Checking and tracking

Typically, your users should get access to different features and usage limits, depending on their plan. Autumn handles your customer’s payments and grants them the features defined in your plan configuration. There are 2 functions you need to enforce limits and gating:

check for feature access, before allowing a user to do something
track the usage in Autumn afterwards (if needed)

This example will continue from before: a 2-tier pricing model for a chatbot.

This guide shows an asynchronous approach to checking and tracking. You can also check and reserve balance in a single, atomic API call for concurrent events.

Checking feature access

Check if a user has enough remaining balance of messages, before executing the action. The feature_id used here is defined by you when you create the feature in Autumn.

import { Autumn } from "autumn-js";

const autumn = new Autumn({
  secretKey: 'am_sk_42424242',
});

// Check if user can send 1 message
const { allowed } = await autumn.check({
  customerId: "user_or_org_id_from_auth",
  featureId: "messages",
  requiredBalance: 1,
});

if (!allowed) {
  console.log("User has run out of messages");
  return;
}

import asyncio
from autumn_sdk import Autumn

autumn = Autumn('am_sk_42424242')

async def main():
    # Check feature access
    response = await autumn.check(
        customer_id='user_or_org_id_from_auth',
        feature_id='messages',
        required_balance=1,
    )

asyncio.run(main())

# Check feature access
curl -X POST 'https://api.useautumn.com/v1/check' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer am_sk_42424242' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "customer_id": "user_123",
    "feature_id": "messages",
    "required_balance": 1
  }'

You can also use check to gate boolean features (non-metered features), such as access to “premium AI models”.

Tracking usage

After the user has successfully used a chatbot message, you can record the usage in Autumn. This will decrement the user’s message balance.

// Your own function to send the chat message

// Then record 1 message used
await autumn.track({
  customerId: "user_or_org_id_from_auth",
  featureId: "messages",
  value: 1,
});

import asyncio
from autumn_sdk import Autumn

autumn = Autumn('am_sk_42424242')

# Your own function to send the chat message

# Then record 1 message used
async def main():
    await autumn.track(
        customer_id='user_or_org_id_from_auth',
        feature_id='messages',
        value=1,
    )

asyncio.run(main())

# Your own function to send the chat message

# Then record 1 message used
curl -X POST 'https://api.useautumn.com/v1/track' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer am_sk_42424242' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "customer_id": "user_or_org_id_from_auth",
    "feature_id": "messages",
    "value": 1
  }'

Once you send usage events, you can verify their receipt in the Autumn dashboard, on the customer detail page.

You should always handle access checks and usage tracking server-side for security. Users can manipulate client-side code using devtools.

Next: Build your billing page Now, whenever your customers change their plan, they will automatically have the correct access and limits. Next, build a billing page for your customers.

Build your billing page

Display plan, balance and usage information to your customers using Autumn’s customer state

⌘I

Getting Started

Configure Pricing

Billing & Subscriptions

Customers

Additional Resources

Checking and tracking

Checking feature access

Tracking usage

Build your billing page

​Checking feature access

​Tracking usage

Build your billing page

Checking feature access

Tracking usage