From ac68891ef26cc8f39801545a52282e42f01839f6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: mateo-berri <277851410+mateo-berri@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2026 19:25:39 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix(interactions): leave an unfetchable background
 interaction to its creating poll when a delete lands elsewhere

The remote pre-delete path fetches with only the delete's credentials, so a fetch it cannot make says nothing about the interaction. It used to claim the settlement row and release the reservation anyway, which stopped the creating replica's poll and lost the bill when the delete then failed the same way. It now returns without claiming; the in-process path keeps releasing on an unfetchable state, since its context carries the create's own credentials.
---
 .../interactions/background_cost_polling.py   | 21 +++++++++-------
 .../test_background_cost_polling.py           | 24 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 37 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/litellm/interactions/background_cost_polling.py b/litellm/interactions/background_cost_polling.py
index d1a3fccaac5..ce0774d6b8c 100644
--- a/litellm/interactions/background_cost_polling.py
+++ b/litellm/interactions/background_cost_polling.py
@@ -552,19 +552,16 @@ async def _fetch_before_delete(
 ) -> InteractionsAPIResponse | None:
     try:
         return await fetch_interaction(context)
-    except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001  # unfetchable pre-delete state settles by releasing the reservation
+    except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001  # the caller decides what an unfetchable pre-delete state means
         verbose_logger.debug(
-            "Could not fetch background interaction %s before delete, releasing its reservation: %s",
-            context.interaction_id,
-            e,
+            "Could not fetch background interaction %s before its delete: %s", context.interaction_id, e
         )
         return None
 
 
 async def _settle_before_delete(
-    context: BackgroundInteractionPollContext, fetch_interaction: FetchInteraction
+    context: BackgroundInteractionPollContext, response: InteractionsAPIResponse | None
 ) -> SettlementOutcome | None:
-    response: Final = await _fetch_before_delete(context, fetch_interaction)
     if not await _claim(context):
         return None
     if response is None:
@@ -581,7 +578,7 @@ async def maybe_settle_background_interaction_before_delete(
 ) -> SettlementOutcome | None:
     entry: Final = _ACTIVE_POLLS.get(interaction_id)
     if entry is not None:
-        return await _settle_before_delete(entry.context, fetch_interaction)
+        return await _settle_before_delete(entry.context, await _fetch_before_delete(entry.context, fetch_interaction))
     settlement_store: Final = store or _STORE.store
     pending: Final = await _pending(settlement_store, interaction_id)
     if pending is None:
@@ -596,7 +593,15 @@ async def maybe_settle_background_interaction_before_delete(
         api_base=api_base if isinstance(api_base, str) else None,
         store=settlement_store,
     )
-    return await _settle_before_delete(context, fetch_interaction)
+    response: Final = await _fetch_before_delete(context, fetch_interaction)
+    if response is None:
+        verbose_logger.debug(
+            "Leaving background interaction %s to the poll that created it: this process could not fetch it with "
+            "the delete's credentials, so the delete is about to fail the same way",
+            interaction_id,
+        )
+        return None
+    return await _settle_before_delete(context, response)
 
 
 async def _unclaimed(store: BackgroundSettlementStore) -> Sequence[PendingBackgroundInteraction]:
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/interactions/test_background_cost_polling.py b/tests/test_litellm/interactions/test_background_cost_polling.py
index 40d63090054..df80acfd7e6 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/interactions/test_background_cost_polling.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/interactions/test_background_cost_polling.py
@@ -695,6 +695,30 @@ async def test_delete_on_another_replica_releases_the_create_reservation():
     assert settled_metadata["user_api_key_budget_reservation"]["finalized"] is True
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_delete_on_another_replica_leaves_an_unfetchable_create_to_its_own_poll():
+    """
+    The settling replica fetches with the delete's credentials, never the
+    create's, so a fetch it cannot make (a key only the deployment carries)
+    says nothing about the interaction: the delete is about to fail the same
+    way, and the poll on the creating replica still owns the bill.
+    """
+    store = InMemoryBackgroundSettlementStore()
+    logging_obj = _logging_obj(litellm_params={"metadata": _create_metadata()})
+    await _create_on_a_replica_that_then_dies(logging_obj, store)
+    fetch, _ = _fetch_sequence(RuntimeError("Google API key is required"))
+
+    outcome = await maybe_settle_background_interaction_before_delete(
+        interaction_id="interactions/bg-abc", delete_kwargs={}, fetch_interaction=fetch, store=store
+    )
+
+    assert outcome is None
+    assert await store.is_claimed("interactions/bg-abc") is False
+    poll_fetch, _ = _fetch_sequence(_response("completed", with_usage=True))
+    await asyncio.wait_for(_register_poll(logging_obj, poll_fetch=poll_fetch, store=store), timeout=5)
+    assert logging_obj.model_call_details["response_cost"] > 0
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_delete_settles_once_however_many_replicas_try():
     store = InMemoryBackgroundSettlementStore()