Account, Usage, and Models

Cola's model access depends on account state. After you sign in, Cola refreshes your account, Usage balance, model tiers, and required cloud configuration.

Why Sign-In Is Needed

After you sign in to a Cola account, Cola can:

• Load available models and model tiers.
• Show Usage balance and history.
• Use credits from top-ups or a Token Plan.
• Refresh required authorization state and service configuration.

Without sign-in, some models, Usage, payment, and account features may be unavailable.

Model Tiers

In Settings > Model, you can choose from available model tiers. A tier can contain multiple underlying models for different speed, quality, or task-type tradeoffs.

Common states include:

• Selected: new tasks use this tier.
• Limited-time free: the tier is currently free, but this may change later.
• Custom: the current model configuration does not match a standard tier, usually because of manual configuration or a preserved older setting.

When you switch tiers, Cola asks for confirmation. Switching models can rebuild the current session and affect continuity with the previous conversation.

Usage

In Settings > Usage, you can view:

• Total Balance.
• Free credits.
• Purchased credits.
• Credits History.
• Usage records for today, the last 7 days, or all time.

When model calls, cloud capabilities, or related services consume credits, your balance changes. If the balance is insufficient, tasks may fail and ask you to check Usage.

How Media Generation Is Billed

Image, video, and speech (including podcast) generation are separate paid generation calls, deducted from your balance by actual usage and billed independently of ordinary model calls. They are not free, and they are not priced as a regular model call.

For larger video generations, Cola usually runs a cost estimate first — you can also just ask it to estimate before starting. Media generation spending appears in the same transaction records.

Top Up

If your balance is low, open the top-up page from Usage or pricing. Cola opens the payment page in your browser. After payment finishes, return to Cola and check your balance.

The balance may take a few minutes to refresh. If you have completed payment but the interface has not changed, wait briefly, reopen Settings, or use the relevant refresh entry.

Before topping up, confirm:

• You are signed in to the Cola account you want to credit.
• The payment page domain and amount are correct.
• Your browser is not blocked by a company network, proxy, or payment risk check.

Starter Plan

After signing up you receive a free starter plan, valid for 3 days from registration. Once it expires, top up your balance or subscribe to a Token Plan to continue.

Invite Code

• Entering someone's invite code: the entry point sits under the credits card in Settings > Usage (the same entry also appears inside the referral dialog). It is one-time and time-limited: you can submit a code once within 30 days of signing up, and the entry disappears after a successful submission — it is not a permanent setting. A valid code gives you a 24-hour Breeze plan trial.
• Inviting friends: open Refer your friends from the Cola menu in the top-left corner. The dialog shows your invite code with a copy-and-share button. When a friend signs up with your code, you earn a plan reset card (up to 5 per rolling 30 days), plus a credit commission on their top-ups during their first 30 days.

Token Plan

A Token Plan is a monthly subscription, running in parallel with paying per use from your balance. Beyond the free starter plan there are three paid tiers — Breeze, Wander, and Flow — and higher tiers unlock more models: Wander covers entry and advanced models, Flow unlocks every model including the flagship ones.

Prices, included models, and the monthly plan allowance for each tier are on the pricing page; the in-app purchase page shows the actual price for your region.

• The allowance refreshes daily and does not carry over. The refresh time is the one shown on the plan panel.
• Tiers are sold in limited quantities; the purchase page shows the remaining availability for the day.
• When the day's allowance runs out, you can let Cola fall back to credits. The switch is in the Usage panel and is off by default; once on, anything beyond the plan is billed from your balance.
• Switching to a model your plan does not cover prompts you first, so you know that call will be billed as credits.

Your current plan and the allowance left today appear under Settings > Usage, and in the model picker.

Model Unavailable

If Cola says a model is unavailable, quota is exceeded, requests are too frequent, or an API key is invalid, check in this order:

1. Confirm that you are signed in to Cola.
2. Open Settings > Account and refresh account-related configuration.
3. Open Settings > Model and confirm that the selected model tier is still available.
4. Open Settings > Usage and confirm that your balance is sufficient.
5. If you just switched models, start a new task and try again.

If it still fails, see Troubleshooting.

Sign Out

Signing out of Cola clears the current account state and some account-related cache. It does not automatically delete local chat history, memory, logs, or output files.

If you are switching accounts, handing off the computer, or fully cleaning local data, continue with Backup, Migration, and Uninstall.