From 63935787f7af5d2093156ddad601dc4d67c87f21 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: kjgbot <kjgbot@agentrelay.dev>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 14:02:42 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] fix(sdk): make model pricing non-blocking for dollar
 budgets

Pricing is light enforcement. Under a frozen dollar budget, an LLM/agent
step with no model or an unpriced model now warns `budget_unmetered`
instead of refusing `budget_missing_price`, runs, and contributes no
dollars. Codex selects its own model, so a Codex step without a declared
model is reported as unmetered and Codex model ids need no MODEL_PRICING
entry. Priced steps still accrue and a crossed limit still stops the run;
`budget_syntax_invalid` still refuses.

Fixes the burn#539 Cloud run where a model-less codex step was refused.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 docs/BUDGET.md                              | 10 ++-
 docs/SURFACE.md                             |  6 +-
 packages/sdk/src/adapters/base.ts           |  4 +-
 packages/sdk/src/authored-flow-error.ts     |  1 -
 packages/sdk/src/authored-worker-step.ts    |  2 +-
 packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts        | 68 +++++++++++----------
 packages/sdk/src/cli/direct-run.ts          |  2 -
 packages/sdk/src/failure-kinds.ts           |  6 +-
 packages/sdk/src/model-pricing.ts           |  7 +--
 packages/sdk/src/preflight.ts               |  4 +-
 packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts            |  6 +-
 packages/sdk/tests/budget-preflight.test.ts | 62 +++++++++++++++----
 packages/sdk/tests/preflight.test.ts        |  5 ++
 13 files changed, 119 insertions(+), 64 deletions(-)

diff --git a/docs/BUDGET.md b/docs/BUDGET.md
index 4f2dd9e4d..2e94332bf 100644
--- a/docs/BUDGET.md
+++ b/docs/BUDGET.md
@@ -8,9 +8,13 @@ Limits are non-negative; dollars support up to six decimal places.
 
 A day is a UTC calendar day within a run. Completed spend resets for admission
 at the next UTC day; unrelated runs do not share a global account. Header
-syntax errors refuse as `budget_syntax_invalid`. Declared models without a
-frozen price refuse as `budget_missing_price`; dollar budgets also require a
-model on each worker step. Existing project model allowlist checks still apply.
+syntax errors refuse as `budget_syntax_invalid`. Pricing is light enforcement
+and never refuses a run: under a dollar budget, an LLM/agent step with no
+model, or a model without a frozen price, warns as `budget_unmetered`, runs,
+and contributes no dollars. Codex selects its own model, so a Codex step
+without a declared model is expected to be unmetered. Priced steps still
+accrue dollars and a crossed limit still stops the run as described below.
+Existing project model allowlist checks still apply.
 
 Every newly written `step.completed` includes:
 
diff --git a/docs/SURFACE.md b/docs/SURFACE.md
index 26ded069a..9a7c939a4 100644
--- a/docs/SURFACE.md
+++ b/docs/SURFACE.md
@@ -147,8 +147,10 @@ No process runs between events: the handler wakes, executes to its next await, p
    boundary. CLI and model resolve independently. CLI priority is step → named
    declaration → flow → project config. Model priority is step → named
    declaration → registered adapter default. Claude's adapter default is
-   `claude-opus-5`; Codex and custom wrappers have no default. A frozen dollar
-   budget refuses before execution when the selected model has no frozen price.
+   `claude-opus-5`; Codex and custom wrappers have no default. Under a frozen
+   dollar budget, a step whose model has no frozen price (or no model, as with
+   Codex choosing its own) warns `budget_unmetered` and runs without accruing
+   dollars; pricing never refuses.
    The worker explicitly removes ambient `RELAYFLOW_MODEL`; raw provider
    adapters use a model flag, while a custom wrapper receives an explicitly
    declared model only inside its identified same-process session.
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/adapters/base.ts b/packages/sdk/src/adapters/base.ts
index 6df66ea06..491234c41 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/adapters/base.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/adapters/base.ts
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ export interface HeadlessAdapter {
 
   /**
    * Stable model used only when neither the step nor its selected named agent
-   * declares one. Explicit authoring always wins. A default used with frozen
-   * dollar budgets must also have an entry in MODEL_PRICING.
+   * declares one. Explicit authoring always wins. A default without an entry
+   * in MODEL_PRICING runs unmetered under a dollar budget (a warning).
    */
   readonly defaultModel?: string;
 
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/authored-flow-error.ts b/packages/sdk/src/authored-flow-error.ts
index 7f38eef25..e372f24a5 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/authored-flow-error.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/authored-flow-error.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ export type AuthoredFlowExecutionErrorCode =
   | 'helper_slack.credential_missing'
   | 'helper_slack.mount_required'
   | 'budget_syntax_invalid'
-  | 'budget_missing_price'
   | 'agent_cli_unresolved'
   | 'agent_parked'
   | 'llm_cli_unresolved'
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/authored-worker-step.ts b/packages/sdk/src/authored-worker-step.ts
index eddd4da2b..cb7e670f4 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/authored-worker-step.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/authored-worker-step.ts
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ export function authoredWorkerRunner(
           diagnostic.severity === 'refusal',
       );
       throw new AuthoredFlowExecutionError(
-        refusal?.kind === 'budget_missing_price' || refusal?.kind === 'budget_syntax_invalid' ? refusal.kind
+        refusal?.kind === 'budget_syntax_invalid' ? refusal.kind
           : step.type === 'llm' ? 'llm_cli_unresolved' : 'agent_cli_unresolved',
         refusal?.message
           ?? `flow "${definition.name}" step "${id}": no CLI could be resolved for f.${step.type} `
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts b/packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts
index 1c2172a1e..e43306c0e 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts
@@ -1,42 +1,46 @@
 import type { CompiledFlowSpec } from './compile.js';
-import type { PreflightRefusal } from './preflight.js';
-import { MODEL_PRICING } from './model-pricing.js';
-import type { ResolvedCliModel } from './cli-adapter.js';
+import type { PreflightWarning } from './preflight.js';
+import { hasPricing } from './model-pricing.js';
+import { resolveAdapterKind } from './adapters/index.js';
 
-/** Frozen dollar budgets require an exact model with a frozen table price. */
+export interface BudgetStepResolution {
+  readonly cli?: string;
+  readonly model?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Dollar budgets are light enforcement: pricing never refuses a run. A step
+ * whose model has no frozen price journals no dollars (`pricedUsage` returns
+ * undefined), so it cannot trip `maxDollars`; priced steps still accrue and a
+ * crossed limit still stops the run in the kernel. This warning names each
+ * unmetered step so the gap is reported, not silent.
+ *
+ * Codex selects its own model when none is declared, so a Codex step is
+ * expected to be unmetered and says so rather than asking for a fake price.
+ */
 export function budgetDiagnostics(
   flow: CompiledFlowSpec,
-  resolvedModels: ReadonlyMap<string, ResolvedCliModel> = new Map(),
-): PreflightRefusal[] {
-  if (flow.budget?.pricing !== 'frozen') return [];
-  const diagnostics: PreflightRefusal[] = [];
-  const declared = [
-    ...Object.entries(flow.agents ?? {}).map(([agent, d]) => ({ agent, model: d.model })),
-    ...flow.steps.flatMap(s => s.type !== 'deterministic' && s.model !== undefined
-      ? [{ stepId: s.id, model: s.model }] : []),
-  ];
+  resolved: ReadonlyMap<string, BudgetStepResolution> = new Map(),
+): PreflightWarning[] {
+  if (flow.budget?.pricing !== 'frozen' || flow.budget.maxDollars === undefined) return [];
+  const warnings: PreflightWarning[] = [];
   for (const step of flow.steps) {
-    if (step.type === 'deterministic' || flow.budget.maxDollars === undefined) continue;
-    const resolved = resolvedModels.get(step.id);
-    const model = resolved?.model
+    if (step.type === 'deterministic') continue;
+    const resolution = resolved.get(step.id);
+    const model = resolution?.model
       ?? step.model ?? (step.type === 'agent' && step.agent !== undefined
         ? flow.agents?.[step.agent]?.model : undefined);
-    if (model === undefined) diagnostics.push({
-      severity: 'refusal', kind: 'budget_missing_price', stepId: step.id,
-      message: `Step "${step.id}" needs a declared, priced model for its dollar budget.`,
-    });
-    else if (resolved?.source === 'adapter'
-      && !Object.hasOwn(MODEL_PRICING, model)) diagnostics.push({
-      severity: 'refusal', kind: 'budget_missing_price', stepId: step.id, model,
-      message: `Model "${model}" has no frozen price for budget accounting.`,
-    });
-  }
-  for (const declaration of declared) {
-    if (Object.hasOwn(MODEL_PRICING, declaration.model)) continue;
-    diagnostics.push({
-      severity: 'refusal', kind: 'budget_missing_price', ...declaration,
-      message: `Model "${declaration.model}" has no frozen price for budget accounting.`,
+    if (hasPricing(model)) continue;
+    const cli = resolution?.cli ?? step.cli;
+    const reason = model !== undefined
+      ? `model "${model}" has no frozen price`
+      : cli !== undefined && resolveAdapterKind(cli) === 'codex'
+        ? 'Codex selects its own model'
+        : 'no model is declared';
+    warnings.push({
+      severity: 'warning', kind: 'budget_unmetered', stepId: step.id,
+      message: `Step "${step.id}" is unmetered (${reason}); it does not count toward the dollar budget.`,
     });
   }
-  return diagnostics;
+  return warnings;
 }
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/cli/direct-run.ts b/packages/sdk/src/cli/direct-run.ts
index ba09e72ff..c28798c1b 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/cli/direct-run.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/cli/direct-run.ts
@@ -153,7 +153,6 @@ export async function runDirectFlow(
         && (error.code === 'helper_slack.credential_missing'
           || error.code === 'helper_slack.mount_required'
           || error.code === 'budget_syntax_invalid'
-          || error.code === 'budget_missing_price'
           || error.code === 'unsupported_promise_lifecycle'
           || error.code === 'unsupported_header'
           || error.code === 'agent_cli_unresolved'
@@ -167,7 +166,6 @@ export async function runDirectFlow(
               error.code === 'helper_slack.credential_missing'
               || error.code === 'helper_slack.mount_required'
               || error.code === 'budget_syntax_invalid'
-              || error.code === 'budget_missing_price'
             ) ? error.code : 'invalid_spec',
             message: error.message,
           }, path)),
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/failure-kinds.ts b/packages/sdk/src/failure-kinds.ts
index b301e5f89..cde78c0a4 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/failure-kinds.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/failure-kinds.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ const PREFLIGHT_ENVIRONMENT_FAILURE_KINDS = [
   'mcp_undeclared_server',
   'mcp_unreachable',
   'budget_syntax_invalid',
-  'budget_missing_price',
   'cli_missing',
   'cli_unauthenticated',
   'cli_unresolved',
@@ -61,12 +60,17 @@ export const CHECK_FAILURE_KINDS = [
  * `vacuous_gate` is the same principle applied to a declared gate that judges
  * nothing: `schema: {}` and `schema: true` are legal and accepted, but a gate
  * accepting every output must not be reported as if it constrained one.
+ *
+ * `budget_unmetered` names an LLM/agent step under a dollar budget whose model
+ * has no frozen price (including Codex, which selects its own model). Pricing
+ * is light enforcement: the step runs and simply contributes no dollars.
  */
 export const PREFLIGHT_WARNING_KINDS = [
   'unprovable_effects',
   'command_unresolved',
   'command_unprovable',
   'vacuous_gate',
+  'budget_unmetered',
 ] as const;
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/model-pricing.ts b/packages/sdk/src/model-pricing.ts
index d41ecda79..40fd12c7a 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/model-pricing.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/model-pricing.ts
@@ -16,10 +16,9 @@ export function hasPricing(model: string | undefined): boolean {
  *
  * Returns `undefined` for unpriced models — callers should omit `usage`
  * from the journal payload rather than sending nulls that break the kernel
- * wire schema. The refusal for a declared dollar budget against an unpriced
- * model is `budgetDiagnostics` at preflight (before any CLI dispatches).
- * Throwing here after usage decode would waste the CLI invocation that
- * preflight was meant to prevent.
+ * wire schema. An unpriced step is unmetered, not refused: it contributes no
+ * dollars to a budget, and `budgetDiagnostics` warns about it at preflight.
+ * Codex model ids need no entry here; Codex selects its own model.
  */
 export function pricedUsage(model: string | undefined, input = 0, output = 0):
   | { tokens_in: number; tokens_out: number; dollars: string }
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/preflight.ts b/packages/sdk/src/preflight.ts
index 31107bd81..b75687455 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/preflight.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/preflight.ts
@@ -249,11 +249,11 @@ function preflightSync(flow: unknown, options: PreflightOptions): PreflightResul
   diagnostics.push(...budgetDiagnostics(
     compiled,
     new Map(resolutions.map(resolution => [resolution.stepId, {
+      cli: resolution.cli,
       ...(resolution.model === undefined ? {} : { model: resolution.model }),
-      ...(resolution.modelSource === undefined ? {} : { source: resolution.modelSource }),
     }])),
   ));
-  if (diagnostics.length > 0) {
+  if (diagnostics.some((diagnostic) => diagnostic.severity === 'refusal')) {
     return { ok: false, gates: compiled.steps.map(inspectStepGate), resolutions, diagnostics };
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts b/packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts
index 9aae3d954..1585bcecf 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ import type { WorkerCliResult } from './worker-cli.js';
  * (non-integer or negative) are the one remaining failure mode — those are
  * journaled as `worker_error` with the usage projected from clamped counts.
  *
- * Unpriced models are NOT a failure here: `pricedUsage` returns
- * `dollars: null` and preflight (see `budgetDiagnostics`) has already refused
- * declared dollar budgets against unpriced models before the CLI dispatched.
+ * Unpriced models are NOT a failure here: `pricedUsage` returns undefined, so
+ * the step journals no dollars and never trips a dollar budget. Preflight
+ * (see `budgetDiagnostics`) warns that such a step is unmetered.
  */
 export function workerSpend(result: WorkerCliResult, model?: string) {
   try { return { result, usage: pricedUsage(model, result.tokens_input, result.tokens_output) }; }
diff --git a/packages/sdk/tests/budget-preflight.test.ts b/packages/sdk/tests/budget-preflight.test.ts
index b2649022f..021c3712e 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/tests/budget-preflight.test.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/tests/budget-preflight.test.ts
@@ -32,15 +32,41 @@ describe('budget preflight', () => {
     expect(result.diagnostics.map(d => d.kind)).toEqual(['budget_syntax_invalid']);
     expect(o.probes.cli).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
-  it('refuses an unpriced declared model before probing', () => {
+  it('warns, never refuses, on an unpriced declared model and still probes', () => {
     const o = options();
     const result = preflight(spec('$20/run', 'unknown'), o);
-    expect(result.diagnostics.map(d => d.kind)).toEqual(['budget_missing_price']);
-    expect(o.probes.cli).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({
+      severity: 'warning', kind: 'budget_unmetered', stepId: 'ask',
+      message: expect.stringContaining('model "unknown" has no frozen price'),
+    })]);
+    expect(o.probes.cli).toHaveBeenCalledWith('claude', 'step', 'unknown');
   });
   it('retains frozen pricing when checking a compiled artifact', () => {
-    expect(preflight(kernelToAuthoring(toKernelSpec(compileSpec(spec('$20/run', 'unknown')))), options()).diagnostics)
-      .toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([expect.objectContaining({kind: 'budget_missing_price'})]));
+    const result = preflight(kernelToAuthoring(toKernelSpec(compileSpec(spec('$20/run', 'unknown')))), options());
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([
+      expect.objectContaining({severity: 'warning', kind: 'budget_unmetered'}),
+    ]));
+  });
+  it('emits no budget warning for priced steps or for token-only budgets', () => {
+    expect(preflight(spec('$20/run'), options()).diagnostics).toEqual([]);
+    expect(preflight(spec({ tokens: 100 }, 'unknown'), options()).diagnostics).toEqual([]);
+  });
+  it('lets a Codex step without a model run unmetered beside a priced Claude step (burn#539)', () => {
+    const o = options();
+    const result = preflight({ version: '0.1.0', budget: '$8/run', steps: [
+      { id: 'planner', type: 'agent', cli: 'claude', instruction: 'Plan.' },
+      { id: 'plan-reviewer', type: 'agent', cli: 'codex', instruction: 'Review.', dependsOn: ['planner'] },
+    ] }, o);
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.diagnostics.filter(d => d.severity === 'refusal')).toEqual([]);
+    expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({
+      severity: 'warning', kind: 'budget_unmetered', stepId: 'plan-reviewer',
+      message: expect.stringContaining('Codex selects its own model'),
+    })]);
+    expect(o.probes.cli).toHaveBeenCalledWith('claude', 'step', 'claude-opus-5');
+    expect(o.probes.cli).toHaveBeenCalledWith('codex', 'step', undefined);
   });
   it('prices and probes the Claude default when a dollar-budgeted step omits model', () => {
     const input = spec('$20/run');
@@ -53,19 +79,33 @@ describe('budget preflight', () => {
     }));
     expect(o.probes.cli).toHaveBeenCalledWith('claude', 'step', 'claude-opus-5');
   });
-  it.each(['codex', 'team-wrapper'])('still requires a model for registered/custom CLI %s with no default under a dollar budget', cli => {
+  it.each([
+    ['codex', 'Codex selects its own model'],
+    ['team-wrapper', 'no model is declared'],
+  ])('runs registered/custom CLI %s with no default model unmetered under a dollar budget', (cli, reason) => {
     const input = spec('$20/run');
     const { model, ...step } = input.steps[0]!;
-    expect(preflight({...input, steps:[{...step, cli}]}, options()).diagnostics)
-      .toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([expect.objectContaining({kind: 'budget_missing_price', stepId: 'ask'})]));
+    const result = preflight({...input, steps:[{...step, cli}]}, options());
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.diagnostics).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({
+      severity: 'warning', kind: 'budget_unmetered', stepId: 'ask', message: expect.stringContaining(reason),
+    })]);
+  });
+  it('does not require Codex model ids to be priced', () => {
+    const input = compileSpec(spec('$20/run'));
+    const { model, ...step } = input.steps[0]!;
+    expect(budgetDiagnostics({...input, steps:[{...step, cli: 'codex'}]}, new Map([
+      ['ask', { cli: 'codex', model: 'gpt-5.2-codex' }],
+    ]))).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({ severity: 'warning', kind: 'budget_unmetered', stepId: 'ask' })]);
   });
-  it('refuses an unpriced adapter default under a frozen dollar budget', () => {
+  it('warns on an unpriced adapter default under a frozen dollar budget', () => {
     const input = compileSpec(spec('$20/run'));
     const { model, ...step } = input.steps[0]!;
     expect(budgetDiagnostics({...input, steps:[step]}, new Map([
-      ['ask', { model: 'future-default', source: 'adapter' as const }],
+      ['ask', { cli: 'claude', model: 'future-default' }],
     ]))).toEqual([expect.objectContaining({
-      kind: 'budget_missing_price', stepId: 'ask', model: 'future-default',
+      severity: 'warning', kind: 'budget_unmetered', stepId: 'ask',
+      message: expect.stringContaining('"future-default"'),
     })]);
   });
   it('resolves and probes the adapter default without requiring price for a token-only budget', () => {
diff --git a/packages/sdk/tests/preflight.test.ts b/packages/sdk/tests/preflight.test.ts
index cd0f64dbf..a0dbdef02 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/tests/preflight.test.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/tests/preflight.test.ts
@@ -355,6 +355,11 @@ describe('preflight: CLI resolution and refusal predicates', () => {
         } as never),
         { probes: probes() },
       ),
+      // Pricing is light enforcement: an unmetered step under a dollar budget warns.
+      preflight(
+        { ...flow({ id: 'a', type: 'llm', cli: 'codex', prompt: 'x' } as never), budget: '$1/run' } as never,
+        { probes: probes() },
+      ),
     ];
     const warningKinds = scenarios.flatMap((result) => result.diagnostics)
       .filter((diagnostic) => diagnostic.severity === 'warning')

From 40534021bd632982f165294ea978841fc92402ae Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: kjgbot <kjgbot@agentrelay.dev>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 14:14:36 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] fix(sdk): keep token budgets metering unpriced steps

Bugbot: unpriced steps journaled no usage at all, so a token or dual
{ tokens, dollars } budget never saw them. workerSpend now attaches the
reported tokens with zero dollars for unpriced models (dollar budgets stay
unaffected); a CLI that reports no tokens still attaches no usage.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts     |  9 +++++----
 packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts         | 19 +++++++++++++++----
 packages/sdk/tests/model-pricing.test.ts | 23 ++++++++++++++++-------
 3 files changed, 36 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts b/packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts
index e43306c0e..d427dd10d 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/budget-preflight.ts
@@ -10,10 +10,11 @@ export interface BudgetStepResolution {
 
 /**
  * Dollar budgets are light enforcement: pricing never refuses a run. A step
- * whose model has no frozen price journals no dollars (`pricedUsage` returns
- * undefined), so it cannot trip `maxDollars`; priced steps still accrue and a
- * crossed limit still stops the run in the kernel. This warning names each
- * unmetered step so the gap is reported, not silent.
+ * whose model has no frozen price journals zero dollars (see `workerSpend`),
+ * so it cannot trip `maxDollars`, while its reported tokens still count toward
+ * any token budget; priced steps still accrue and a crossed limit still stops
+ * the run in the kernel. This warning names each dollar-unmetered step so the
+ * gap is reported, not silent.
  *
  * Codex selects its own model when none is declared, so a Codex step is
  * expected to be unmetered and says so rather than asking for a fake price.
diff --git a/packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts b/packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts
index 1585bcecf..f88aac02d 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/src/worker-spend.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,28 @@
 import { pricedUsage } from './model-pricing.js';
 import type { WorkerCliResult } from './worker-cli.js';
 
+/** Zero-dollar usage for an unpriced step, only when the CLI reported tokens. */
+function unmeteredUsage(input: number | undefined, output: number | undefined) {
+  if (input === undefined || output === undefined) return undefined;
+  return { tokens_in: input, tokens_out: output, dollars: '0.000000' };
+}
+
 /**
  * Attach token/dollar usage to a worker's CLI result. Invalid token counts
  * (non-integer or negative) are the one remaining failure mode — those are
  * journaled as `worker_error` with the usage projected from clamped counts.
  *
- * Unpriced models are NOT a failure here: `pricedUsage` returns undefined, so
- * the step journals no dollars and never trips a dollar budget. Preflight
- * (see `budgetDiagnostics`) warns that such a step is unmetered.
+ * Unpriced models are NOT a failure here: the step journals zero dollars, so it
+ * never trips a dollar budget, but its reported tokens still count toward any
+ * token budget. Preflight (see `budgetDiagnostics`) warns that such a step is
+ * unmetered for dollars.
  */
 export function workerSpend(result: WorkerCliResult, model?: string) {
-  try { return { result, usage: pricedUsage(model, result.tokens_input, result.tokens_output) }; }
+  try {
+    const usage = pricedUsage(model, result.tokens_input, result.tokens_output)
+      ?? unmeteredUsage(result.tokens_input, result.tokens_output);
+    return { result, usage };
+  }
   catch (error) {
     return {
       result: { ...result, exit_code: null, stderr_tail: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Invalid model usage' },
diff --git a/packages/sdk/tests/model-pricing.test.ts b/packages/sdk/tests/model-pricing.test.ts
index 42f9184e3..8af24848f 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/tests/model-pricing.test.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/tests/model-pricing.test.ts
@@ -49,13 +49,22 @@ describe('workerSpend', () => {
     expect(spent.result.exit_code).toBe(0);
   });
 
-  it('leaves usage undefined for an unpriced model without failing the step', () => {
-    // The step still succeeded — an unpriced model is a preflight concern
-    // when a dollar budget is declared, not a runtime failure per se.
-    const spent = workerSpend(priced, 'unlisted-model');
-    expect(spent.usage).toBeUndefined();
-    expect(spent.result.exit_code).toBe(0);
-    expect(spent.result.stderr_tail).toBe('');
+  it('keeps an unpriced model step metered for tokens but not dollars, without failing it', () => {
+    // The step still succeeded — an unpriced model is a preflight warning
+    // when a dollar budget is declared, not a runtime failure. Its tokens must
+    // still reach the kernel so token budgets see the step.
+    for (const model of ['unlisted-model', undefined]) {
+      const spent = workerSpend(priced, model);
+      expect(spent.usage).toEqual({ tokens_in: 100, tokens_out: 50, dollars: '0.000000' });
+      expect(spent.result.exit_code).toBe(0);
+      expect(spent.result.stderr_tail).toBe('');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('attaches no usage for an unpriced model whose CLI reported no tokens', () => {
+    const unreported = { exit_code: 0, stdout_tail: '', stderr_tail: '' };
+    expect(workerSpend(unreported, 'unlisted-model').usage).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(workerSpend(unreported).usage).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
   it('journals invalid token counts as worker_error, projecting clamped counts', () => {