Spend Caps & Auth

Mid-run spend ceilings, cost protection, and OS keyring credentials.

Spend Caps & Authentication

NIKI provides built-in cost controls and secure credential management.

Mid-Run Spend Cap (spend_cap_usd)

To prevent runaway LLM costs or unexpected loop charges, NIKI tracks token consumption after every agent stage.

If the estimated cumulative cost exceeds general.spend_cap_usd, NIKI immediately aborts the run, avoids creating broken git branches, and outputs a diagnostic error:

[general]
spend_cap_usd = 2.50 # Aborts run if cost exceeds $2.50 USD

OS Keyring Credential Storage

Rather than storing plaintext API keys in your repository or configuration files, use niki auth login to store credentials in your operating system’s native secure keyring (Apple Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, Linux Secret Service):

# Log in to a provider securely
niki auth login --provider anthropic

# Check status of saved credentials
niki auth status

# Log out / remove key
niki auth logout --provider anthropic