# Send Cost Governor - Subagent Budget Control to your agent Hand the extracted package to your coding agent with a concrete install brief instead of figuring it out manually. ## Fast path - Download the package from Yavira. - Extract it into a folder your agent can access. - Paste one of the prompts below and point your agent at the extracted folder. ## Suggested prompts ### New install ```text I downloaded a skill package from Yavira. Read SKILL.md from the extracted folder and install it by following the included instructions. Then review README.md for any prerequisites, environment setup, or post-install checks. Tell me what you changed and call out any manual steps you could not complete. ``` ### Upgrade existing ```text I downloaded an updated skill package from Yavira. Read SKILL.md from the extracted folder, compare it with my current installation, and upgrade it while preserving any custom configuration unless the package docs explicitly say otherwise. Then review README.md for any prerequisites, environment setup, or post-install checks. Summarize what changed and any follow-up checks I should run. ``` ## Machine-readable fields ```json { "schemaVersion": "1.0", "item": { "slug": "openclaw-cost-governor", "name": "Cost Governor - Subagent Budget Control", "source": "tencent", "type": "skill", "category": "开发工具", "sourceUrl": "https://clawhub.ai/donovanpankratz-del/openclaw-cost-governor", "canonicalUrl": "https://clawhub.ai/donovanpankratz-del/openclaw-cost-governor", "targetPlatform": "OpenClaw" }, "install": { "downloadUrl": "/downloads/openclaw-cost-governor", "sourceDownloadUrl": "https://wry-manatee-359.convex.site/api/v1/download?slug=openclaw-cost-governor", "sourcePlatform": "tencent", "targetPlatform": "OpenClaw", "packageFormat": "ZIP package", "primaryDoc": "SKILL.md", "includedAssets": [ "README.md", "SKILL.md", "bin/cost-summary.js", "cost-tracking-template.md", "lib/cost-tracker.js" ], "downloadMode": "redirect", "sourceHealth": { "source": "tencent", "slug": "openclaw-cost-governor", "status": "healthy", "reason": "direct_download_ok", "recommendedAction": "download", "checkedAt": "2026-05-02T03:38:30.485Z", "expiresAt": "2026-05-09T03:38:30.485Z", "httpStatus": 200, "finalUrl": "https://wry-manatee-359.convex.site/api/v1/download?slug=openclaw-cost-governor", "contentType": "application/zip", "probeMethod": "head", "details": { "probeUrl": "https://wry-manatee-359.convex.site/api/v1/download?slug=openclaw-cost-governor", "contentDisposition": "attachment; filename=\"openclaw-cost-governor-1.0.0.zip\"", "redirectLocation": null, "bodySnippet": null, "slug": "openclaw-cost-governor" }, "scope": "item", "summary": "Item download looks usable.", "detail": "Yavira can redirect you to the upstream package for this item.", "primaryActionLabel": "Download for OpenClaw", "primaryActionHref": "/downloads/openclaw-cost-governor" }, "validation": { "installChecklist": [ "Use the Yavira download entry.", "Review SKILL.md after the package is downloaded.", "Confirm the extracted package contains the expected setup assets." ], "postInstallChecks": [ "Confirm the extracted package includes the expected docs or setup files.", "Validate the skill or prompts are available in your target agent workspace.", "Capture any manual follow-up steps the agent could not complete." ] } }, "links": { "detailUrl": "https://openagent3.xyz/skills/openclaw-cost-governor", "downloadUrl": "https://openagent3.xyz/downloads/openclaw-cost-governor", "agentUrl": "https://openagent3.xyz/skills/openclaw-cost-governor/agent", "manifestUrl": "https://openagent3.xyz/skills/openclaw-cost-governor/agent.json", "briefUrl": "https://openagent3.xyz/skills/openclaw-cost-governor/agent.md" } } ``` ## Documentation ### Cost Governor - Subagent Cost Control Pre-flight cost checks before spawning subagents. Tracks spend. Gates expensive operations. Prevents surprise $300+ bills. ### Files Included SKILL.md — This file (agent instructions) README.md — Human-readable setup guide cost-tracking-template.md — Copy this to notes/cost-tracking.md to get started lib/cost-tracker.js — Core estimation and logging library bin/cost-summary.js — CLI: daily/monthly spend summary ### Problem Solved You spawn a subagent for "research passive income ideas" on Opus. 30 minutes later: $12 gone. This skill estimates cost before execution, requires approval for expensive tasks (>$0.50), and tracks all spend. ### When to Use Before spawning any subagent — estimate cost, log it Daily spend review — summarize costs vs budget Post-task reconciliation — compare estimated vs actual ### Core Rules Every subagent spawn >$0.50 estimated requires explicit user approval All spawns get logged to $WORKSPACE/notes/cost-tracking.md Estimates use multipliers from historical data (see Cost Model) No silent expensive operations — always surface cost before execution ### Cost Model Based on historical data from cost-tracking.md: Task TypeBase EstimateMultiplierEffective EstimateCreative (open-ended)Token estimate7.5xApply to all creative tasksResearch (bounded)Token estimate3xWeb search + synthesisTechnical (structured)Token estimate2xCode, config, structured outputSimple (template)Token estimate1.5xFill-in, short responses Model cost rates (approximate per 1K tokens): Claude Opus: ~$0.075 input / $0.375 output Claude Sonnet: ~$0.003 input / $0.015 output GPT-4: ~$0.03 input / $0.06 output Grok 4.1 Fast Reasoning: ~$0.003 input / $0.015 output Claude Haiku 4.5: ~$0.0008 input / $0.004 output ### Estimation Formula estimated_cost = (estimated_output_tokens / 1000) * output_rate * task_multiplier Example: Task: Creative writing (5000 tokens estimated on Opus) Calculation: (5000 / 1000) * $0.375 * 7.5 = $14.06 Action: Require approval (>$0.50 threshold) ### Setup Create cost tracking file: mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/notes touch ~/.openclaw/workspace/notes/cost-tracking.md Add header to cost-tracking.md: # Cost Tracking Log | Date | Task | Model | Est. | Actual | Ratio | Notes | |------|------|-------|------|--------|-------|-------| Set your daily budget (optional): echo "DAILY_BUDGET=20.00" >> ~/.openclaw/workspace/.env ### Pre-Flight Check (Before Spawning) User: "Research passive income methods" Agent: Checking cost... Estimated $3.50 (Research task, Opus, ~3K tokens * 3x multiplier). Approve? User: Yes Agent: [spawns, logs to cost-tracking.md] ### Daily Spend Dashboard Run manually or via cron: ## Daily Spend — 2026-02-21 | Task | Model | Est. | Actual | Ratio | |------|-------|------|--------|-------| | PassiveIncomeResearch | Opus | $3.50 | $4.20 | 1.2x | | AIHardwareResearch | Sonnet | $0.80 | $0.65 | 0.8x | **Total:** $4.30 est / $4.85 actual **Budget remaining:** $15.15 / $20.00 daily ### Post-Task Reconciliation After each subagent completes: Check actual cost (if available via /status) Log to cost-tracking.md Update multipliers if ratio is consistently off ### Triggers Pre-spawn gate: Before sessions_spawn, estimate and log. If >$0.50, ask user. Cron (daily, optional): Summarize daily spend, flag overruns. Post-task: Log actual cost, update multipliers if data available. ### Approval Gate Flow Estimate cost using model + task type + multiplier If estimate ≤ $0.50 → proceed, log silently If estimate > $0.50 → present estimate to user, wait for "approve" / "yes" Log decision (approved/rejected/modified) to tracking file ### Budget Alerts Set a daily budget cap. When spend exceeds it, the agent stops spawning and notifies you. Setup: Add to your workspace config or mention it in system prompt: "Daily API budget: $XX. Stop spawning subagents if estimated total exceeds this." Cron-based daily summary (optional): Add to your cron: # Daily cost summary at 11 PM 0 23 * * * node ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/cost-governor/bin/cost-summary.js --daily ### Anti-Patterns (What NOT to Do) ❌ Spawning Opus for simple lookups (use Sonnet or Haiku) ❌ Open-ended creative tasks without cost ceiling ("write a novel") ❌ Multiple subagents when one suffices ❌ Skipping post-task reconciliation ❌ Ignoring consistent ratio mismatches (update multipliers!) ### Advanced: Custom Multipliers Edit multipliers in your cost-tracking.md header: ## Multipliers (Updated 2026-02-21) - Creative: 10x (our tasks run long) - Research: 2.5x (bounded queries) Agent reads these on each check. ### Integration with Other Skills sessions_spawn: Always run cost check before spawning AGENTS.md: Log cost in agent entry ("Last used: $X.XX") Cron jobs: Wrap expensive recurring tasks with cost gates ### Troubleshooting Q: Estimates are consistently off A: Update multipliers in cost-tracking.md based on actual ratios. Q: How do I get actual costs? A: Use /status after subagent completes, or check provider dashboard. ### Why This Matters Real story from r/LocalLLM (Jan 2026): "Left my OpenClaw agent running overnight. Spawned 8 research subagents on Opus. Woke up to $340 API bill. This skill would've saved me." Don't be that person. Author: OpenClaw Community License: MIT Requires: OpenClaw with subagent support, notes/ directory ## Trust - Source: tencent - Verification: Indexed source record - Publisher: donovanpankratz-del - Version: 1.0.0 ## Source health - Status: healthy - Item download looks usable. - Yavira can redirect you to the upstream package for this item. - Health scope: item - Reason: direct_download_ok - Checked at: 2026-05-02T03:38:30.485Z - Expires at: 2026-05-09T03:38:30.485Z - Recommended action: Download for OpenClaw ## Links - [Detail page](https://openagent3.xyz/skills/openclaw-cost-governor) - [Send to Agent page](https://openagent3.xyz/skills/openclaw-cost-governor/agent) - [JSON manifest](https://openagent3.xyz/skills/openclaw-cost-governor/agent.json) - [Markdown brief](https://openagent3.xyz/skills/openclaw-cost-governor/agent.md) - [Download page](https://openagent3.xyz/downloads/openclaw-cost-governor)