Admission check
When you send a message, the API checks your credit balance upfront. If the initial admission cannot be covered, the request returns402 INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS before any message is persisted or any provider call is made.
Reservation and top-ups
The orchestrator reserves a minimum credit hold at the start of the turn. If a tool call needs more than the reservation covers, it tops up the hold before dispatching. If your remaining balance cannot cover a top-up, the turn terminates safely: completed tool calls are settled, and the untouched remainder of the reservation is released.Settlement
At the end of the turn, the final credit cost is settled against your balance. The total deducted reflects only the work that was actually performed.Zero-cost usage
LLM calls routed through OpenRouter’s free tier are recorded for observability at zero application-credit cost. You only spend credits when tool calls run.Credits are never charged retroactively for work already completed. If a turn terminates mid-run, only the tools that actually ran are settled.