This article explains two common questions: why your cloud stack provider count may appear inconsistent across different views, and how Link Lab order delivery, refunds, and replacements are handled. Following these steps will help you confirm what you are billed for and what to do when a placement is delayed.
Cloud stacks report provider information in more than one place, and these views update on different schedules. It is normal to see a temporary mismatch.
List view (cs_list): Shows a summary value such as deployed_provider_count. This field is cached and refreshes periodically, so it can briefly display 0 while deployment is still being indexed.
Detail view (cs_get): Shows the real-time state of the stack. This is the accurate, authoritative source for how many providers are currently active.
If cs_get confirms active providers (for example, 14) but cs_list shows 0, the detail view is correct. The list summary will catch up automatically, usually within 24 hours.
This list/detail display inconsistency is a recognized issue, and our engineering team has a UI correction for cloud stacks currently in development. It does not affect your active providers or your billing.
Billing is calculated from the authoritative deployment state shown in cs_get, not from the cached summary in cs_list. A deployed_provider_count of 0 in the list view does not reduce or increase your charges, and it does not mean your providers were removed.
To verify what you are being billed for:
Open the cloud stack detail view (cs_get) and confirm the active provider list.
Compare that count against your current plan or invoice.
If the detail view matches your expectations, no action is needed even if the list summary still shows 0.
Wait up to 24 hours and refresh the list view to confirm the summary has synced.
If the detail view itself shows an unexpected provider count, or the list summary has not synced after 24 hours, reach out so we can investigate.
When publishing a cloud stack, the assistant may appear to hang instead of confirming the order. This is a known issue, and the fix is complete and awaiting release. Because the failure is in the confirmation step, your order may actually have been submitted even though you did not receive a confirmation message — so do not assume it failed. Before re-attempting, open the cloud stack detail view (cs_get) to confirm the current state of your providers, and contact us if anything looks incorrect.
Link Lab placements are fulfilled by editorial and outreach partners, so delivery times vary by order. Each order has a standard delivery window, and most placements are completed well within it.
Standard window: Placements are expected to be delivered within 30 days of order confirmation.
Tracking: You can monitor the status of each placement directly in your Link Lab order dashboard.
Partial delivery: An order may be partially fulfilled, meaning some placements go live before others.
If one or more placements in an order pass the 30-day delivery window without going live, you are entitled to a replacement or a refund for those specific placements.
To request this, please have the following ready:
Your order number (for example, #24380).
The specific placements that remain undelivered.
Your preference: a replacement placement of equal value, or a refund for the undelivered items.
Only the undelivered placements are affected. Placements that were already delivered within the order remain valid and are not refunded.
Replacements: A new placement of equal value is queued and follows a fresh 30-day delivery window.
Refunds: Approved refunds are issued back to your original payment method and typically appear within one billing cycle.
Provider count shows 0 in the list but correct in detail view? Trust the detail view and allow up to 24 hours to sync.
Worried about billing? Confirm the active providers in cs_get before raising a concern.
Publishing seems stuck without confirming the order? Check cs_get for the stack's current state before retrying, in case the order already went through.
Placement past 30 days? Gather your order number and undelivered items, then request a refund or replacement.
Detail view also looks wrong, or sync did not complete? Contact us for a manual review.