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Install in OpenClaw
/install dex-cost-guardian
Description
Monitor and control OpenClaw API costs. Tracks token usage across all sessions, estimates spend by model, alerts on budget overruns, and recommends cheaper m...
README (SKILL.md)
Cost Guardian — OpenClaw Cost Monitor & Optimizer
Know what your agent costs. Before it becomes a problem.
When to Use
✅ USE this skill when:
- "How much am I spending?"
- "What's my API cost?"
- "Which sessions cost the most?"
- "Am I over budget?"
- "How can I reduce costs?"
- Setting up daily/weekly cost reports
- Optimizing model usage for crons and automated tasks
❌ DON'T use this skill for:
- Billing issues with Anthropic/OpenAI (contact providers directly)
- Managing API keys (use OpenClaw's secrets system)
Quick Start
Get a Cost Report (All Time)
python3 scripts/cost-report.py --all
Last 24 Hours
python3 scripts/cost-report.py --hours 24
With Budget Alert ($5/day)
python3 scripts/cost-report.py --budget 5.00
JSON Output (for dashboards)
python3 scripts/cost-report.py --all --json
What It Reports
- Estimated cost by model and session
- Token breakdown — input, output, context (cached)
- Top spending sessions — find what's burning tokens
- Model efficiency — how much you'd save switching routine tasks to cheaper models
- Budget alerts — 🟡 at 80% and 🔴 when over budget
- Cron cost tracking — automated jobs often account for 30-50% of spend
Setting Up Automated Reports
Daily Cost Report via Cron
Tell your agent:
"Set up a daily cost report that runs at 8 AM and alerts me if I'm over $5/day"
The agent should create a cron job that:
- Runs
python3 \x3Cskill-dir>/scripts/cost-report.py --hours 24 --budget 5.00 - Delivers the report via your preferred channel
Model Optimization
The report flags when expensive models (Opus) are being used for routine tasks that Sonnet handles fine:
- Email checking crons → Sonnet
- Heartbeat checks → Sonnet
- Site health monitoring → Sonnet or Haiku
- Complex reasoning, strategy, writing → Keep on Opus
Supported Models & Pricing
| Model | Input $/1M | Output $/1M | Cache $/1M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4 | $15.00 | $75.00 | $1.875 |
| Claude Sonnet 4 | $3.00 | $15.00 | $0.30 |
| Claude Haiku 3.5 | $0.80 | $4.00 | $0.08 |
| GPT-4o | $2.50 | $10.00 | $1.25 |
| GPT-4.1 | $2.00 | $8.00 | $0.50 |
| GPT-4.1-mini | $0.40 | $1.60 | $0.10 |
| GPT-4.1-nano | $0.10 | $0.40 | $0.025 |
| OpenRouter/auto | ~$3.00 | ~$15.00 | ~$0.30 |
Pricing is estimated and may vary. Update scripts/cost-report.py MODEL_PRICING dict for current rates.
Roadmap
- Auto model-switching recommendations per session type
- Historical trend tracking (daily/weekly/monthly)
- Cost anomaly detection (sudden spikes)
- Per-project cost allocation
- Web dashboard with charts
Usage Guidance
This skill appears to do what it says: it reads the OpenClaw sessions.json in your home directory, computes estimated costs, and prints or outputs JSON. Before installing/using: 1) Inspect ~/.openclaw/agents/<agent>/sessions/sessions.json to understand what data will be read (it may include conversation metadata and token counts or even message text). 2) Run scripts/cost-report.py locally once to review output and ensure the path and agent-id are correct. 3) If you don't want an agent to modify your system, set up the cron job yourself rather than giving the agent instructions to create it; cron entries will run with whatever permissions the user has. 4) Be aware that "deliver via your preferred channel" means the agent may transmit report contents over chat/email/webhooks — if your reports contain sensitive text snippets, route them carefully. 5) If you need different pricing, update the MODEL_PRICING dict in the script. Overall the skill is coherent and contained, but grant automation (crontab or delivery) only with explicit consent.
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
Name/description (cost monitoring and optimization) aligns with the included script and SKILL.md. The script reads OpenClaw session data (~/.openclaw/agents/<agent>/sessions/sessions.json) and computes per-model/session cost estimates and recommendations — this is exactly what the skill claims to do. Requiring python3 is appropriate.
Instruction Scope
SKILL.md stays focused on cost reporting and optimization, and the script only reads a local sessions.json and prints or emits JSON reports. Two items to note: (1) SKILL.md asks the agent to create cron jobs to run the script and to "deliver the report via your preferred channel" — that grants the agent discretion to modify system crontab and to send the report over whatever delivery channel the agent uses (chat, email, webhook, etc.). These behaviors are consistent with 'automated reports' but are broader system actions than simply reading session data. (2) The script will exit with an error if the session file is missing; not a security problem but could cause noisy cron output.
Install Mechanism
No install spec (instruction-only plus a python script) — nothing is downloaded or extracted. Lowest risk for install mechanism; only requires a local python3 interpreter which is declared.
Credentials
The skill requests no environment variables or credentials. It reads the user's OpenClaw session store (a local file) which is necessary for cost calculation. There are no unrelated secrets requested.
Persistence & Privilege
Metadata does not request elevated or persistent privileges (always:false). However, SKILL.md explicitly instructs the agent to create cron jobs (system crontab changes) for automated reports. That is a legitimate feature for automation but is a system modification that the user should approve or perform manually.
How to Use
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install dex-cost-guardian - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/dex-cost-guardian - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v1.0.0
Initial release of Cost Guardian — a skill for monitoring and optimizing OpenClaw API costs.
- Tracks token usage and estimates spend by model and session.
- Sends budget alerts and identifies top spending sessions.
- Recommends more cost-efficient model routing for routine tasks.
- Supports daily/weekly automated cost reports.
- Lists detailed model pricing and usage breakdowns.
Metadata
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cost Guardian by Dexter Labs?
Monitor and control OpenClaw API costs. Tracks token usage across all sessions, estimates spend by model, alerts on budget overruns, and recommends cheaper m... It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 106 downloads so far.
How do I install Cost Guardian by Dexter Labs?
Run "/install dex-cost-guardian" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is Cost Guardian by Dexter Labs free?
Yes, Cost Guardian by Dexter Labs is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does Cost Guardian by Dexter Labs support?
Cost Guardian by Dexter Labs is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created Cost Guardian by Dexter Labs?
It is built and maintained by tso1079 (@tso1079); the current version is v1.0.0.
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