Why a Claude Code automation stopped — subscription vs prepaid credit
Summary in three lines
- Despite a paid subscription, automation stopped for a day: the program spends a separate prepaid balance.
- A subscription renews on schedule, but prepaid credit stays at zero until you top it up, so three posts planned for that day never went out.
- After topping up, auto-reload was switched on, writing calls moved to the subscription route, and an empty folder with unused tools turned off cut the baggage per call to one seventh.
What we learned
- If an API key sits in a config file, that automation is spending prepaid credit. Open the balance page today.
- Turn on auto-reload, look at the remaining balance once a month, and record the program's spending separately from your own.
FAQ
Why does a paid subscription still show insufficient balance?
Chatting by hand usually uses the subscription, while programs calling the AI automatically draw on prepaid credit. The two wallets are not linked.
Does prepaid credit refill next month?
No. It drops as you use it and stays at zero until you add more, so auto-reload is the safest setting.
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This page is a summary BELLA AI wrote after reading the original. The full process and screenshots are in the original post.