> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.licensespring.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.licensespring.com/consumption-pools/consuming-from-a-pool.md).

# Consuming from a Pool

No changes are required in how your application calls the License API. The same endpoints handle pooled and non-pooled licenses alike:

* `POST /api/v4/add_consumption`  for licenses
* `POST /api/v4/add_feature_consumption`  for product features

When the license or feature is linked to a pool, the pool accounting happens automatically on the server side.

### What Happens on a Successful Consumption

For a pooled member, a successful call does two things atomically:

1. Increments the **member's own** `total_consumptions` (its individual contribution).
2. Increments the **pool's** `total_consumptions` (the shared balance).

The response includes both the member's state at the top level and a `pool` object reflecting the pool's post-write state. Your application always has the current shared balance without making additional calls:

```json
{
  "id": 1790242270029099,
  "max_consumptions": 1234,
  "allow_unlimited_consumptions": false,
  "allow_negative_consumptions": true,
  "allow_overages": false,
  "max_overages": 0,
  "reset_consumption": false,
  "consumption_period": null,
  "total_consumptions": 3,
  "pool": {
    "id": 8,
    "name": "AI Credits",
    "type": "license",
    "total_consumptions": 8203,
    "max_consumptions": 10000,
    "allow_overages": true,
    "max_overages": 123,
    "allow_unlimited_consumptions": false,
    "allow_negative_consumptions": true
  }
}
```

The top-level fields always reflect the **member's own** values. The pool's values appear only inside the `pool` object.

### Limit Enforcement

A pooled consumption is checked against both the member's cap and the pool's quota. The request fails on whichever limit is reached first:

* **Member cap:** The member's own `max_consumptions`, unless the member has unlimited consumptions enabled. The standard license and feature consumption error codes apply here.
* **Pool quota:** The pool's `max_consumptions`, extended by `max_overages` when overages are allowed. A `max_overages` value of `0` with overages enabled means no upper limit on overages.

When the pool's quota is exhausted, the call returns:

```json
{
  "status": 400,
  "code": "pool_quota_exhausted",
  "message": "The consumption pool has no quota left."
}
```

#### Error Codes Reference

| Code                   | When it occurs                                                                        |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `pool_quota_exhausted` | The pool has no remaining quota                                                       |
| `invalid_pool_type`    | The member and pool types do not match (returned when linking via the Management API) |

### Negative Consumptions

When the pool allows negative consumptions (the default), passing a negative value to `consumptions` reduces both the member's counter and the pool's total. Neither counter drops below zero.

### Concurrency

Multiple members can consume against the same pool concurrently. The pool balance is updated under row-level locks, ensuring totals remain accurate under parallel load. Your application does not need to serialize calls or implement any additional locking.

### Offline Devices

A device that activated a pooled license offline consumes locally against units it reserved at activation time, then syncs its actual usage when it reconnects. See Offline Checkouts for the full lifecycle.


---

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