---
id: INT-12
family: RT-ORC
level: core
profiles: [runtime]
posture: normative-target
added: "1.0"
changed: "1.0"
source: https://flowdrop.io/spec/rules/rt-orc/int-12
specification: FlowDrop Workflow Specification 1.0-draft
licence: CC BY 4.0
---

# INT-12 — Only a budget pause resumes itself

*RT-ORC (Part II) · level: core · profiles: runtime · added in 1.0*

The absence of a pause reason is the marker of a human pause. Do not give a human pause a reason: that is what tells the machinery to leave it alone.

## The rule

> **Normative.** This is the rule.
>
> 1. A paused run auto-resumes only where the pause was caused by a budget: the execution-time budget or the scheduler-pass budget.
>
> 2. A pause with no reason recorded is a pause awaiting a person, and holds until an explicit resume.
>
> 3. A worker that picks up paused runs resumes and re-queues budget pauses only, and leaves a reason-less pause paused.
>
> 4. Asynchronous execution in chunks depends on this: it works by pausing on budget, auto-resuming and re-queueing.

## Related rules

- Names: ORC-10, ORC-11, ORC-12
- Referenced by: ORC-10, ORC-11, ORC-12

---

Rule identifiers are permanent and are never renumbered. This specification carries
no implementation status: each implementation publishes its own standing against
these rules. Licensed CC BY 4.0.