For one - I’d say scoped API tokens that prevent messing with resources across logical domains (eg prod vs nonprod, distinct github repos, etc) is best practice in general. Blowing up a resource with a broadly scoped token isn’t a failure mode unique to LLMs.

edit: I don’t have personal experience around spending limits but I vaguely recall them being useful for folks who want to set up AWS resources and swing for the fences, in startups without thinking too deeply about the infra. Again this isn’t a failure mode unique to LLMs although I can appreciate it not mapping perfectly to your scenario above

edit #2: fwict the LLM specific context of your scenario above is: providing examples, setting up API access somehow (eg maybe invoking a CLI?). The rest to me seems like good old software engineering

I usually work with containers for repeatability and portability. Also makes the local env closer to the final prod env.