Auto-refill is the answer to "I'm in the middle of a task and just ran out of tokens." Instead of being kicked to a checkout page mid-flow, you get a one-click prompt in the chat. Tap OK, and a fresh 30-day pass is on your account in about a second.
The shape of it (in one paragraph)
You save a card on your account → you turn auto-refill on → when your tokens run out, a modal appears asking "Authorize €5 for another pass?" → you click OK → Server Manager charges your saved card and grants a new pass → the modal disappears and your chat resumes. Each refill needs your click. Auto-refill never charges your card silently.
Why we made it work this way
Two design choices that protect you:
- Explicit consent every time. Many subscription products silently charge your card whenever they want. Auto-refill in Server Manager doesn't: even though your card is saved, no charge happens without an in-app OK click from you. This is deliberate — it prevents disputes, gives you full control, and means you can always say "not now" without consequences.
- No monthly cap. You set the rhythm. There's no "you've spent €X this month — please confirm before continuing" interruption. Since every charge already requires your OK click, an extra cap would just nag you about decisions you're actively making.
How to turn auto-refill on
Easiest path — at purchase: when you buy your first pass on the Pricing page, tick the "Save my card for one-tap auto-refill" box. Card gets saved by Stripe, auto-refill flips on. Done.
Or later — from your Account page: click your avatar in the top-right → Account → scroll to the Auto-refill section → click Save a card. Stripe Checkout opens in setup mode (no charge happens). Enter your card details, submit, and you're returned to the account page with auto-refill on.
How a refill actually happens
You're chatting with Faro, deploying a site, debugging a server. Your pass budget hits zero. Within a few seconds:
- The chat pauses on the next agent action.
- A modal pops up: > Pass used up — refill? > You've used the full budget on your current pass. Authorize another €5 for a fresh 30 days? Your saved card will be charged on the spot. > > [OK, refill €5] [Not now]
- You click OK, refill €5.
- The button changes to "Charging…" briefly (about 1–2 seconds).
- A "Refill done — your pass is topped up. The agent is resuming…" message appears.
- The modal closes; the usage bar resets; Faro continues from where it stopped.
If you click Not now instead, the modal closes and the chat stays paused. You can refill later from /pricing or click your avatar → Pricing.
What you see in the Billing section
When auto-refill is on, the Account page shows:
Auto-refill is ON. A saved card is on file. You'll be prompted to authorize each charge. [Turn off]
When it's off but you still have a saved card:
Auto-refill is OFF. Your saved card is still on file. Turn auto-refill on to use it. [Turn on]
When you've never saved a card:
Auto-refill is OFF. No card on file. Save one to enable. [Save a card]
Edge cases
Card declined. If the refill charge fails (insufficient funds, expired card, etc.), the modal shows the decline message and offers a "Try again" button. Update the card in Stripe's customer portal (via Manage billing on your Account page) and retry.
3D Secure / strong customer authentication. EU regulations sometimes require your bank to re-verify the charge. If that happens, Server Manager surfaces a message telling you to update your card via Manage billing. (Future improvement: handle the 3DS prompt directly in the modal.)
Multiple refills in a short time. A 5-second idempotency window prevents accidental double-click charges. Beyond that, repeated refills are allowed — each one needs its own OK click.
Turning auto-refill off
One click. On your Account page, in the Auto-refill section, click Turn off. The flag flips immediately. Your saved card stays on file (so you can flip back on later without re-entering card details). To fully remove the card, use Manage billing to open Stripe's customer portal and detach the payment method there.
What auto-refill is NOT
- Not a subscription. No monthly billing, no recurring charge, no calendar-based renewal. Each refill is a discrete €5 payment triggered by token exhaustion and your click.
- Not silent. You always see and authorize each charge.
- Not required. You can always pay manually one pass at a time. Auto-refill just makes mid-task refills frictionless.
When auto-refill doesn't fire
Auto-refill triggers only when you run out of tokens inside a still-time-valid 30-day pass. If your pass time-expires (30 days passed with tokens still left), you're not charged automatically — those tokens were yours, you'd have lost them either way, and we don't fire a charge to claim something you weren't actively using. Instead, you'll see the regular "Get a pass" prompt the next time you open the app.
If you want to plan ahead before that happens, just buy another pass manually from Pricing — but note that buying with tokens still on the current pass would forfeit those tokens. Server Manager warns you about this and disables the buy button until your current pass is exhausted.