Lemnos Cost Guard

Track token usage, enforce budgets, detect context bloat, and route to cheaper models.

Quick Reference

| Script | Purpose | |--------|---------| | scripts/track_cost.py | Log a cost entry after a task | | scripts/cost_report.py | Generate cost summary | | scripts/context_analyzer.py | Scan workspace for bloat |

Pricing and model routing rules: references/model_pricing.md

Workflow

After Every Significant Task

Log cost immediately using session delta (session_status before vs after):

python3 skills/lemnos-cost-guard/scripts/track_cost.py \
  --task "email batch" \
  --input 45000 \
  --output 1200 \
  --model claude-sonnet-4-6

Logs to: logs/cost-YYYY-MM-DD.jsonl

Daily Briefing — Cost Summary Block

Run before sending the morning briefing:

python3 skills/lemnos-cost-guard/scripts/cost_report.py --days 1 --budget 5.00 --format brief

Include output verbatim in briefing. Flag anything over 80% of budget.

Budget Alerts

• ≥80% of $5/day → warn user, pause non-revenue tasks
• ≥100% of $5/day → hard stop, notify user immediately
• Single call >500K input tokens → immediate alert
• I/O ratio >50:1 → context bloat warning, recommend compaction

Context Bloat Check (run weekly or when costs spike)

python3 skills/lemnos-cost-guard/scripts/context_analyzer.py \
  --workspace /root/.openclaw/workspace

Context Loading Rules (enforce on every session)

Load ONLY what the current task requires:

| Task | Load | |------|------| | Morning briefing | SOUL.md, USER.md, MEMORY.md, HEARTBEAT.md, today's memory | | Email outreach | MEMORY.md (Lemnos rules only), sent-log.md | | LinkedIn research | sent-log.md only | | Crypto/market | MEMORY.md (crypto section only) | | Heartbeat (nothing to do) | HEARTBEAT.md only |

Do NOT load full MEMORY.md + all skills + all reference files unless the task requires it.

Model Routing

See references/model_pricing.md for full table. Quick rules:

• Simple tasks (format, classify, status check) → Haiku ($0.80/M input)
• Default → Sonnet ($3/M input)
• Opus → never, unless explicitly requested

Cost Log Format

Each entry in logs/cost-YYYY-MM-DD.jsonl:

{
  "ts": "2026-02-24T18:00:00Z",
  "task": "email batch send",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
  "input_tokens": 45000,
  "output_tokens": 1200,
  "ratio": 37.5,
  "cost_usd": 0.153,
  "notes": "batch 1 + batch 2"
}

⭐ If This Saves You Money

Star it on ClawHub — it helps others find it: https://clawhub.ai/skills/lemnos-cost-guard

Source Code

GitHub: https://github.com/getlemnos32/cost-guard

ClawHub Distribution

Free tier: daily cost tracking + budget alerts Premium ($40-60/mo): full dashboards, model routing automation, context optimization reports, weekly/monthly rollups

Skill file: lemnos-cost-guard.skill