Claim-Check

Messaging pattern for moving large EDI documents without overloading the broker.

Definition

The Claim-Check pattern strips a message's payload, puts it in an external store (S3 object, database, file system) and replaces the body with a retrieval key. The consumer claims the data using that key. In EDI this protects queues from very large batches (multi-MB interchanges, attachments) that would exceed broker message-size limits.

Origin

Catalogued as "Store in Library / Claim Check" in Enterprise Integration Patterns (Gregor Hohpe & Bobby Woolf, Addison-Wesley, 2003); also a named pattern in the Microsoft Azure Architecture Center.

Example in context

Broker message: { "claimCheck": "s3://edi-blobs/2026/INV-88421.edi", "type": "EDIFACT-INVOIC" } — the real payload stays in the S3 object.

Related terms

• SBDH — business header routed with the document.
• Outbox pattern — another messaging reliability pattern.