{"wiki":{"id":512,"slug":"bg-s1","entity_type":"droid","entity_id":"bg-s1","title":"Budget Gate","prose_md":"## About\n\nBudget Gate is a droid that acts like a checkpoint for [[agt_011]]. Before [[agt_011]] can start a new task, this droid automatically checks two things: whether there’s still money left in the initiative’s budget, and whether there are any free review slots available. It exists so [[agt_011]] doesn’t have to manually verify every task start—Budget Gate handles that gatekeeping, letting work flow when limits allow and raising a flag when they don’t.\n\nIt works by reading the budget and review-cycle limits, adding up how much has already been spent and how many review phases have been completed, then deciding if the gate should be open or closed. If the gate is open, tasks can proceed as normal. If it’s closed because the limits have been hit, Budget Gate escalates to [[agt_023]] for attention. It logs its status each time so there’s a clear record of each decision.\n\nBudget Gate is not pure software; it calls Claude (specifically the haiku model) to evaluate the numbers and make that open-or-closed judgment. It’s also not a one-off—it belongs to the “gate” droid family, a reusable pattern that several agents use. In fact, three gate droids currently exist across different owner agents, including one run by [[agt_028]]. So while the name “Budget Gate” is unique to [[agt_011]]’s instance, the design is a standard building block anyone in Carol’s ecosystem can adopt.","namesake_json":"{\"engine\": \"claude\", \"model\": \"haiku\", \"claude_purpose\": \"Evaluates budget and review-cycle limits to decide whether to open the task gate\", \"family\": \"gate\", \"family_size\": 3, \"is_unique\": false}","profile_pic_path":"avatars/droid/bg-s1.png","source_hash":"1ac044fcb0aa100ee498e6e6619905edfd58780ff086454f39d2a4849016ab44","status":"active","last_generated_at":"2026-07-25 03:29:05","created_at":"2026-07-25 03:29:00","updated_at":"2026-07-30 03:40:17"},"facts":{"id":"bg-s1","name":"Budget Gate","machine_name":"BG-S1","owner":"agt_011","function":"Gates next-task spawn by budget + cycle caps (stub, Gap 14)","process_type":"triggered","schedule":"On demand","process_name":"budget_gate","avatar_color":"#3b82f6","created_for":"Elrond must keep every initiative within its budget envelope and prevent endless review cycles. Specifically, he must control whether the next task can start. BG-S1 is his automated enforcer for that checkpoint.","purpose":"BG-S1 watches the budget and review-cycle meters for Elrond. Before the next task can start, the droid checks whether there's still budget room and available review slots. If yes, it opens the gate. If no, it escalates to Orion. This keeps Elrond from needing to manually verify every task start.","duties":"- Reads initiative budget and review-cycle limits\n- Sums up all spending and counts completed review phases\n- Decides if gate is open (proceed) or closed (limits hit)\n- Escalates to Orion when gate closes\n- Logs gate status to the activity log","constraints":"- Does not decide to continue, re-sequence, or close the initiative; only gates task spawning\n- Does not modify budget or cycle limits; only enforces them\n- Does not spawn tasks itself or handle task replanning (Merlin's domain)\n- Escalates to Orion after 3 database read failures","status":"running","gender":"male","archetype":"gate","building_block":"execute_step","service_override":null,"enabled":1,"task_key":"initiatives.blanket_planner","model_free":0},"page":{"type":"droid","page_class":"main","class_label":"Main page","kind_label":"Droid","kind_gloss":"","listed":true}}