Correct — managed/serverless compute is only consumed when a flow run executes on a Managed work pool (i.e., Prefect’s serverless infrastructure).
- If a deployment targets a Managed work pool, any runs (scheduled or manual “Run” from the UI) will use managed compute credits.
- If a deployment targets your own worker (Process, Docker, Kubernetes) or you run flows locally from your machine/CI, no managed compute is consumed. You’re just using Cloud for orchestration, logging, etc.
Docs for reference:
- Managed/serverless compute details:
Managed infrastructure docs
- Work pools overview (types and behavior):
Work pools concepts
If you want, I can also review your current pool/deployment setup to confirm which runs will (and won’t) count toward serverless compute.