How I built a hard budget-cap proxy to stop runaway AI API bills

​Hey indie hackers! 👋

​Like many of you, I've been experimenting with building small AI-powered scripts and tools. But a while back, I ran into a major anxiety point: writing a script, leaving a loop running by accident, and waking up to a terrifying cloud or API bill.

​Most enterprise tools for managing LLM spending are bloated or meant for huge corporate teams. As an indie dev, I just wanted something simple, lightweight, and foolproof.

​So, I built CloudGrip: a lightweight proxy gateway and dashboard that sits in front of your LLM API calls, tracks real-time usage, and—most importantly—has a hard budget circuit breaker that automatically cuts execution loops off before spending goes over your limit.

​The Tech Stack:

​Backend: Node.js, Express, and Supabase PostgreSQL.

​Payments: Fully integrated live Paystack subscription flow ($20/mo model) for automated handling.

​Frontend: Clean, straightforward dashboard with a live request log stream and a configurable hard budget input panel.

​I just went live with real payments under MOH CODES. If you're building with LLMs and want absolute control over your API spend without the enterprise bloat, check it out here: https://cloudgrip-ai.onrender.com

​Would love to hear how other solo devs handle API budget safety in their apps!