Locus product guide · Updated September 29, 2026

Control AI Agent Tool Spending

Control agent tool costs with several independent limits: a funded credit balance, an account spend cap, the right credential scope, permitted tools, and explicit ceilings for live quotes. Alerts help you respond, while hard limits decide whether new spending can proceed. Review committed work as well as completed charges.

Which spending controls does Locus Pro have?

The main controls are a prepaid balance, an account monthly spend cap, tool and credential scope, a live-quote ceiling, a reload limit, and alerts. Each answers a different question: which account pays, which operations may run, and the most you will pay for an uncertain price.

Which spending controls does Locus Pro have?
Control	Purpose	Limit to remember
Prepaid balance	Fund eligible usage before execution	Auto-reload may replenish it if configured
Account monthly spend cap	Stop new spending at an account threshold	In-progress or completed work can still be charged
Tool and credential scope	Restrict which operations a caller can use	An allowed operation still has its own inputs and prices
Live-quote ceiling	Reject a quote above the authorized maximum before dispatch	Choose a ceiling appropriate to the task
Alerts	Notify a person of spend or low balance	A notification alone does not block spending
Reload limit	Constrain automated credit replenishment	It is separate from a spend cap

What credential should each agent use?

Interactive MCP clients use browser OAuth. Unattended enterprise agents use scoped Agent Connections with expiry and spending limits. A tenant secret belongs on a trusted server, not in an autonomous agent runtime.

On customer-facing platforms, check that each call is attributed to the right end user. Test a disallowed operation as well as an allowed one. A working connection may still have broader permissions than you intended.

How do I cap a call whose price is not fixed?

Set max_charge_credits. On supported live-quoted calls, this hard ceiling blocks dispatch when the quote exceeds it. Tools can be fixed-price, response-priced, or live-quoted, so check the price or charging basis before execution.

A sample price times a batch size is not a guarantee. Tokens, pages, generations, and per-result pricing depend on input and output. Bound task size and read receipts from representative requests before scaling a workflow.

What should an agent do after a rejected or interrupted call?

Fix the cause before retrying. Repeating a request rejected for credits or access will not create funds or permission. Keep retries bounded and reuse the same idempotency key for the same logical operation.

Check the receipt when a streaming client disconnects, since accepted upstream streams can stay charged. Stopping the client, revoking access, or lowering a cap does not cancel work the provider already accepted.

Frequently asked questions

Is a low-balance email a spending limit?

No. It is an alert. Use the documented hard cap, balance, and authorization controls to govern new spending.

Will a timeout always refund the call?

No. Non-streaming failures before success release reservations, while accepted streams can remain charged after a later timeout or disconnect. Check the operation and receipt.

Implementation references

Use these first-party references for current request contracts and account requirements. Tool availability, prices, and negotiated terms can change.