Introducing the Better Auth Chargebee plugin: Use it to handle subscriptions, billing, and auth seamlessly.
Chargebeechargebee API

Release authorization

The release_authorization operation releases previously held credits back to the usable balance, effectively canceling an existing authorization (hold).

API Behavior

  • Reverses an earlier authorize operation.
  • Moves credits from held (reserved) → usable balance.
  • No consumption occurs as part of this operation.
  • Always releases the entire remaining held amount; partial releases are not supported.
  • Once released, the hold is considered closed.

Requirements

Requires the authorization_id of the original authorize request.

Business Use Cases

Cancellation flows When an authorized action is no longer needed.

Failure recovery Downstream processing fails after authorization.

Timeout handling Manual alternative to auto-release on hold expiry.

Usage

Ensures held credits are fully returned to the usable balance, preventing funds from remaining locked.

The response returns both the created ledger_operation object and the updated ledger_account_balance.

Sample Request

Sample Result[JSON]

URL Format

POST https://[site].chargebee.com/api/v2/ledger_operations/release_authorization

Input Parameters

authorization_id
required, string, max chars=50

Identifier of the original authorize operation whose hold is being captured.

Behavior

  • Must reference a valid and active hold created via an authorize request.
  • Must match the ledger_operation_id used in the original authorize call.
id
optional, string, max chars=50

Optional client-supplied identifier for this release_authorization operation.

Behavior

  • When provided, must uniquely identify this operation across the entire ledger.
  • Should not conflict with any other operation, regardless of type.
ledger_operation_timestamp
required, timestamp(UTC) in seconds

Unix timestamp (in seconds) representing when the release_authorization occurred in the upstream system.

Usage

  • Used for period attribution, grace-period eligibility, and reporting accuracy.
metadata
optional, jsonobject

Optional opaque JSON object carrying additional business context.

Behavior

  • Stored as-is and returned verbatim by the system.
  • Not interpreted, validated, or indexed by the system.

Returns

ledger_operation
Ledger operation object
Resource object representing ledger_operation
ledger_account_balance
Ledger account balance object
Resource object representing ledger_account_balance