> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.domesystems.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Quotas > Why Dome caps governed LLM spend over a window at scoped subjects export const quota = "A Quota caps governed LLM spend in USD over a daily or monthly window for a workspace, agent, Gateway, pool, or model. Dome rejects or reroutes metered calls when the budget is exhausted.";

{quota}

## High-level overview A Quota is a budget attached to one **subject** inside a workspace: the workspace itself, one agent, one verified end user, one Gateway, one pool, or one model. The Quota names a USD limit and a window (`daily` or `monthly`). Dome prices each completed model call at per-model token rates, adds that cost to every matching subject's spend for the window, and checks those budgets before the next call proceeds. Setting a Quota and exhausting it looks like this: 1. An operator sets a monthly workspace Quota of \$5,000. 2. Agents keep calling models through a Gateway. 3. Each completed call adds priced spend to the workspace counter for the current UTC month. 4. While spend stays under \$5,000, calls continue. The first call that would push the counter over the cap receives HTTP `429`. 5. The same call can also hit an agent Quota, a Gateway Quota, and a model Quota. Every matching budget must still have room. Pick who owns the budget and how often it resets. Dome refuses or reroutes when the money is spent. ### When a Quota change takes effect The **limit** you set (subject, amount, window, enabled) is workspace config. Dome loads that config on a poll interval (default about 10 seconds), the same tick that picks up Rule and Guard config. A new or updated Quota may not shape enforcement until the next successful sync. After that sync, the new limit is live. **Spend** moves when priced calls complete. Edit the Quota form and the counters do not jump. Raise a limit and spend already recorded in the window stays. Disable a Quota and that budget stops being checked. Other Quotas that still apply keep their own counters. ### Every matching Quota must pass Subjects carve different slices of the same traffic. A single model call can touch several Quotas at once: the workspace total, the calling agent, a verified Act-As user, the Gateway in the URL, the pool that routed the call, and the model that served it. Dome allows the call only when every applicable enabled Quota still has remaining budget. An agent Quota with room left cannot override an exhausted workspace Quota. Subject types and what each rejects are on the [Quotas](/reference/controls/quotas#subjects) reference. ### Windows reset spend, not the Quota A window is the calendar period the counter covers. `daily` resets at UTC midnight. `monthly` resets at the start of each UTC calendar month. The default on create is `monthly`. You can keep both a daily and a monthly Quota on the same subject. They are separate budgets. When the window rolls over, spend for that window starts at zero again. The Quota itself stays until you update or remove it. Details are on the [Quotas](/reference/controls/quotas#windows) reference. ### Exhaustion: reject or spill inside a pool Most Quotas reject affected calls with HTTP `429` when the budget is gone. Model Quotas inside a pool can behave differently. The resolver skips the exhausted member. If another eligible pool member remains, the caller never sees the exhaustion. If every member is unavailable or exhausted, the gateway returns HTTP `429` with `subject_type: all_members`. Direct calls to an exhausted model (no pool spillover path) return HTTP `429` with `subject_type: model`. Quota enforcement is a barrier applied before the pool's routing strategy runs, so spillover composes with `priority_weighted`, `round_robin`, and `least_loaded` alike. Refer to [Pools](/concepts/resources/model-pools) concept and [model Quotas](/reference/controls/quotas#model-quotas) reference. ### What counts toward a Gateway Quota A Gateway Quota follows the gateway in the request path, not a fixed membership snapshot. Usage accrues when a call is routed through that Gateway, whichever pool or model member serves it. Membership can change during the window. Spend still lands on the same Gateway Quota. Passthrough LLM calls are still checked against Quotas, but they do not add priced spend. The opaque body carries no token usage to meter. ### What you see in audit Completed model calls emit `llm.model_call.completed` with token counts. Exhaustion emits `access.denied` with deny detail `QUOTA_EXCEEDED`. Create, update, and delete emit their own lifecycle events. Event names are on the [Quotas](/reference/controls/quotas#observability) reference. ## Next steps With the Quotas spend-cap model in mind, continue with: * [Architecture](/concepts/architecture#quotas) concept for where Quotas sit in the request path * [Rules](/concepts/controls/rules) concept for allow and deny before spend metering * [Guards](/concepts/controls/guards) concept for content inspection after authorization * [Quotas](/reference/controls/quotas) reference for subjects, windows, and event names * [Set Usage Limits](/govern/quotas) to create, update, list, and remove Quotas