Compute availability and access approval
How to check whether Compute can take your task, and apply for access, before you ask for a quote or approve any work.
Check the task in order
An availability decision is specific to an operation, input format, data profile, account, deadline and current capacity. A catalog row, published price or free estimate does not grant account permission or execution authority. Use the Work API reference for the callable interface; use this page for the decision before calling it.
For first access, choose Apply for Compute access. The application requests a fit review; it does not issue credentials, approve paid work or start a job. Existing customers use the account and client supplied through their approved access path.
Use this sequence:
- Identify the account, operation, input, data profile, output, deadline and spend ceiling.
- Read current capability and release evidence.
- Request a quote for the exact work when the operation is suitable.
- Obtain separate approval, then submit only the approved request.
An availability assessment is read-only. It does not issue credentials, upload input, reserve capacity, approve spending or start execution.
Read evidence in context
Before a live request, identify the capability, operation, supported input and output, verification requirements, data permissions, destination, deadline, scheduling intent and spend ceiling. Keep the account and client version with that brief. The Compute paper's quote and approval section explains why capability, funding and execution authority remain separate.
| Evidence | It tells you | It does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation or tool description | What a named interface means | That your account may execute it |
| Capability response | Reported capability and release context | Complete account permission or reserved capacity |
| Authorized job or result read | State of existing work you may inspect | Permission to create more work |
| Signed quote | Proposed scope, timing, limits, and commercial terms | Separate approval or completed execution |
| Synthetic exercise | How to interpret fixed example states | Any live service outcome |
Read the capability and release context together. Do not copy a status word from an old screenshot or example and treat it as current account access.
Read availability and next actions
The capability summary can report available, constrained, or unavailable. These values describe that summary at its stated scope. They are not universal promises for every customer, input, deadline, or workload.
constrained means review the task's current limits before asking to run it. It is not a queue-time
guarantee or permission to relax a data policy. A local or coarse capacity projection cannot promise
provider location, a particular Mac or a completed result. When the work can move in time, compare
booking and priority instead of forcing an immediate request.
Recheck the requirements when preparing the final quote. A signed quote still needs separate approval, and an accepted submission is not completed output.
Handle a refusal safely
| Response | First action |
|---|---|
UNAUTHENTICATED | Check the approved connection and credential source without printing the secret. |
FORBIDDEN | Ask the account owner to check the required grant. Do not widen your own access. |
RATE_LIMITED | Stop repeated requests and follow the applicable retry guidance. Do not create duplicate submissions. |
UNAVAILABLE | Keep the task brief and safe error details. Ask for the supported next step; do not switch accounts or weaken policy. |
| Unsupported capability | Select a supported capability or stop. Do not rewrite the task to hide the mismatch. |
| Unsupported profile | Choose a supported data or execution profile after review. Do not widen policy silently. |
| Invalid deadline | Choose a future supported deadline and obtain the required quote again. |
| Rebooking needed | Review a later timing choice or different intent through a fresh quote. |
The first four entries are transport or access responses. The final four are plain descriptions of quote-decision outcomes; they are not presented as one universal public error enum. None means this page has called your account. A missing response leaves the request outcome unknown. Read the existing job or retained request identity before starting new work.
Keep approval and recovery separate
An assessment can proceed without proving live access. Before paid work, review the exact quote, its expiry, and its timing terms, then obtain separate approval. An availability response never approves spending.
If a request is refused, correct the stated input, policy, capability, or timing. If submission is uncertain, reconcile the original identity. If output exists but delivery fails, recover delivery rather than rerunning. Use Compute Help for safe support evidence, Quotes and approvals for the approval boundary, and Use Compute with your AI when an agent is making the assessment for you.