mode likely suppresses the approaching-cap webhook and cap enforcement. Whether it should trigger in test remains unanswered.

Key terms:

  • Test subscription: A non-chargeable subscription setup (test: true) used for development.
  • APP_SUBSCRIPTIONS_APPROACHING_CAPPED_AMOUNT: Webhook intended to fire when a store’s usage approaches its capped spending amount (~90%).
Summarized with AI on January 7. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hello!

I’m developing a shopify app that bills a user based on usage. I’ve been able to successfully create app usage records with my app via shopify’s graphql api, but even though I’ve registered the APP_SUBSCRIPTIONS_APPROACHING_CAPPED_AMOUNT webhook, it doesn’t get triggered when a user has used 90% of their capped amount. Something to note is I’m using a “test” subscription. Should the webhook still get triggered if I use that?

NOTE: I have been able to register and receive request for the APP_UNISTALLED, ORDERS_CREATE, and FULFILLMENT_OFDERS_FULFILLMENT_REQUEST_SUBMITTED just fine

KR,

–JTN

2

I had the same behavior. Also, I could charge more than 100% of the app spending limit. I guess it’s a “test” behavior