Why did this run cost so much?
Most unexpected spend comes from one of three places: large files, broad workflow scope, or repeated work. Use this guide to diagnose a run before changing caps or rewriting the workflow.
Step 1: Separate indexing from workflow spend
Open Admin -> Analytics -> Usage and check whether the spend came from:
- Indexing: Nomic processed a file so it can be searched.
- Workflow or Assistant usage: a model read context, used tools, reasoned, and wrote an output.
A workflow can feel expensive because it triggered indexing at the start, even if the workflow reasoning itself was reasonable.
Step 2: Check the inputs
Look for:
- Large PDFs or drawing sets
- Standards documents attached to every run
- Broad project folders
- Excel files with many pages, tabs, or dense tables
- Duplicate uploads of the same document
- New versions that required re-indexing
If a workflow used a 2,500-page project archive when it only needed three specification sections, narrow the input and run again.
Step 3: Check the workflow design
Workflow spend can rise when a workflow:
- Reviews every page instead of targeted pages
- Uses background agent or deep research for a simple task
- Runs several verification passes
- Produces long reports or multiple artifacts
- Repeats the same standards context on every run
That extra work can be valuable for high-stakes reviews. It should be intentional.
Step 4: Check user behavior
Sometimes the workflow is fine, but the usage pattern is expensive:
- Running the same workflow repeatedly while editing instructions
- Uploading the same file in multiple places
- Testing on full drawing sets before testing on samples
- Using a larger model for early drafts
- Starting new sessions instead of continuing a focused one
What to do next
- Test on a small sample.
- Reuse indexed files from the project or drive.
- Remove context files that are not needed.
- Ask Assistant to identify the relevant sections before running the workflow.
- Use the default model for early testing.
- Review workflow-level spend after a few runs.