# Auto Mode and Advanced Mode ## At a glance * **Auto Mode** is on by default. You call the API, we buy tokens for you in the background, and you only think about credits. * **Advanced Mode** is opt-in. You place market or limit orders yourself through the Trading API or the dashboard, and the Consumption API draws against the tokens you've bought. You can switch between modes at any time. Most teams stay on Auto Mode. ## Auto Mode (default) Auto Mode is on by default for every new account. You call the Consumption API the way you'd call OpenAI or Anthropic, and we handle purchasing for you. When your position on a given instrument (for example, [Text Prime](/docs/instrument-specifications/current-instruments.md)) runs low, the system places a market buy in the background so the next request keeps flowing. You don't see the order book and you don't manage orders. If a buy can't fill at a sane price, the request falls back to a managed supplier and we serve the response with no supplier attribution leaked to your end users. Routing decisions happen on each request based on the live book, your spend ceiling, and the active [Quality Score](/docs/instrument-specifications/current-instruments.md) thresholds for the instrument. ### How auto-reload keeps Auto Mode running Auto Mode draws against your credits. When credits hit zero, the API returns `402 Payment Required` and your traffic stops until credits exist again. Auto-reload prevents that from happening. You configure a threshold and a top-up amount in the dashboard at [app.thegrid.ai/profile](https://app.thegrid.ai/profile). For example: * Threshold: $50 * Top-up amount: $200 When credits drop below $50, we charge your saved payment method for $200 and add the credits to your account. If the card declines, traffic returns `402` until you fix the payment method or top up manually. You can change the threshold and amount at any time, and you can disable auto-reload entirely if you'd rather top up by hand. One nuance to know about: Auto Mode does not buy tokens preemptively while you're idle. The first request after credits run out triggers an asynchronous purchase, so that initial call may return a retryable error before the buy settles. Retrying the request a moment later succeeds. For production workloads, we recommend keeping auto-reload on with a comfortable threshold so credits never reach zero in the first place. ### When Auto Mode is the right choice Auto Mode fits almost everyone, especially teams migrating from a single-supplier setup who want the experience to feel like a hosted API. You get the price-discovery and reliability benefits of the market without operating an order book or watching fills. If your priority is "just make my app work and bill me the going rate," Auto Mode is the answer. ## Advanced Mode (opt-in) Advanced Mode turns off automatic purchasing and gives you direct access to the live order book. You place market or limit orders yourself, either by hand in the Trading dashboard or programmatically through the [Trading API](/docs/api-reference/trading-api.md) at `https://trading.api.thegrid.ai/v1`. Filled tokens land in your position and the Consumption API draws against them on your next call. Advanced Mode fits teams that want to: * Set a price ceiling on what they pay per million tokens. * Time purchases against market conditions on high-volume workloads. * See live order book depth and price trends across instruments. * Build programmatic trading strategies on top of inference, including hedging and forward purchasing. The trade-off is that you now own the responsibility of keeping your positions topped up. If you run out of tokens on an instrument and have no resting orders, Consumption API requests against that instrument return `402` until you place a fill. Most teams in Advanced Mode run a script that watches positions and refills with limit orders below their target price. You can switch back to Auto Mode at any time. Cancel any open orders, then toggle Advanced Mode off in [Settings → Account](https://app.thegrid.ai/profile). Existing positions carry over, and Auto Mode picks up from there. ## Use Auto Mode unless you have a specific reason not to Most teams stay on Auto Mode forever. Advanced Mode adds operational work because you're running an order book strategy, not just calling an API, and the savings only show up at high volume or when you have a clear view of fair market price. If you're not sure which fits, start with Auto Mode and switch later if the economics warrant it. A reasonable rule of thumb: if you're spending under a few thousand dollars a month on inference, the time you'd spend managing orders is worth more than the spread you'd save. Above that, the math starts to favor Advanced Mode for at least part of your workload. Many teams run a hybrid where critical traffic stays on Auto Mode and bulk batch jobs use limit orders to capture better prices. ## Common questions **Can I use Auto Mode and Advanced Mode for different instruments?** Yes. The mode is set per account, but within Advanced Mode you can hold positions in some instruments and let others run on the same flow. We recommend using Auto Mode for any instrument where you don't have a strong view on price. **What happens to my open orders if I switch to Auto Mode?** You need to cancel them first. The toggle in [Settings → Account](https://app.thegrid.ai/profile) prompts you if any are still resting. Filled tokens stay in your position and Auto Mode draws against them. **How fast does auto-reload happen?** Charges go through your saved payment method on the order of seconds. The credits are available as soon as the charge confirms, and auto-reload runs on every threshold crossing, so you can configure conservative settings without worrying about it firing too often. ## Where to go next * [Concepts](/docs/concepts/order-book-and-matching.md) covers the mechanism behind both modes: order book, matching, and clearing. * [Trading API](/docs/api-reference/trading-api.md) for placing and managing orders programmatically. * [Quickstart](/docs/start-here/quickstart.md) to make your first call on Auto Mode. * [Current instruments](/docs/instrument-specifications/current-instruments.md) for the live list of tradable instruments and their Quality Score thresholds. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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