Spend limits

What stops spending on ZeroLog, and what does not. Your credit is the hard stop.

What stops spendingEvery paid model request first meets your credit: at zero, paid models stop and nothing is billed later. While credit remains, a request still runs under three narrower limits: delegated sub-agent calls (at most four per turn, default cap CHF 0.50), the time limit of your plan for a /goal run, and a spend ceiling if one was given when a run started. There is no spend cap per chat.noyesA paid model requestCredit above zero?Paid models stopnothing is billed laterDelegated sub-agent callsat most 4 per turn,default cap CHF 0.50 per turn/goal runends at your plan'stime limitRun started with a ceiling(for example /ultracode)stops at that ceilingRequest runs, still bounded by
Credit is the hard stop; the other limits are narrower and only apply to delegated calls, to /goal run time and to runs started with a ceiling.
Diagram as text
  1. A paid model request is checked against your credit.
  2. At zero credit, paid models stop. Work does not continue and bill you later.
  3. While credit remains, delegated sub-agents draw from a default cap of CHF 0.50 per chat turn, with at most four delegated calls per turn.
  4. A /goal run ends at the time limit of your plan.
  5. A run started with a spend ceiling, such as /ultracode with a maximum spend, stops when it reaches that ceiling.
  6. There is no default spend cap per run, per chat or per agent beyond these.

the line you set

At the limit, work stops

the limit
  • Your credit
  • Delegated work, per chat turn nothing runs here
  • /goal run time, per run
Three limits that are built. At any of them, work stops: it does not continue and bill you later. Paid models stop at zero credit. Delegated sub-agents draw from a default cap of CHF 0.50 per chat turn, with at most four delegated calls. A /goal run ends at the time limit of your plan.

what is not there

No default spend cap per run, per chat or per agent

No plan sets a spend cap per run by default, and there is no spend limit per chat. A long agent run can use all the credit you have until the run ends or the credit reaches zero. A run only carries a ceiling if one is given when it starts: /ultracode accepts a maximum spend, and the run stops when it reaches it. Check your credit and your plan's run time before you start a long run. A monthly budget governor exists, but the operator sets it, not you: see Budget governor.

choosing a model

Check the price before you send

The picker shows the models available to your account and their current prices. Choose one that fits your budget. If a model is unavailable, follow the message in chat or pick another model from the list.

not a spend limit

Hardware and abuse limits live elsewhere

This page is about money. How much CPU, memory and disk a container gets, how many run at once, and how long an agent may run are set by your plan. A few actions, such as signing in, are separately rate-limited to slow down automated abuse; if one stops you, wait a moment and try again.

How unattended runs behave: /goal and /ultracode.