Why cost controls matter#
AI actions consume tokens, and token costs can add up quickly — especially with multi-step workflows and large context windows. Spending limits prevent surprise bills.
Spending limits#
At Settings → Rules, create a named limit with:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Period | Daily, weekly, or monthly |
| Limit (USD) | The cap for that period |
| When exceeded | Warn (allow conversations to continue) or Block (pause until the period resets) |
There is no separate per-action cost cap — a limit applies to all of Sidekick's spend in its workspace for the chosen period.
How limits are enforced#
Each limit shows a live gauge of current spend against its cap, with a marker at 75%. Once a blocking limit is reached, new Sidekick actions are paused until the period resets or the limit is raised; a warning limit keeps allowing them and just flags that the cap was hit.
Monitoring spend#
Track costs on the workspace overview page — ?panel=costs for
spend by source and project, ?panel=usage for quota and tier
consumption.
Spend for a period only settles once usage is metered — treat the live gauge as close to real time, not instantaneous.