Quotes and approvals
Distinguish a free estimate from a signed quote, reservation, approval, accepted usage and payment before reviewing a Compute job's scope and maximum charge.
Separate estimate, quote and permission
Approve the quoted work before submission. A signed quote sets the terms for a specific account and request. An authorized person or an existing bounded approval policy must approve that exact work. Permission to transfer the input remains separate.
New paid work also needs purchased credit. The human payment step funds the account; it does not approve execution or raise a limit. Before dispatch, admission validates the quote and approval and holds the maximum from available credit. Accepted usage consumes the original hold once, and settlement releases the unused portion. An unknown balance is not zero, and quote expiry alone does not release an in-flight hold. Use the shared credit and payment guide for funding and recovery.
Applying for Compute access and getting a free estimate are separate from submitting work. For a scheduled request, the scheduling intent leads to a compatible-capacity reservation when needed, then a signed quote and the required approval. Admission, accepted usage, a statement or invoice, and payment follow as separate states, each with its own authority and result.
| Record | Establishes | Does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Free estimate | A non-binding planning view for a defined scope | Account access, reservation, admission, or execution authority |
| Transfer permission | Permission to transfer the prepared ciphertext for the reviewed input and destination | Paid execution, spending authority, or payment |
| Reservation | Compatible capacity for the selected timing and profile, when required | A named provider Mac, execution, spending authority, or payment |
| Signed quote | Price and limits for the account and request | Approval, completed work, delivery, or payment |
| Approval | Permission for the quoted work within its bounds | Admission or a completed result |
| Admission | Acceptance for asynchronous handling | Finished work or usable output |
| Result | Output and review evidence | Permission to publish or start another action |
| Accepted usage | The logical work accepted under the quote | An invoice already paid or a second job |
An authorized person may approve the quote directly. An existing bounded approval policy may approve it when the exact task, data, price and timing fall inside that policy. If neither applies, stop for approval. That approval does not grant permission to transfer input; transfer permission remains a separate decision for the prepared, sealed input.
Request a quote for fixed work
Describe the exact account, capability, operation, model reference, encrypted input bounds, verification policy, destination, data profile, priority, maximum charge and timing requirements to your approved client. The client encodes the request according to the supported contract; this page is not a request body. Do not infer extra request fields from this explanation.
Customer content belongs in the encrypted input artifact. Quote metadata carries references, bounds and digests. Transfer permission is bound to the prepared and sealed input; it does not approve spending. maximum_charge_micro_usd is an integer ceiling in micro-USD; 1,000,000 micro-USD equals $1. It is the maximum you permit for the request, not permission to set service rates.
Compute has one customer tariff: USD 0.05 per 1,000,000 input tokens and USD 0.10 per 1,000,000 output tokens. Lithi measures text, code, documents and media in tokens. The signed metering profile defines the counts. The quote uses the input and output rates to calculate the price. There are no separate page, image, minute, Mac-hour, urgency or model prices.
Read the signed quote
Review the fields that identify the work and its terms:
| Field | What to check |
|---|---|
quote_id, account_id, job_id, batch_id | The quote, account, and bound job or batch |
capability_id, capability_release_id, operation, model_ref | The exact capability, release, operation, and model reference |
input_bounds_digest, verification_policy_digest, request_digest | That the quote matches the reviewed request |
expires_at | When the quote stops supporting a new admission |
currency, maximum_charge_micro_usd, reserved_budget_micro_usd | The currency, micro-USD ceiling, and recorded micro-USD budget |
maximum_charge_nano_usd, reserved_budget_nano_usd, estimated_charge_nano_usd | The exact nano-USD ceiling, budget and estimate; keep this precision for approval and settlement |
estimated_charge_micro_usd | The micro-USD projection for the estimate |
input_rate_nano_usd, output_rate_nano_usd | The exact input and output token rates from the signed price book |
lines | Signed token-metered categories, their declared amount_nano_usd and amount_micro_usd values, and the metering basis; these are not extra non-token tariffs |
capacity_authority_digest, forecast_basis_digest, forecast_expires_at | The capacity evidence and its valid period |
eta_p50, protected_completion_at, latest_safe_start, deadline_state, capacity_state | The declared forecast and admission conditions; a forecast is not completed work |
signature | The integrity material; keep it unchanged |
Read fields according to the selected quote contract. Preserve nano-USD fields when that profile supplies them; do not invent missing values or round signed terms for approval. The separate scheduling-intent and reservation records retain their own identities and clocks rather than becoming extra fields in the quote.
The quote does not contain a customer-editable approval flag. Approval binds the complete signed quote, including its request, policy, destination, expiry and nano-USD terms, through the quote digest. Do not change signed fields, approve only a subset of terms, or treat a later physical attempt as a new quote.
Choose timing without mixing clocks
The signed scheduling intent can use ASAP, DEADLINE, RESERVED_WINDOW or FLEXIBLE_OFFPEAK. These choices express timing preference or a bounded reservation policy. A reserved window holds compatible fungible capacity; it does not name a provider Mac or guarantee completion. Use Booking and priority for the full customer model.
Keep these clocks separate:
- Quote acceptance expiry is
expires_at. An unaccepted quote cannot support a new admission after that instant. - A capacity reservation has its own expiry. It is a commitment window, not ownership of physical capacity.
- The requested intended finish is the deadline supplied for the job. It is not quote expiry or a client wait limit.
- A client timeout limits how long the caller waits for an HTTP response. It does not cancel admitted work.
- Retention is how long your client and authorized services keep request, result, and evidence references. It does not extend a quote or deadline.
Priority and booking are separate. Priority expresses queue/placement treatment under the current priority policy; a reserved window expresses a permitted future start window. Neither one is a completion guarantee, and paid terms never authorize spending beyond the reviewed ceiling.
Check authority before approval
The account, work key, selected period, data permissions, destination, and spend policy must all cover the same request. A work key does not administer the account, change team access, or approve payment. A source permission covers the defined input; a destination permission covers the allowed recipient and delivery location.
For an organization request, an authorized reviewer can inspect the amount and expiry in Team → Approvals, then choose Approve or Deny and confirm the recorded decision. An expired or already decided request is read-only. Do not change the requester or identity to evade a refusal.
Refresh after reconciliation
If the work changes or the quote expires, first establish whether the original request was admitted. Preserve the original request identity while you read it back. Work that still needs submission requires a fresh quote and the required approval.
If the response is unknown, do not rotate the key or create another intent to escape uncertainty. Check the existing request or job. For an unavailable or refused quote, correct the stated input, policy, capability, or timing and follow the safe guidance in Compute availability.
For a planning review before access or approval, use Get a free estimate. Copying that prompt does not install, upload, request keys or execute work. Preparing an application is optional, and sending it needs your approval. Transferring job inputs needs separate permission bound to the prepared, sealed input. After the matching request has paid-work approval, submit only that work. If an accepted result cannot reach its destination, use result delivery recovery without rerunning Compute.