b405397b64ae4199b137479b7c9942f1Q: Need clarification on request credits, workspace usage, AppSense, Follow Mode and BYOK billing
I'm evaluating Alter for software development and large workspaces. Could you clarify how request credits are consumed?
What counts as one request? Is one prompt always one request?
Does indexing a Workspace consume credits?
Does adding or updating hundreds/thousands of files consume credits?
When querying a Workspace, are credits used only for the prompt, or also for search/retrieval operations?
Does Follow Mode consume credits continuously, or only when prompts are sent?
If I use my own API keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini), are Alter credits still consumed?
Do AppSense and Current Application consume credits when added as context?
Do meeting recording and transcription consume credits?
Could you provide a few real-world examples of how long 7,500 credits typically last?
Thank you!
Sam_Alter
Jun 20, 2026A: One request = one http request = basically one turn in the conversation.
Adding files or folders to a workspace doesn't consume requests.
If by updating files you mean having Alter running operations on files, it will consume requests as it need while doing tool calls. Search/retrieval will consume requests because it's using tools to do it.
Follow mode only consume requests when you send a prompt.
If you use your own API keys, requests from your Alter plan are not consumed.
AppSense doesn't consume requests nor meeting recording transcriptions or dictation. It's unlimited.
First tier with 7500 has been designed to last a year for a basic usage of Alter (eg meeting reports, youtube summarization, correct grammar, light workspace use)