chore(docs): Improvements to the idempotency key docs for the user expored itempotency key changes

Author: ericallam

docs/idempotency.mdx

@@ -1,14 +1,44 @@
 ---
 title: "Idempotency"
-description: "An API call or operation is “idempotent” if it has the same result when called more than once."
+description: "An API call or operation is idempotent if it has the same result when called more than once."
 ---
 
-We currently support idempotency at the task level, meaning that if you trigger a task with the same `idempotencyKey` twice, the second request will not create a new task run.
+We currently support idempotency at the task level, meaning that if you trigger a task with the same `idempotencyKey` twice, the second request will not create a new task run. Instead, the original run's handle is returned, allowing you to track the existing run's progress.
 
+## Why use idempotency keys?
+
+The most common use case is **preventing duplicate child tasks when a parent task retries**. Without idempotency keys, each retry of the parent would trigger a new child task run:
+
+```mermaid
+sequenceDiagram
+    participant Parent as Parent Task
+    participant SDK as Trigger.dev
+    participant Child as Child Task
+
+    Note over Parent: Attempt 1
+    Parent->>SDK: trigger(childTask, {idempotencyKey})
+    SDK->>Child: Creates child run
+    Child-->>SDK: Running...
+    Parent->>Parent: Fails, will retry
+
+    Note over Parent: Attempt 2 (retry)
+    Parent->>SDK: trigger(childTask, {idempotencyKey})
+    Note over SDK: Same key, returns existing run
+    SDK-->>Parent: Returns original child run
+    
+    Note over Child: Child task only runs once
+```
+
+Other common use cases include:
+
+- **Preventing duplicate emails** - Ensure a confirmation email is only sent once, even if the parent task retries
+- **Avoiding double-charging customers** - Prevent duplicate payment processing during retries
+- **One-time setup tasks** - Ensure initialization or migration tasks only run once
+- **Deduplicating webhook processing** - Handle the same webhook event only once, even if it's delivered multiple times
 
 ## `idempotencyKey` option
 
-You can provide an `idempotencyKey` to ensure that a task is only triggered once with the same key. This is useful if you are triggering a task within another task that might be retried:
+You can provide an `idempotencyKey` when triggering a task:
 
 ```ts
 import { idempotencyKeys, task } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
@@ -72,6 +102,10 @@ import { myTask } from "./trigger/myTasks";
 await myTask.trigger({ some: "data" }, { idempotencyKey: myUser.id });
 ```
 
+<Note>
+When you pass a raw string, it defaults to `"run"` scope (scoped to the parent run). See [Default behavior](#default-behavior) for details on how scopes work and how to use global scope instead.
+</Note>
+
 <Note>Make sure you provide sufficiently unique keys to avoid collisions.</Note>
 
 You can pass the `idempotencyKey` when calling `batchTrigger` as well:
@@ -87,6 +121,149 @@ await tasks.batchTrigger("my-task", [
 ]);
 ```
 
+## Understanding scopes
+
+The `scope` option determines how your idempotency key is processed. When you provide a key, it gets hashed together with additional context based on the scope. This means the same key string can produce different idempotency behaviors depending on the scope you choose.
+
+### Available scopes
+
+| Scope | What gets hashed | Description | Use case |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| `"run"` | `key + parentRunId` | Key is combined with the parent run ID | Prevent duplicates within a single parent run (default) |
+| `"attempt"` | `key + parentRunId + attemptNumber` | Key is combined with the parent run ID and attempt number | Allow child tasks to re-run on each retry of the parent |
+| `"global"` | `key` | Key is used as-is, no context added | Ensure a task only runs once ever, regardless of parent |
+
+### `"run"` scope (default)
+
+The `"run"` scope makes the idempotency key unique to the current parent task run. This is the default behavior for both raw strings and `idempotencyKeys.create()`.
+
+```ts
+import { idempotencyKeys, task } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
+
+export const processOrder = task({
+  id: "process-order",
+  retry: { maxAttempts: 3 },
+  run: async (payload: { orderId: string; email: string }) => {
+    // This key is scoped to this specific run of processOrder
+    // If processOrder retries, the same key still refers to the same child run
+    const idempotencyKey = await idempotencyKeys.create(`send-confirmation-${payload.orderId}`);
+
+    // sendEmail will only be triggered once, even if processOrder retries multiple times
+    await sendEmail.trigger(
+      { to: payload.email, subject: "Order confirmed" },
+      { idempotencyKey }
+    );
+
+    // ... more processing that might fail and cause a retry
+  },
+});
+```
+
+With `"run"` scope, if you trigger `processOrder` twice with different run IDs, both will send emails because the idempotency keys are different (they include different parent run IDs).
+
+### `"attempt"` scope
+
+The `"attempt"` scope makes the idempotency key unique to each attempt of the parent task. Use this when you want child tasks to re-execute on each retry.
+
+```ts
+import { idempotencyKeys, task } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
+
+export const syncData = task({
+  id: "sync-data",
+  retry: { maxAttempts: 3 },
+  run: async (payload: { userId: string }) => {
+    // This key changes on each retry attempt
+    const idempotencyKey = await idempotencyKeys.create(`fetch-${payload.userId}`, {
+      scope: "attempt",
+    });
+
+    // fetchLatestData will run again on each retry, getting fresh data
+    const result = await fetchLatestData.triggerAndWait(
+      { userId: payload.userId },
+      { idempotencyKey }
+    );
+
+    // Process the fresh data...
+  },
+});
+```
+
+### `"global"` scope
+
+The `"global"` scope makes the idempotency key truly global across all runs. Use this when you want to ensure a task only runs once ever (until the TTL expires), regardless of which parent task triggered it.
+
+```ts
+import { idempotencyKeys, task } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
+
+export const onboardUser = task({
+  id: "onboard-user",
+  run: async (payload: { userId: string; email: string }) => {
+    // This key is global - the welcome email will only be sent once per user,
+    // even if onboardUser is triggered multiple times from different places
+    const idempotencyKey = await idempotencyKeys.create(`welcome-email-${payload.userId}`, {
+      scope: "global",
+    });
+
+    await sendWelcomeEmail.trigger(
+      { to: payload.email },
+      { idempotencyKey, idempotencyKeyTTL: "7d" }
+    );
+  },
+});
+```
+
+<Note>
+Even with `"global"` scope, idempotency keys are still isolated to the specific task and environment. Using the same key to trigger *different* tasks will not deduplicate - both tasks will run. See [Environment and task scoping](#environment-and-task-scoping) for more details.
+</Note>
+
+## Default behavior
+
+Understanding the default behavior is important to avoid unexpected results:
+
+### Passing a raw string
+
+When you pass a raw string directly to the `idempotencyKey` option, it is automatically processed with `"run"` scope:
+
+```ts
+// These two are equivalent when called inside a task:
+await childTask.trigger(payload, { idempotencyKey: "my-key" });
+await childTask.trigger(payload, { idempotencyKey: await idempotencyKeys.create("my-key") });
+```
+
+<Warning>
+**Breaking change in v4.3.1:** In v4.3.0 and earlier, raw strings defaulted to `"global"` scope. Starting in v4.3.1, raw strings now default to `"run"` scope. If you're upgrading and relied on the previous global behavior, you must now explicitly use `idempotencyKeys.create("key", { scope: "global" })`.
+</Warning>
+
+This means raw strings are scoped to the parent run by default. If you want global behavior, you must explicitly create the key with `scope: "global"`:
+
+```ts
+// For global idempotency, you must use idempotencyKeys.create with scope: "global"
+const idempotencyKey = await idempotencyKeys.create("my-key", { scope: "global" });
+await childTask.trigger(payload, { idempotencyKey });
+```
+
+### Triggering from backend code
+
+When triggering tasks from your backend code (outside of a task), there is no parent run context. In this case, `"run"` and `"attempt"` scopes behave the same as `"global"` since there's no run ID or attempt number to inject:
+
+```ts
+// In your backend code (e.g., an API route)
+import { idempotencyKeys, tasks } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
+
+// All three of these behave the same when called outside a task:
+await tasks.trigger("my-task", payload, { idempotencyKey: "my-key" });
+await tasks.trigger("my-task", payload, {
+  idempotencyKey: await idempotencyKeys.create("my-key", { scope: "run" }),
+});
+await tasks.trigger("my-task", payload, {
+  idempotencyKey: await idempotencyKeys.create("my-key", { scope: "global" }),
+});
+```
+
+<Note>
+When triggering from backend code, the scope doesn't matter since there's no task context. All scopes effectively behave as global.
+</Note>
+
 ## `idempotencyKeyTTL` option
 
 The `idempotencyKeyTTL` option defines a time window during which a task with the same idempotency key will only run once. Here's how it works:
@@ -131,6 +308,32 @@ You can use the following units for the `idempotencyKeyTTL` option:
 - `h` for hours (e.g. `2h`)
 - `d` for days (e.g. `3d`)
 
+## Failed runs and idempotency
+
+When a run with an idempotency key **fails**, the key is automatically cleared. This means triggering the same task with the same idempotency key will create a new run. However, **successful** and **canceled** runs keep their idempotency key. If you need to re-trigger after a successful or canceled run, you can:
+
+1. **Reset the idempotency key** using `idempotencyKeys.reset()`:
+
+```ts
+import { idempotencyKeys } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";
+
+// Clear the idempotency key to allow re-triggering
+await idempotencyKeys.reset("my-task", "my-idempotency-key");
+
+// Now you can trigger the task again
+await myTask.trigger(payload, { idempotencyKey: "my-idempotency-key" });
+```
+
+2. **Use a shorter TTL** so the key expires automatically:
+
+```ts
+// Key expires after 5 minutes
+await myTask.trigger(payload, { 
+  idempotencyKey: "my-key", 
+  idempotencyKeyTTL: "5m" 
+});
+```
+
 ## Payload-based idempotency
 
 We don't currently support payload-based idempotency, but you can implement it yourself by hashing the payload and using the hash as the idempotency key.
@@ -178,6 +381,24 @@ Resetting an idempotency key only affects runs in the current environment. The r
 
 ## Important notes
 
+### Environment and task scoping
+
 Idempotency keys, even the ones scoped globally, are actually scoped to the task and the environment. This means that you cannot collide with keys from other environments (e.g. dev will never collide with prod), or to other projects and orgs.
 
 If you use the same idempotency key for triggering different tasks, the tasks will not be idempotent, and both tasks will be triggered. There's currently no way to make multiple tasks idempotent with the same key.
+
+### How scopes affect the key
+
+The scope determines what gets hashed alongside your key:
+
+- Same key + `"run"` scope in different parent runs = different hashes = both tasks run
+- Same key + `"global"` scope in different parent runs = same hash = only first task runs
+- Same key + different scopes = different hashes = both tasks run
+
+This is why understanding scopes is crucial: the same string key can produce different idempotency behavior depending on the scope and context.
+
+### Viewing scope in the dashboard
+
+When you view a run in the Trigger.dev dashboard, you can see both the idempotency key and its scope in the run details panel. This helps you debug idempotency issues by understanding exactly how the key was configured.
+
+![Idempotency section in the run details pane showing the key, scope, and expiration time](/images/idempotency-key-dashboard.png)