---
title: "Stop a runaway agent | Recovea"
description: "An armed cap refuses the request in the path, before it reaches your provider."
canonical: "https://recovea.ai/use-cases/stop-runaway-agent/"
source: "https://recovea.ai/use-cases/stop-runaway-agent/"
---

![](https://recovea.ai/media/gallery/gallery-alpine-village-1600.webp)

# For the agent you leave running.

An armed cap refuses. A notice only describes it.

[Start free](https://platform.recovea.ai/signup)

Free is cardless.

Works with the providers you already call:

- OpenAI
- and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint

Refused before it reaches your provider.

## Arm a cap

Set a ceiling on a budget — your whole workspace, or one API key. The hard stop enforces at both, live on the next request.

[The 402 contract](https://recovea.ai/docs/products/cap/)

![](https://recovea.ai/media/gallery/gallery-tropical-jungle-800.webp)

Armed

Sample month

Workspace · August $3,642.58 of $4,000.00

Agent runner · daily $199.98 of $200.00

- claude-sonnet-4-5/v1/messages22:50:20402

insufficient_quota

## The next request is refused

Admission answers it in the request path. No call, no tokens, no cost.

[Run envelopes](https://recovea.ai/docs/products/breaker/)

![](https://recovea.ai/media/gallery/gallery-utah-red-rock-800.webp)

status402 Payment Requiredcontract

messageMonthly budget reached. Traffic resumes at reset, or raise the cap.prose

typeinsufficient_quotacontract

paramnull

codebudget_exceededcontract

## The kill-switch is the second brake

Per budget — your whole workspace, or one key — instant, no dollar ceiling, live on every plan.

[The 402 contract](https://recovea.ai/docs/products/cap/)

![](https://recovea.ai/media/gallery/gallery-new-england-in-fall-800.webp)

ScopeWorkspace

Monthly cap150.00

Spent31.05

Kill switch

ArmedOff

Four things happen on every call:

### Meter

Live

Sample month

- claude-sonnet-4-5$42.41
- gpt-4.1$31.01
- claude-haiku-4-5$12.84
- 3 more models$4.05

Today$90.31

Every call is priced as it happens, and booked to the key that made it.

Point one base URL at Recovea and the meter starts. Every call is costed against a frozen price list. Your keys, your provider accounts and your code stay unchanged.

[Start free](https://platform.recovea.ai/signup)[View docs](https://recovea.ai/docs/)

Free is cardless.

### Cap

Armed

Sample month

Workspace · August $3,642.58 of $4,000.00

Agent runner · daily $199.98 of $200.00

- claude-sonnet-4-5/v1/messages22:50:20402

insufficient_quota

An armed cap sits in the request path, so the call that would cross it is refused before it is forwarded.

Set a ceiling and arm it. The next call over the line is refused with a 402 your code can branch on. The kill-switch is the second brake, on every plan.

[Stop a runaway agent](https://recovea.ai/use-cases/stop-runaway-agent/)

### Breaker

Run

Sample month

run_b3b6…4b87 Declared $240.00

$239.98 spent

- /v1/chat/completions402

budget_exceeded

A Recovea Breaker is a budget one run carries: $240.00. It trips at that line, and stays tripped until a person starts a new run.

Only the calls that name a run in a header carry a Breaker. It tightens the caps above it, never loosens them, and stops that run, not your key and not the runs beside it.

[View docs](https://recovea.ai/docs/products/breaker/)

### Prove

Ledger

Sample month

1. claude-sonnet-4-522:50:14b502…1f15
2. claude-sonnet-4-522:50:1683f2…19ce
3. claude-sonnet-4-522:50:18f4be…4849

Export

Every call writes a receipt into a hash-linked chain that anyone can check without trusting us.

A receipt is written for every call, on every plan, Free included. The chain is published with its recipe, so you can export it and re-derive every hash in your own browser.

[See the proof](https://recovea.ai/proof/)

## FAQ

Does a request already in flight finish?

A request already in flight finishes. A cap is a gate, not a to-the-penny ceiling.

What happens if Recovea goes down?

Designed to fail open: if the gateway degrades, traffic goes straight to your provider. The only stop is a cap you armed.

Who holds my provider keys?

Your provider keys stay yours: sealed, bound to your workspace, never written to a log.

Do I have to change my code?

One line — the base URL. The gateway serves the wire format your client already calls.

Is there a free trial?

14-day free trial, card required. Free is cardless.

How many people can use it?

Unlimited seats on every plan.

- [September 2, 2026Recovea BreakerA spend budget one run carries, declared in a request header.](https://recovea.ai/changelog/recovea-breaker/)
- [August 30, 2026Caps on a Single API KeyA budget scoped to one API key, enforced in the request path.](https://recovea.ai/changelog/caps-on-a-single-api-key/)
- [August 29, 2026One Base URLOpenAI and Anthropic wire formats on a single base URL.](https://recovea.ai/changelog/one-base-url/)
- [August 5, 2026A New Plan LadderFour self-serve plans replaced the previous ladder: Developer, Team, Growth and Scale.](https://recovea.ai/changelog/a-new-plan-ladder/)

[Changelog](https://recovea.ai/changelog/)

## Arm a cap tonight.

Caps up to $1,000/mo on Free — Developer raises the ceiling to your full band.

[Start free](https://platform.recovea.ai/signup)

Free is cardless.