> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.edgee.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Usage limits & budgets

> Cap coding-agent spend per member or squad, and application spend per standard API key.

A usage limit is a hard ceiling on spend. Once a scope reaches its limit, its requests are rejected until the window resets — the limit is checked against recorded usage. It is not a guarantee that concurrent or already-running requests cannot exceed the configured amount.

## Choose what to limit

For **coding agents**, set a limit on a **member** or **squad** from **Team**. A member limit covers that person's agents together: you do not need to configure each coding-agent key separately.

For **applications using the LLM Router or SDKs**, set a limit on their **standard API key** from **API Keys**. These are separate from the coding-agent keys enrolled through the console header.

| Scope | Where to set it | Covers |
| - | - | - |
| **Member** | Team → Members → Spending limit | One person's spend across their coding agents |
| **Squad** | Team → Squads → Spending limit | Combined spend of the squad's members |
| **Standard API key** | API Keys → Spending limit | Requests made through that application key |

Every applicable limit must allow the request. For example, with an illustrative \$100 monthly member limit and \$500 monthly squad limit, a member stops at \$100 even if the squad has budget left. If the squad reaches \$500 first, its members are blocked even if they remain below their individual limits.

## Set and verify a limit

As an administrator, choose the scope below. Amounts are in USD.

> [tab] Member
>
> 1. Open **Team → Members** and find the member.
> 2. In **Spending limit**, click **Set limit** or the existing amount.
> 3. Enter **Amount (\$)**, choose **Period**, then click **Save**.
>
> The limit applies across this member's coding agents. Use this to cap a developer's total spend across Claude Code, Codex, and other agents.
>
> ![Member spending limit form with a \$100 amount, Monthly period, and Save button.](https://mintcdn.com/edgee/ZJH-mHY-14RdSp8t/images/console/usage-limit-member.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=ZJH-mHY-14RdSp8t\&q=85\&s=7646f0336830341974a4583efe557489)
>
> Example member limit: \$100 per month across their coding agents.

> [tab] Squad
>
> 1. Open **Team → Squads** and find the squad.
> 2. Click its **Spending limit** cell.
> 3. Enter **Amount (\$)**, choose **Period**, then click **Save**.
>
> This is one shared ceiling for the squad, not a separate allowance for each member. Individual member limits still apply.
>
> ![Engineering squad spending limit form with a \$100 amount and Monthly period.](https://mintcdn.com/edgee/ZJH-mHY-14RdSp8t/images/console/usage-limit-squad.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=ZJH-mHY-14RdSp8t\&q=85\&s=5fc60bd0bc4c97c48e619ef765ec3a87)
>
> Example squad limit: \$100 per month shared by Engineering members.

> [tab] Standard API key
>
> 1. Open **API Keys** and find the application's key.
> 2. Click its **Spending limit** cell.
> 3. Enter **Amount (\$)**, choose **Period**, then click **Save**.
>
> This controls requests through that standard API key. To cap a developer's coding-agent usage, use the **Member** or **Squad** tab instead.
>
> ![Standard API key spending limit form with a \$100 amount and All-time period.](https://mintcdn.com/edgee/ZJH-mHY-14RdSp8t/images/console/usage-limit-api-key.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=ZJH-mHY-14RdSp8t\&q=85\&s=d6eb88497eb4bd5d9407b385da90057d)
>
> Example standard API key limit: \$100 across its lifetime.

After saving, confirm the amount and period in the same row. Configure a [budget alert](https://www.edgee.ai/docs/features/alerts.md) to be notified before the threshold is reached.

> [!WARNING]
>
> A scope with an assigned routing strategy cannot also carry a hard usage limit. Use the strategy’s **Block at 100%** setting for a cap at that scope. A routing budget and a percentage-alert usage limit are different settings.

## Periods

Every limit carries a window it is measured over:

| Period | Resets |
| - | - |
| **Daily** | At 00:00 UTC each day |
| **Monthly** | At 00:00 UTC on the 1st of each month |
| **All-time** | Never — a lifetime cap on the scope |

New limits default to **monthly**. A limit of 0 means no limit at all, which is also the default for a scope you have never configured.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Windows are calendar-based in UTC, not rolling. A daily limit resets at midnight UTC regardless of
> when the spend happened, so a team spread across time zones shares one reset moment.

## What happens at the limit

Requests from a scope that has reached its limit are rejected with an HTTP **429**, and the error names which limit tripped — the key's own limit, or the member/squad cap above it. The calling agent or application receives a rate-limit error for that request.

Spend through your own [BYOK](https://www.edgee.ai/docs/features/byok.md) provider keys counts toward these limits as well. A limit caps what a scope spends, not what Edgee bills for.

If usage data is briefly unavailable, requests are allowed through rather than blocked. Limits fail open.

## Watching a limit before it trips

Set a [budget alert](https://www.edgee.ai/docs/features/alerts.md) on any scope that has a limit, and you get a notification at 50%, 80%, or 100% of it. Member and squad budget alerts are percentages of these limits, so a scope with no limit set has nothing for the alert to measure and the rule stays silent.

Members can see their own position — spend so far and the limit in force for them — without needing admin access.

## Limits vs routing budgets

[Routing strategies](https://www.edgee.ai/docs/features/routing-strategies.md) also carry a budget, and it does a different job:

| | Usage limit | Routing budget |
| - | - | - |
| Purpose | Stop spending | Change which model serves the request |
| At the threshold | Requests rejected with 429 | Escalate to the next stage — cheaper model, same service |
| Applies to | Standard API key, member, squad | Whichever scope the strategy is assigned to |

Choose one at a given scope: a hard usage limit or a strategy. Use **Block at 100%** when the strategy itself must stop requests. Other applicable scopes can still impose limits.

## Limits vs credits

A usage limit is a per-scope ceiling. Your organization's **credit balance** is the pooled amount available to spend in the first place, and it is tracked separately in Settings → Credits. Running out of credits affects Edgee-billed requests; provider subscription and BYOK routes have different billing paths. Hitting a usage limit affects the key, member, or squad it covers.

## Troubleshoot a blocked request

If a request returns a budget-related 429, identify the scope in the error, check its recorded usage, and wait for the reset or have an administrator adjust the limit. Repeated retries do not reset a budget. An all-time limit requires an explicit adjustment rather than a calendar reset.


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