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Auto-Reload: Keep Your Published App Running When Credits Run Low

Auto-reload buys Mythex credits when your balance runs low, so a long build or a busy published app does not stop at zero. How to set it up, and its limits.

Mythex Team · 2026-09-29 · 4 min read

Auto-reload is a Pro setting that buys credits for you when your balance runs low. You pick the balance that triggers it, how much to buy, and a monthly spending limit. After that, a long build or a busy published app keeps going instead of stopping at zero.

Why it exists

Mythex uses one credit balance for everything: the coding agent, the preview sandbox, and published apps — hosting, bandwidth, databases and file storage. That keeps billing simple, but it means an empty balance affects all of it at once.

Here is what happens when credits hit zero without auto-reload:

  • Chat is blocked until you upgrade, buy credits, or (on Free) wait for the daily grant.
  • Preview and the terminal stay available.
  • Published apps pause. Their servers stop; databases and files are kept. We email you when an app pauses and again when it comes back online.

A paused app is the part that hurts. It might be the link in your bio, or the tool your first customers use. Auto-reload exists so that doesn't happen because a balance ran out overnight.

How it works

When your balance drops to the level you chose, auto-reload buys a credit pack using your default payment method. The credits it buys are ordinary top-up credits — 50 for $15, valid for 12 months — on the same balance as everything else.

It charges whichever payment method is marked default in Stripe, the same one paying for your subscription. There's no second card to enter.

How to set it up

  1. Open Plans & credit usage (/billing) and find Auto-reload.
  2. Switch it on.
  3. Pick the trigger — the balance that starts a reload: 5, 10, 25 or 50 credits.
  4. Pick the amount to buy each time, from 50 to 500 credits ($15 per 50).
  5. Set the monthly limit — the most auto-reload may spend in a calendar month, across all its top-ups. The default is $150.

Turn it off with the same toggle at any time.

To change the card it uses, press Manage in Stripe. That opens the Stripe customer portal, where you can add a card, remove one, or mark a different one as default. Auto-reload follows the change the next time you open /billing.

The guardrails

Buying credits automatically should never surprise you, so auto-reload has hard limits:

  • It never spends more than your monthly limit. Once the limit is reached it stops until the next month, and we email you.
  • If the limit leaves room for less than you asked for, it buys what fits rather than nothing.
  • Only one reload runs at a time, and never two within two minutes, however fast credits are being spent.
  • Every charge is emailed to you.

When it switches itself off

Auto-reload turns off, shows the reason on /billing, and emails you when:

  • your card is declined
  • your bank wants you to confirm the payment, which can't happen while you're away
  • there's no payment method left on the account

Temporary problems don't switch it off — a brief network error on the payment side, or a card you replaced in the portal. It picks up the new default and tries again on the next charge.

The warning before an app pauses

If you don't use auto-reload, you still get notice. When your balance is under 5 credits and a published app with a server is still running, you get an "Action needed" email, at most once a day. It lists each app that will go offline, notes that its database is kept, and gives a rough estimate of the hours left. On Pro the email points you to auto-reload, or, if it's already on, asks you to check the card. Static sites don't use credits while they sit there, so they don't trigger it.

Buying credits by hand

You don't have to automate it. On /billing → Add credits, Pro accounts can buy packs of 50 credits for $15, up to 20 packs at a time. They're the same credits auto-reload buys, valid for 12 months. Usage details shows the last 30 days split into Build (the agent) and Run (hosting, bandwidth, database and storage), broken down by project, which helps you pick a sensible trigger and limit.

Limits

  • Pro only. Free accounts can't top up, by hand or automatically. On Free, a published app pauses when credits run out, until the next daily grant or an upgrade.
  • One payment method — whichever is default in Stripe.
  • Capped by your monthly limit. If a busy month hits the cap, reloads stop and your balance can still run out. Raise the limit if that happens.

Read more

  • Manage billing → Auto-reload
  • Credits — what costs what, and what happens at zero
  • How our databases are billed

Keep reading

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  • A Private Workspace and a Live Preview for Every Project — Every Mythex project runs in its own private cloud workspace with a live preview beside the chat. How it works, how to use it, and what to expect.
  • Billing Databases by What They Actually Use — We used to estimate each app's database cost, and the estimate was wrong both ways. Now every database is billed from measured usage, hour by hour.
  • Build Mythex Apps from Claude, Cursor or Codex — Mythex runs a remote MCP server: connect Claude, Cursor or Codex, and they code in your Mythex cloud sandbox with a live preview, database and publishing.
  • Checkpoints: Undo Any Change the Agent Makes — After every successful turn, Mythex saves a checkpoint of your project. Revert to any of them in two clicks, or edit an earlier message and try again.
  • Connect Gmail, Google Sheets and Slack to Your App Builder — Mythex Connectors link Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, Notion and more to the chat agent, with no API keys in your code. How it works, setup, and limits.

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