> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kerne.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Handle customer exceptions

> Different limits for one customer, without touching your catalog

A customer negotiates a limit nobody else gets. Another needs a temporary bump while you fix something. A third deserves a credit after an outage.

None of these should become a plan. Use an [override](/concepts/monetization/overrides) and your existing checks start answering correctly for that one customer.

## A negotiated limit

The common case: an annual contract with terms your public pricing doesn't offer.

```typescript theme={"system"}
await kerne.admin.grant('api_calls', {
  customer: userId,
  value: '50000',
  reason: 'Annual contract - negotiated limit',
  expiresAt: '2027-01-01T00:00:00.000Z', // omit for permanent
});
```

This replaces their limit and renews every period like the plan's own would. Set `expiresAt` to the contract end date and it stops applying on its own — worth doing, so an expired deal doesn't quietly outlive the contract.

## A temporary bump on one counter

On a feature counted per machine, per project or per seat, you can move a single counter and leave the rest on the plan's limit:

```typescript theme={"system"}
await kerne.admin.grant('machine_minutes', {
  customer: userId,
  dimension: 'machine_42',
  value: '180',
  reason: 'Loaner machine while theirs is repaired',
});
```

Overrides stack most-specific-first, so "every machine to 3h, except this one at 5h" is two grants rather than one per machine.

## A one-time credit

This is the one people get wrong. A refund is **not** a limit change — raising their limit would hand them the same gift every period, forever.

```typescript theme={"system"}
await kerne.admin.adjustUsage('api_calls', { customer: userId, delta: -5000 });
```

That moves the counter once. Pass an `idempotencyKey` if the call might be retried.

## Cleaning up

```typescript theme={"system"}
const grants = await kerne.admin.listGrants(userId);
await kerne.admin.revokeGrant(overrideId);
```

Expired overrides stay in the list rather than vanishing, so you keep a record of what was promised to whom.

<Warning>
  Everything under `kerne.admin` requires your secret key. Never call these from a request an end user
  initiated — see [Admin access](/concepts/identity/admin-access).
</Warning>

## What an override won't do

It moves the limit, not the behavior. Whether passing that limit blocks, is tolerated, or gets charged is always read from the plan. If you need a different *behavior* for one customer, that's a plan difference, not an override.

## Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Overrides" icon="user-pen" href="/concepts/monetization/overrides">
    The concept, and how overrides resolve.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Overrides reference" icon="code" href="/sdks/server/admin/overrides">
    Every option on `grant` / `listGrants` / `revokeGrant`.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>