What is a commitment?

Business Summary: "Commitment" in Nimbus covers two ideas you will encounter often — an approved business decision you release after sign-off, and a billing pool of NTU usage on your plan. Knowing which meaning applies keeps finance and operators aligned.

Nimbus uses "commit" in more than one place. The ideas are related (both involve accountability) but they are not the same action.

How this fits in Nimbus

Decision commits and billing commitments answer different questions. One tracks what you decided; the other tracks how much agent work you can run. Both appear in settings, chat, and billing — but at different moments in the workstream lifecycle.

flowchart TB
  subgraph Decision["Decision commit"]
    D1[Draft output or write] --> D2[HITL sign-off]
    D2 --> D3[Released to Outputs or connector]
  end
  subgraph Billing["Billing commitment"]
    B1[Plan tier pool] --> B2[Runs consume NTUs]
    B2 --> B3[Usage dashboard and invoice]
  end
  WS[Workstream] --> Decision
  WS --> Billing

Decision commit

A decision commit is an approved outcome that moves from draft to durable record — published to Outputs, pushed through an action connector, or recorded in your operating memory.

The path typically looks like this: an agent produces a draft (report, recommendation, proposed write); a checkpoint pauses for sign-off — human-in-the-loop (HITL); you approve the checkpoint; Nimbus commits the decision — releases the artifact or executes the approved write.

Activity may show patterns like Committed to followed by a destination (CRM, ERP, Outputs folder). A goal committed label during workstream creation means the workstream record was created — not yet a business decision.

See Sign-off and approval flow and Where decisions land.

Billing commitment

A billing commitment is the NTU usage included in your subscription — plus optional usage commitment add-ons that increase your monthly pool beyond the base tier.

Team and Business plans can purchase additional NTU blocks (commitment add-ons) without changing tiers. Overage applies when usage exceeds your total pool.

See Plans, seats, and included usage and Usage commitment add-ons. For metering details, see Billing and usage.

Quick comparison

Ready to try it?

Purchase add-on usage: Usage commitment add-ons.

Example scenario

Your team runs a Plan mode agent that consumes 45 NTUs (billing commitment — deducted from the monthly pool). After the agent finishes, a Hard checkpoint opens for the board report. You sign off; Nimbus commits the decision to Outputs. A separate Critical checkpoint approves a CRM update — that is another decision commit. Finance reconciles the 45 NTUs on the usage dashboard; operators find both approved outcomes in Activity and Outputs.

FAQs {#faqs}

Q: Does approving a run commit a decision? A: Confirming Confirm & run starts execution — it is not the same as committing a business decision. Decision commit happens after output review or Critical write approval.

Q: Is "goal committed" a billing term? A: No. It means your workstream scope was saved as a durable record. See Creating a workstream.

Q: What's an NTU commitment add-on? A: An optional block of extra included NTUs on Team or Business plans. See Usage commitment add-ons.

Q: Can I commit a decision without a connector? A: Yes. Publishing to Outputs inside the workstream is a decision commit even when nothing is pushed externally.

Q: Where are both types tracked? A: Decision commits appear in workstream Activity and (when wired) org Audit & History. Billing commitment usage appears in Reading your usage dashboard.

Q: Do NTUs and decision commits happen at the same time? A: NTUs are metered when the run executes. Decision commits happen when you approve checkpoints — often after much of the NTU spend has already posted.