---
title: Events overview
description: Understand the OrbitRail Events ingestion, authentication, retry, and retention contract.
url: https://pr-1-f831df687d6c.thally.app/events/overview
---

# Events overview

Understand the OrbitRail Events ingestion, authentication, retry, and retention contract.

OrbitRail Events accepts product events, delivers them to registered
destinations, and retries transient failures without asking your application to
operate a queue.

## Endpoint

Publish an event with `POST /v1/events`. Authenticate every request with the
`X-OrbitRail-Key` header. The API returns `202 Accepted` after it validates and
stores the payload for delivery.

## Delivery guarantees

| Behavior                     | Baseline                |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------- |
| Maximum delivery attempts    | 12                      |
| Failed-delivery retry window | 72 hours                |
| Retry backoff strategy       | Exponential with jitter |
| Event replay retention       | 7 days                  |
| Authentication header        | `X-OrbitRail-Key`       |

OrbitRail stops automatic delivery attempts after 12 attempts or 72 hours,
whichever comes first. Retry delays use exponential backoff with jitter to
spread redelivery traffic. You can replay the retained event manually while it
remains within the seven-day retention period.