A 24-second quote for a 2-second run

Before anything runs, Drylab shows you three things: how long it should take, what it will cost in US dollars, and whether the model behind it is checked or theory. Nothing is deducted from your allowance until you confirm, and a workspace budget is a hard stop.^[1]

Here is a real one: the TP1 screen of every single-gene deletion in yeast. The quote said about 24 seconds and $0.00086. The run took 1.7 seconds of wall time and used $0.000031 of the workspace's allowance.^[2]

The estimate was high by more than ten times. We publish that, because a quote you cannot check against reality is just a guess.

Which way to be wrong

A price shown before you commit can be wrong in two directions. Too low, and the run can hit a budget mid-way or cost more than you agreed to. Too high, and you might skip a run you could have afforded. Neither is good, but only one of them surprises you after the fact.

What a run uses is based on what actually ran, not on the estimate. That is why this run used a few thousandths of a cent, not the quoted amount.

1. Notes
2. [1]Drylab docs, Concepts: quotes, confirmation and budgets. Source ↗
3. [2]Quote and run record of production run 02fe2195: estimated 24 s and $0.00086; actual 1.7 s and $0.000031. Source ↗