Budget

Track agent spending, set budgets and alerts, and prevent surprise bills. Use when the agent needs to log expenses, check remaining budget, set spending limits, or get cost summaries. Essential for autonomous agents with real money.

Budget Tracker

Track every cent your agent spends. Set hard limits. Get alerts before you blow your budget.

Why This Exists

Autonomous agents with access to APIs, domains, and services can rack up unexpected bills. This skill gives you a financial safety net — log every transaction, enforce spending limits, and always know exactly where you stand.

Commands

Log a transaction

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/budget.py log --amount 10.00 --merchant "Namecheap" --category "domain" --note "arcself.com registration"

Check balance

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/budget.py balance

View spending summary

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/budget.py summary

View recent transactions

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/budget.py history --limit 10

Set budget limit

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/budget.py set-budget --total 200.00

Set alert threshold (warn when balance drops below this)

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/budget.py set-alert --threshold 50.00

Check if a purchase is safe

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/budget.py check --amount 25.00

Export to CSV

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/budget.py export --format csv

Data Storage

Budget data is stored in ~/.openclaw/budget-tracker/budget.json by default. Override with --data-dir /path/to/dir.

The JSON structure:

json

{
  "budget": {"total": 200.00, "alert_threshold": 50.00},
  "transactions": [
    {
      "id": "txn_001",
      "timestamp": "2026-02-15T14:00:00Z",
      "amount": 10.00,
      "merchant": "Namecheap",
      "category": "domain",
      "note": "arcself.com"
    }
  ]
}

Categories

Use consistent categories: domain, hosting, api, tool, subscription, marketing, other.

Alerts

When balance drops below the alert threshold, the skill outputs a warning. When a purchase would exceed the remaining budget, it blocks and warns.

Tips

• Log transactions immediately after spending — don't batch them
• Use check before any purchase to verify budget safety
• Run summary at the start of each day for awareness
• Set --alert-threshold to 25% of your total budget