# Compensating Transaction

> A mechanism that undoes the business effect of a completed step when a later step of the workflow fails.

Record: `architecture:compensating-transaction`
Kind: mechanism
Layer: [Execution Core](https://banes-lab.com/records/layer/execution-core.md)
Severity: contextual
Scope: workflow, distributed transaction
Canonical: https://banes-lab.com/ontology#architecture-compensating-transaction

Listed in [Architecture principles](https://banes-lab.com/api/records/architecture.md), after [Outbox Pattern](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/outbox-pattern.md) and before [Append-Only Log](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/append-only-log.md).

## Repair

- Refactored by: Add Compensation Action
- Detected by: saga steps without compensation
- Violated by: unrecoverable partial workflow failure
- Measured by: compensation coverage
- Enforced by: workflow tests

## Requires

- [Reversible/Compensable Step](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/reversible-compensable-step.md)

## Reinforces

- [Saga Pattern](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/saga-pattern.md)
- [Resilience](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/resilience.md)

## Enables

- [Failure Recovery](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/failure-recovery.md)

## Conflicts with

- [Irreversible Side Effects](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/irreversible-side-effects.md)

## In tension with

- [Business Complexity](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/business-complexity.md)

## Tensions

- [Compensating Transaction / Business Complexity](https://banes-lab.com/records/tension/business-complexity-compensating-transaction.md)

## Severity

- [contextual](https://banes-lab.com/records/vocabulary/severity-contextual.md)

## Category

- [Event / Messaging / Asynchronous Architecture](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture-category/event-messaging-asynchronous-architecture.md)

## Linked from

- [Event / Messaging / Asynchronous Architecture](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/principles/architecture-category-event-messaging-asynchronous-architecture.md)
- [Error Handling / Resilience](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/principles/architecture-category-error-handling-resilience.md)
- [Event Messaging Async](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/lexicon/lexicon-category-event-messaging-async.md)
- [Severity levels](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/schema/the-vocabulary-severity.md)
- [The resolutions](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/schema/the-resolutions.md)