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Limits and defaults

Every number a Borago Board user can hit, with its default and where it applies. Runs, the queue, history, dictation, recovery, accounts and containers.

These numbers are ceilings the app applies on its own, and the defaults are the values the desktop app uses with nothing changed. Where a number can be changed in the app, the row says where. The cloud runs no agent, so the run and queue tables apply only to the machine that runs the container.

During a run

A run is one execution of a task by the agent inside the project's container. These limits shape what the agent can do inside one run.

LimitDefaultApplies to
Idle ceiling per command5 minutes of no outputOne command in the agent's shell. Commands that print as they go (installs, builds, test suites) reset it. A silent command is stopped when it expires
Hard ceiling per command15 minutes of wall-clock timeOne command in the agent's shell, however much it prints
What a stopped command returnsThe output so farIt comes back as an ordinary result with a notice saying how long the command ran, that the shell was restarted so its working directory and environment are reset, and that a server or watcher should be started in the background and polled. Background processes survive from one command to the next
Stall watchdog, hosted providers10 minutes with no activity at allA run on Claude, OpenAI, Gemini or Grok. No model output, no command output and no finished tool call for this long ends the run. The task moves to Blocked with a comment saying it stalled
Stall watchdog, self-hosted20 minutes with no outputA run on a self-hosted server, once its first token has arrived
First token, self-hosted5 minutesA run on a self-hosted server before the first token arrives. Separate from the stall watchdog so a cold server loading a large model is not stopped
Whole-run time limit, self-hosted120 minutesA run on a self-hosted server. The service's Time limit per task (min) field in Settings replaces it when filled in
Image the agent may viewAbout 3.5 MBA picture the agent opens from the container, on every provider. Over the cap the agent is told the size and asked to resize the image first
Document the agent may viewAbout 8 MBA PDF the agent opens from the container on Claude, OpenAI, Gemini or Grok. A self-hosted model is told the document cannot be shown and reads it with a command instead. Over the cap the agent is told to extract the part it needs first

Web search and page fetch

Both are hosted by the provider and on by default.

LimitDefaultApplies to
Web searches per run8Claude, OpenAI and Gemini runs. Gemini needs a Gemini 3 or newer model. Grok and self-hosted runs have no web search. Each search the provider reports is added to the run's cost estimate
Page fetches per run5Claude and Gemini runs (Gemini 3 or newer). OpenAI, Grok and self-hosted runs have no hosted fetch tool and read a known page with a command in the container instead

Attachments

LimitDefaultApplies to
Attachment size10 MB per fileA file attached to a task from any surface, and a file the agent attaches from the container
Attachment kindsImages, plain text, source code and web filesWhat the board accepts. Office documents, executables, media and archives are refused by default. Another category can be allowed on the machine running the app, see Attachments, screenshots, paint and camera

The queue

LimitDefaultApplies to
Runs at once per project1Every surface. A second Run while a run is executing is refused and the task is queued to To Do instead. The check reads whether a run is executing, not the column, so a task paused on a question does not count
Retry delays after a failed run1, 3, 5, 10 and 30 secondsThe first five failures of one task. From the second failure the app may stop the retries early and move the task to Blocked with the reason
Failures before the task is blocked6One task. The sixth consecutive failure moves it to Blocked with a comment holding the last error
Wait after a provider rate limitThe provider's stated reset time plus 5 minutesThe whole project queue. When the provider states no reset time the wait grows from 5 minutes to a ceiling of 60
Tasks a run may create8 per runThe tasks a run proposes. Extras are dropped and the task's history says how many
Tasks in one breakdown family20Everything split out of one root task, however many rounds it took. Proposals over the cap are declined and noted in the history
Title and description of a created task200 and 4,000 charactersA task the agent creates. Longer text is cut
Cost budgetNonePer project and per provider, on the machine that runs the container. Set in the project's AI Auth tab. When set, the queue holds when the recorded spend reaches it, until the spend is reset

History

LimitDefaultApplies to
Runs kept per task100The run archive. The newest are kept and older runs lose their output
Output kept per run1,000,000 charactersOne archived run. Above the cap the start and the end are kept, the middle is dropped, and the archive says how many characters are missing and the true length
Run summary kept6,000 charactersThe summary a run writes at its end. Longer text is cut
Previous output sent to the next runThe latest run onlyA retry reads the previous attempt's output. Older archived runs' transcripts are never sent to a model. The review after a run is told only that they happened, how each ended and one line of summary

Notifications

LimitDefaultApplies to
Notifications kept300The account's notification list, on every surface
Repeats folded into one notification200A repeat of a condition-shaped notice (rate limited, queue held, sign-in failed, git sign-in failed, firewall blocked, container rebuild needed, container notice, weak credential storage) for the same project updates the unread notice in place and records the repeat. An update-available and an update-ready notice replace each other

Dictation

LimitDefaultApplies to
Length of one recording2 minutesOne dictation into the chat composer or a note, in the desktop app or a browser at its localhost address. At the limit the recording stops by itself and all of it is turned into text

Recovery

LimitDefaultApplies to
Recycle bin30 daysA deleted project, on the desktop and on the cloud. After that its rows and its attachment files are purged. Tasks are closed, never deleted
Restore points kept2Whole-board copies taken before a new version is allowed to change the database. Desktop only
Secret versions kept10 per project and fieldThe earlier values of a credential, kept on the desktop. Desktop only

Accounts

These apply to the cloud account only. A desktop that never signs in has no session, no trial and no plan.

LimitDefaultApplies to
Session length30 days, renewing while in useEvery signed-in client. A client that keeps talking to the cloud never signs in again. One offline for more than half the length may, and one offline for the whole length does
Trial30 days, on MaxA new cloud account, with no card. A trial with no plan bought ends at its expiry with no grace. A plan bought during it is first billed when the trial ends and starts once that payment is collected. Until then the account has the trial's plan
Second trial month30 days, on MaxOptional, once per account, for a one-off payment that saves the card and renews nothing. It starts when the free trial ends. The price is on the pricing page
Attachment storageNone on Basic, 10 GB on Pro, 40 GB on Max and the trialPer account. A paid Max plan can add blocks of 40 GB or 200 GB, up to 5 of each. Notices at 80, 90, 95 and 99% and when full. At the limit new uploads are refused and nothing is deleted
Attachment hold90 daysAttachments of an account that moved to a plan without attachments and chose to hold them, or whose trial ended with no plan bought. Restored on a move to a plan with attachments in that time, then deleted
Payment grace30 daysA paid plan whose renewal failed. Banners warn during the window. After it, sync and the cloud board close until the plan is renewed
First payment grace7 daysA plan bought during the trial, once the trial has ended and its first payment has not been collected yet. The account keeps the trial's plan, not the bought one, for these days. After them, sync and the cloud board close until the payment is collected

Containers

LimitDefaultApplies to
Memory cap, automaticThe machine's memory minus a reserve for the machine itselfEvery project container, including one started from a user-supplied Compose file. The project dialog shows the resulting figure. When the host's memory is unknown no cap is applied
Memory cap, set by hand256 MiB at the lowestThe Container memory limit field in the project settings when Automatic is unticked. Capped at the host total memory
Published portsBound to this computer onlyEvery port a project publishes, unless the port is marked for the local network. A Docker-published port bypasses the host firewall, so the default keeps it on the machine

Related: How a run works, The queue and its holds, Recovery, Accounts, Containers.

Source as Markdown: /docs/reference/limits-and-defaults.md · Updated 2026-10-18 · Was this right? Tell us