Credits (Dollarinos)

Dollarinos (Ds) are the compute credits used to run skills on clanker.engineer.

What are Dollarinos?

Dollarinos are in-app compute credits with no monetary value. They’re used to pay for AI processing when executing skills.

Note: Dollarinos are purely for tracking compute usage within the platform. They cannot be exchanged for real currency.

Subscription Tiers

Sign-up is with GitHub, and every mode needs a card on file before it can run anything — BYOK included. There is no free compute: a new account starts in BYOK Mode with no credits, and the card is saved with a $0 setup, not charged.

Cost Calculation

Execution costs are based on token usage, at the rate for the model that served each call. The table below is the fallback rate, used for a model with no rate of its own; most models are cheaper per token.

Example

For an execution with:

• 2,000 input tokens
• 5,000 output tokens

On the fallback rate, cost = (2,000 / 1,000 × 1) + (5,000 / 1,000 × 5) = 2 + 25 = 27 Ds

The result is rounded up to whole Ds: 27 Ds.

How usage is measured

Execution usage is metered where model calls leave the sandbox, from the token usage the model provider reports for each call — not from what the running skill says it used. A skill cannot lower its own bill.

• Failed, cancelled and timed-out runs are charged for the model calls they actually made before they ended. Only two kinds of run are free: runs that use your own provider key (BYOK), and runs that made no model calls.
• If a response’s usage cannot be read, that call is charged a conservative default instead.
• Cached input tokens are weighted rather than charged at the full input rate: cache reads count at 10% and cache writes at 125% of the input rate.
• Chat is billed per model step as it happens, not once at the end. A turn that errors, or stops to wait for your approval of a tool, is still billed for the steps it completed.

Checking Balance

Via Mobile App

Your balance is shown in the header of the app and on the Account screen.

Via MCP

{
  "tool": "get-credit-balance",
  "arguments": {}
}

Via REST API

GET /api/v1/billing/balance

Response:

{
  "balance": 450,
  "totalSpent": 150,
  "canExecute": true,
  "isAdmin": false
}

Purchasing Credits

Need more Ds? Purchase additional credit packs:

Via Mobile App

1. Go to Account > Credits
2. Select a pack
3. Complete purchase via Apple Pay or credit card

Via REST API

POST /api/v1/billing/purchase
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "packId": "pack_500",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "successUrl": "https://next.clanker.engineer/payment-success",
  "cancelUrl": "https://next.clanker.engineer/payment-cancel"
}

Balance Reservation

When you start an execution:

1. System estimates the maximum cost
2. Reserves that amount from your balance
3. After completion — including a failed, cancelled or timed-out run — charges the actual cost of the model calls made
4. Returns unused reservation

This prevents overdrafts during long executions.

Monthly Reset

Based Mode subscribers receive their monthly allocation on the 1st of each month:

• Unused Ds do not roll over
• Purchased packs do roll over
• Balance = Monthly allocation + Purchased packs

Transaction History

View your credit transactions:

Via REST API

GET /api/v1/billing/transactions

Response:

{
  "transactions": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "type": "execution",
      "amount": -27,
      "description": "README Generator execution",
      "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:31:30Z"
    },
    {
      "id": 2,
      "type": "purchase",
      "amount": 500,
      "description": "500 Ds",
      "createdAt": "2024-01-10T14:00:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

Low Balance Handling

When your balance is insufficient:

1. Execution is rejected with INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS error
2. You’ll receive a push notification (if enabled)
3. Purchase a pack or wait for monthly reset

Best Practices

1. Monitor usage - Check balance regularly in the app
2. Optimize prompts - Shorter, focused prompts cost less
3. Check before executing - Verify balance before large executions
4. Review transactions - Understand where your credits go