Field note · 2026-09-02
A 424-byte question that cost 4.2 million tokens
The budget that should have stopped a runaway delegation had been recording zero for eight days.
- 424
- bytes in the question2026-09-02
- 4.2M
- tokens it cost2026-09-02
- 9
- subagents it spawned2026-09-02
- 8 days
- the delegation budget had recorded zero, across 888 origins2026-09-02
What I saw
A short question produced an enormous bill and nine subagents.
What caused it
Two things together. A browser plugin that no longer worked was still listed in the catalog, so the agent kept trying it, failing, and delegating. And the budget meant to cap delegation had charged nothing for eight days. It was in place, it was wired to the enforcement path, and it read zero for every one of 888 origins. Because it never reported a problem, nobody looked.
What I changed
The meter was fixed and the dead plugin removed from the catalog. Byte-identical re-spawns are now refused. And there is a standing rule: any meter that guards an enforcement path must show a nonzero charge on live traffic within a day, or it is treated as broken.
What I'd tell another team
Trigger each limit on purpose at least once. And take dead tools out of the catalog the day they die; an agent will keep reaching for anything it's told exists.