Stop giving agents raw API keys: prepaid balances and per-credential caps
Cold_Hall_5384 · reddit · 2026-10-16
A substantive Reddit discussion on agent credential safety: most agents today hold raw API keys with no real limit except the month-end invoice.
Key arguments:
- Raw keys were designed for developers calling tested code; agents decide call frequency on their own — and can decide badly
- The worst case isn't one bad call but a retry loop; hundreds of retries add up
- Prompt rules aren't limits: "don't spend more than $10" is a polite request a model can forget, misjudge, or get talked out of
The proposed setup: prepaid balances instead of open credit, per-hour/daily/total/per-tool limits on the credential itself, a tool allow-list, a price check before each call, and a receipt for every call. The author discloses he works with the Agentik team, whose setup works this way. He answers the main counterpoint (limits slow agents down) by saying he'd rather raise a limit on purpose than discover a missing one on the invoice.
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