> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.carbone.io/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Document quota and usage on the Carbone Cloud API

## What is a Document?

A Document, previously known as "Credit" or "Render", is a unit for generating reports through the Carbone Cloud API.
A plan gives you access to a quota of Documents to consume during a billing period (monthly/yearly).

One document is consumed when:
* the endpoint `POST /render/:templateID` is requested to generate a report with the production API key
* And the total merged data is lower or equal to 1MB, the merge data is: the JSON dataset size, [size of image injected](https://carbone.io/documentation.html#dynamic-pictures) and the size of concatenated PDFs.
If you consume extra documents, they will be charged and reset at the end of the billing period.

To compute the number of Document consumed: 
**(Size of JSON dataset as Bytes + Downloaded Images Bytes + Downloaded Concatenated PDF Bytes) / 1 000 000 = Document Consumed**

| Accounts created before the 17th of May 2024 have free image downloads. The Document calculation is: (Size of JSON Dataset as Bytes + Downloaded Concatenated PDF Bytes) / 1 000 000 = Document Consumed

## Document Usage Example

A JSON data-set of :
* 0.5MB JSON = 1 document
* 1.2MB JSON = 2 documents
* 0.2 MB JSON + 1 MB images + 1.2 MB concatenated PDF = 2.4 MB = 3 documents

You can find your document usage on the [home page of your account](https://account.carbone.io/):
* Subscription panel: Usage during the billing period of your subscription
* Analytics panel: Usage during an hourly/daily/monthly period

## Usage limit

The Carbone Cloud API allows uninterrupted usage, even when reaching document quotas in production environments. Users can receive email notifications at 70%, 90%, and 100% usage by enabling the "Carbone Cloud API document usage" setting in their profile. [Click to learn more](https://help.carbone.io/en-us/article/is-it-possible-to-limit-or-stop-the-carbone-api-usage-1xo2m0u/).