---
name: cost-guide
description: "Automatically triggered when a developer asks about their Claude Code token costs, spending this month or last month, which repository is costing the most, Claude API usage estimates, or cost breakdowns by model or period"
---

# Claude Cost Estimation Skill

You have access to the `claude-cost` plugin commands that estimate Claude API equivalent costs from local session data. When a developer asks about their usage or spend, identify the right command and invoke it via the Skill tool.

## Command Map

| What the developer asks about | Command to invoke |
|---|---|
| Cost this month / current month spend | `/claude-cost:cost-this-month` |
| Cost last month / previous month spend | `/claude-cost:cost-last-month` |
| Cost for a specific date range or period | `/claude-cost:cost-for-period` |
| Cost for a specific repo or set of repos | `/claude-cost:cost-for-repo` |

## Flags Available on All Commands

- `--breakdown` — adds a per-model cost table (input / output / cache write / cache read columns)
- `--no-narrative` — suppresses the narrative summary; outputs cost data only

## How to Respond

1. Match the developer's question to the command above.
2. Invoke the command directly with any applicable flags.
3. If the developer asks about a specific repo, use `/claude-cost:cost-for-repo` with the repo path or name.
4. If the developer asks for a breakdown by model, pass `--breakdown`.
5. If the period is ambiguous (e.g., "this quarter", "last 30 days"), resolve it using `/claude-cost:cost-for-period` with the natural language period string.

## Scope

All computation is local — no network calls. Data comes from `~/.claude/projects/` JSONL session files. Costs are estimates of what the usage would cost at Anthropic's API pricing, not actual billed amounts.