Why did my generation fail, and do I get my credits back?

Most TubeAI tools charge credits when you start a run, then refund them automatically if the run fails. You don't need to contact support for a refund on a failed run. This article explains why runs fail, what "timed out" really means, and the few cases that are never refunded.

How charging and refunds work

When you press Generate, the credits leave your balance straight away, before the work finishes. If the run fails, the credits come back automatically and you see a message saying so, for example "Generation failed. Credits have been refunded."

If a run is refused before it starts, nothing is charged at all. Common reasons are an invalid link, not enough credits, a feature your plan doesn't include, or another run of the same kind already in progress.

Common reasons a run fails

• The video isn't public. Private, unlisted, members-only or region-blocked videos can't be read. Make the video public, or paste the script text instead.
• The video is too long. Video Insight reports support videos up to 1 hour. Longer videos are refused before any charge.
• No transcript or details. Some videos have no captions and too little description to work from. Paste your script directly.
• Wrong kind of link. For example, a video link where a channel link is expected. These are refused before charging.
• Content was flagged. Thumbnail requests that trip our safety checks fail and are refunded. Try a different source or wording.
• A temporary outage. Occasionally an AI model or data source is briefly unavailable. The run is refunded; try again a little later.

"Timed out" doesn't mean it failed

Each page stops waiting for a result after a while and may show a "timed out" message. The work usually keeps going on our side and the result lands in your history when it's done.

Before you run it again, check your history (for example "Your scripts", "Your Ideas" or the Thumbnail Studio History). Running it again means paying again, and the first result may already be there.

Things that are never refunded

• Stopping Hugo after it has started writing. The message and any research Hugo already ran stay charged, and you keep the partial answer. Stopping before Hugo writes anything is refunded.
• A partial Channel Audit. If some steps fail but a report is still produced, the credits are kept. Re-run the audit to fill in the missing sections.
• Board data sources that find nothing. A Google Trends or X posts search that runs successfully but finds nothing relevant still costs its credits.
• A result you don't like. Completed generations are not refunded. You can refine them instead, for example with a script rewrite or a thumbnail Magic Edit.

Batches: partial refunds

When you create several thumbnails at once and only some fail, you are refunded for the failed ones only. The thumbnails that were delivered stay charged.

Check what happened in Transactions

Go to Settings > Transactions to see every charge and refund. Use the Refunds filter to see refunds only; each one is listed as "Refund" followed by the name of the original charge.

If you work inside a team, credits come from the team owner's balance, and only the owner can see its Transactions page. Switch back to your personal account to see your own.

Still stuck?

If a charge looks wrong or a run failed without a refund, contact us from Settings > Contact and choose Report an Issue or Billing Question. You can also ask Hugo to file a ticket for you. Include roughly when it happened and which tool you used.