An artificial intelligence run budget cap sets the maximum approved cost, tokens, calls or compute for one agent run. Usage from child agents and tools should be included so delegation cannot bypass the limit.
A hard cap is a final safety control rather than the only optimization. Earlier warnings, context compaction, output reduction and steering can preserve useful work before termination becomes necessary.
Acronyms and aliases
agent spending limit synonymAI run budget cap variantartificial intelligence run budget cap variant
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What happens when an AI run reaches its budget cap?
The control system should stop further chargeable actions, record the reason and preserve enough state for review or safe continuation.
Should a budget cap include subagent spending?
Yes. All delegated model, tool and compute usage should roll up to the originating run's approved budget.
