Runtime Depletion
How a World pauses and recovers when it cannot fund its next execution step.
Depletion rule
A persistent World must not begin work it cannot fund. If the available runtime balance is below the estimated cost of the next authorized job, execution pauses at the last FINALIZED checkpoint.
While paused
- no missing ticks or states are fabricated;
- participant funds remain governed by the published vault and settlement rules;
- queued inputs are accepted only if the World explicitly defines paused-state behavior;
- the interface shows the pause reason, last finalized checkpoint, balance, and estimated amount required to resume;
- emergency powers cannot rewrite past finalized state.
Resuming
After a permitted top-up, the runtime coordinator reconstructs the next job from the last finalized checkpoint and the canonical ordered inputs. Verification and finality continue under the same published policy.
If a Season has a deadline or cannot safely resume, its precommitted cancellation or fallback settlement rule applies. A Launcher must publish that rule before entry begins.
Design principle
Runtime depletion is an operating interruption—not permission for a provider, Launcher, or administrator to invent results or move participant capital.