Can I see the charge and usage?

Yes. The response reports the model, token counts, credits charged, terminal state and balance. The side panel refreshes the latest usage rows, and the account credits page shows the append-only ledger.

What happens when the provider times out?

A timeout is an unknown outcome, not a free success. The estimated charge is kept for reconciliation and the response says so; a definitive provider rejection is the case that triggers a refund.

Use case · Metered chat

A chat demo with the meter in view

One bounded prompt goes through the same endpoint the starter ships: identity, budget admission, credit reserve, provider call, settlement and a usage row. If this deployment has no provider, the demo says so instead of inventing a reply.

DemoMeteredLimited

No AI provider is configured

The endpoint needs an OpenAI-compatible base URL, key and model. Until they are set, no model call is made and no reply is invented.

AI_BASE_URLAI_API_KEYAI_MODEL

See the AI credits configuration Read the setup guide

No response yet

This panel only shows text returned by a configured provider. It does not generate a placeholder answer.

What one request proves

The scope is deliberately narrow: one bounded chat completion, not an image or video workbench.

01

Identity first

A session or a scoped API key is required. The provider key stays on the server and never reaches the browser.

02

Budget before work

Per-user daily and monthly credits, request and minute limits, and concurrency leases are admitted in one D1 statement before the charge.

03

Settlement with a paper trail

Credits are reserved, the provider is called, and the ledger records the result. A definitive rejection refunds; an unknown outcome is kept for reconciliation.

What it does not do

The demo keeps the honest edges of the starter visible.

No image, video, voice or training workbench. Those need separate providers, UI and cost controls.
Credits are internal units. The page does not convert them into a dollar price or pretend to know a provider's contract.
A missing provider is a configuration state, not a model answer. The form is disabled and no placeholder text is shown.

Demo questions

Only when the deployment has a working OpenAI-compatible provider, credits are enabled and you are signed in. Otherwise the form is disabled and the page states which configuration is missing. It never shows a fabricated model reply.

Wire the same path in your clone

The feature guide and docs cover provider configuration, credit budgets, API keys, settlement and the Cloudflare deployment.

Read the AI credits feature Open the credit calculator