CostHawk MCP Server

Official MCP server for CostHawk - AI API cost monitoring and optimization platform.

> Early Alpha - CostHawk is currently in early alpha testing. Join the waitlist to get early access.

Overview

CostHawk helps teams track, analyze, and optimize their AI API spending across providers like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google.

Key Features:
- Comprehensive LLM pricing for 120+ models across 14 providers (NEW in v1.4.0)
- Tool pricing for web search, code interpreter, image generation, etc. (NEW in v1.4.0)
- Real-time usage tracking and cost analytics
- Claude Code local usage tracking with optional auto-sync
- Codex local usage tracking with optional auto-sync
- Savings analysis for flat-rate subscriptions (Claude Pro/Max, OpenAI Pro)
- Budget alerts and anomaly detection
- Webhook notifications (Slack, Discord, PagerDuty)

Quick Install

``bash


Global installation (all projects)

claude mcp add -s user -e COSTHAWK_API_KEY=YOUR_TOKEN_HERE costhawk -- npm exec --yes costhawk@latest

Project-specific installation

claude mcp add -e COSTHAWK_API_KEY=YOUR_TOKEN_HERE costhawk -- npm exec --yes costhawk@latest
`

Get your access token from Settings → Developer in your CostHawk dashboard (requires approved account).

Auto-sync is off by default. Enable it by setting COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC=true in your MCP configuration.

Windows note: If claude mcp add fails on Windows, use the built-in --setup command below (it avoids CLI flag parsing issues).

$3

This installs the MCP and enables auto-sync for both Claude Code + Codex:

`bash
claude mcp add -s user \\
-e COSTHAWK_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY \\
-e COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC=true \\
costhawk -- npm exec --yes costhawk@latest
`

Claude-only auto-sync (disable Codex):

`bash
claude mcp add -s user \\
-e COSTHAWK_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY \\
-e COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC=true \\
-e COSTHAWK_CODEX_AUTO_SYNC=false \\
costhawk -- npm exec --yes costhawk@latest
`

If you only run claude mcp add ... without env vars, the MCP installs but auto-sync stays off.

$3

On some Windows setups, claude mcp add doesn’t pass flags correctly. Use the built-in setup:

`bash
npm exec --yes costhawk@latest -- --setup
`

This writes the CostHawk MCP config for you and prompts for API key + auto-sync.

Non-interactive:

`bash
npm exec --yes costhawk@latest -- --setup --api-key YOUR_KEY --auto-sync --codex-sync
`

$3

OpenCode reads MCP servers from your OpenCode config. Global config lives at:

`
~/.config/opencode/opencode.json
`

Add a CostHawk MCP entry under mcp:

`jsonc
{
"$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
"mcp": {
"costhawk": {
"type": "local",
"command": ["npx", "--yes", "costhawk@latest"],
"enabled": true,
"environment": {
"COSTHAWK_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY"
}
}
}
}
`

Restart OpenCode after saving the config.

> Note: Local usage parsing and auto-sync currently read Claude Code (~/.claude/projects) and OpenAI Codex CLI (~/.codex/sessions) logs. OpenCode does not
> expose local session logs yet, so auto-sync only applies if you also use Claude Code or Codex CLI on the same machine.

Prefer a guided setup? Run:

`bash
npm exec --yes costhawk@latest -- --setup --opencode --no-claude
`

Quick Verify (Recommended)

Make sure you’re running the latest MCP build before debugging tool lists:

`bash
npm exec --yes costhawk@latest -- --self-test
`

This prints:
- the MCP version
- the full tool list (including Codex tools)
- basic local checks (Claude/Codex directories, API key presence)

If Claude Code doesn’t show the tools, restart it after installing and re-run:

`bash
npm exec --yes costhawk@latest -- --tools
`

To see exactly which local directories and sample files are read:

`bash
npm exec --yes costhawk@latest -- --what-we-read
`

To include the git commit hash in --self-test (and --version), build with:

`bash
COSTHAWK_GIT_SHA=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD) npm run build
`

Available Tools

$3

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| costhawk_get_usage_summary | Get usage and costs over a time period (by provider/model) |
| costhawk_get_usage_by_tag | Get usage grouped by custom tags (user_id, feature, etc.) |
| costhawk_detect_anomalies | Check for cost anomalies and unusual usage patterns |

$3

These tools parse your local Claude Code transcripts from ~/.claude/projects/ to track token usage - including the 4 token types Claude Code uses.

Auto-Sync (Opt-in): Set COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC=true to automatically sync your Claude Code usage to CostHawk every 15 minutes while running. Requires COSTHAWK_API_KEY.

- input_tokens - Regular input
- output_tokens - Regular output
- cache_creation_input_tokens - Writing to prompt cache
- cache_read_input_tokens - Reading from cache (10x cheaper!)

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| costhawk_sync_claude_code_usage | Sync local usage to CostHawk dashboard for savings analysis |
| costhawk_get_local_claude_code_usage | View local usage offline with cost breakdown |
| costhawk_list_claude_code_sessions | List available Claude Code sessions |

Example: Check local usage offline
`
Use costhawk_get_local_claude_code_usage with subscriptionPlan="max_5x"
`

This shows your token usage, costs at retail rates, and whether you're saving money vs your subscription.

$3

These tools parse your local Codex session logs from ~/.codex/sessions/ to track token usage by type.

Optional Auto-Sync: Set COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC=true to enable auto-sync, and optionally set COSTHAWK_CODEX_AUTO_SYNC=false to disable Codex auto-sync.

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| costhawk_sync_codex_usage | Sync local Codex usage to CostHawk dashboard |
| costhawk_get_local_codex_usage | View local Codex usage offline with token breakdown |
| costhawk_list_codex_sessions | List available Codex sessions |

$3

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| costhawk_get_savings | Compare retail costs vs subscription costs |
| costhawk_get_savings_breakdown | Per-model breakdown of usage and costs |
| costhawk_list_subscriptions | List your active flat-rate subscriptions |

$3

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| costhawk_get_model_pricing | Get current AI model pricing (input/output per 1M tokens) |
| costhawk_list_alerts | List budget warnings, cost spikes, and anomaly alerts |

$3

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| costhawk_list_webhooks | List configured webhook endpoints |
| costhawk_create_webhook | Create webhook for Slack, Discord, Teams, PagerDuty |

Claude Code Token Types Explained

Claude Code uses caching extensively, which significantly affects your costs:

| Token Type | Description | Sonnet 4 Pricing |
|------------|-------------|------------------|
| Input | Regular input tokens | $3/1M |
| Output | Regular output tokens | $15/1M |
| Cache Write | Writing to prompt cache | $3.75/1M |
| Cache Read | Reading from cache | $0.30/1M (10x cheaper!) |

The cache read savings are significant - CostHawk tracks all 4 types to give you accurate cost calculations.

Environment Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| COSTHAWK_API_KEY | Yes* | Your CostHawk API token |
| COSTHAWK_API_URL | No | API base URL (defaults to https://costhawk.ai) |
| COSTHAWK_DEBUG | No | Log API requests (set to true) |
| COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC | No | Enable auto-sync (set to true) |
| COSTHAWK_CODEX_AUTO_SYNC | No | Disable Codex auto-sync (set to false) |

*Required for most tools. Local Claude Code tools work offline without an API key.

CLI Flags

| Flag | Description |
|------|-------------|
| --version / -v | Print the MCP server version and exit |
| --tools | Print the registered tool names and exit |
| --self-test | Print version + tool list + local env checks and exit |
| --what-we-read | Print local directories and sample files read by the MCP |
| --setup | Configure Claude Code MCP settings (cross-platform) |

Privacy & Trust

CostHawk’s MCP server is designed to be local-first and transparent:

- Local parsing only: We read ~/.claude/projects/ and ~/.codex/sessions/ locally to compute usage.
- No conversation content sent: Only token totals and metadata are transmitted.
- Dry-run mode: Use dryRun=true in costhawk_sync_claude_code_usage or costhawk_sync_codex_usage to preview payloads without uploading.
- Payload previews: Use previewLimit to see the first N sessions that would be uploaded.
- File list visibility: Use includeFileList=true to see which local files were read.
- Auto-sync is opt-in: Enabled only when you set COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC=true.
- Debug logging: Set COSTHAWK_DEBUG=true to log API requests.

Example dry run (no upload):

`
Use costhawk_sync_claude_code_usage with dryRun=true includeFileList=true previewLimit=3
`

Getting Started

1. Get Early Access: Join the waitlist and wait for approval
2. Create API Token: Go to Settings → Developer → Create Token
3. Install MCP Server: Use the quick install command above
4. Start Tracking: Use the tools in Claude Code or Claude Desktop

Example Workflows

$3

`
1. costhawk_list_claude_code_sessions (see what's available)
2. costhawk_get_local_claude_code_usage with subscriptionPlan="max_5x"
3. Review the savings breakdown
`

$3

`
1. costhawk_sync_claude_code_usage (uploads to CostHawk)
2. View detailed analytics at costhawk.ai/dashboard
`

$3

`
1. costhawk_create_webhook with type="slack" and events=["cost_spike", "budget_alert"]
2. Get notified when costs exceed thresholds
`

Changelog

$3

Patch fixes

- Fixed: --setup --opencode now supports JSONC files with comments and trailing commas
- Fixed: Setup/config handling reliability improvements

$3

Comprehensive LLM & Tool Pricing

- New: 120+ LLM models with pricing across 14 providers
- New: Tool/feature pricing (web search, code interpreter, image generation, etc.)
- Providers: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, Meta, Cohere, DeepSeek, Groq, Perplexity, xAI/Grok, Together, AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI
- OpenAI models: GPT-5.2, GPT-5.1, GPT-5, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, o-series (o1, o3, o4)
- Anthropic models: Claude 4.5, Claude 4.1, Claude 4, Claude 3.5, Claude 3
- Google models: Gemini 3, Gemini 2.5, Gemini 2.0, Gemini 1.5
- Tool pricing: Web search, code interpreter, DALL-E, Whisper, Imagen, embeddings, and more

$3

Trust & Transparency

- New: Dry-run support for Claude + Codex sync tools
- New: includeFileList and payload previews for sync tools
- New: --what-we-read CLI flag to show local paths and samples
- New: COSTHAWK_DEBUG=true to log API requests
- New: COSTHAWK_GIT_SHA support for version/diagnostics
- Fixed: Commit hash is now baked into published builds for --self-test
- New: --setup command to configure Claude Code MCP settings
- Updated: Setup prompts now ask Claude and Codex separately
- Fixed: Setup now writes to all known Claude config files (Windows + macOS + Linux)
- Fixed: npm exec examples use -- --setup so flags reach the MCP
- Updated: Auto-sync is opt-in (COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC=true)

$3

CLI Quality-of-Life

- New: --version flag for fast version checks
- New: --tools flag to list MCP tools without starting the server
- New: --self-test flag to show tool list + local environment checks
- Updated: Recommend npm exec --yes costhawk@latest to avoid stale global binaries

$3

Maintenance

- Bug fixes and stability improvements

$3

Codex Local Tracking (Beta)

- New: costhawk_sync_codex_usage - Sync local Codex session usage to CostHawk
- New: costhawk_get_local_codex_usage - View Codex usage offline with token breakdown
- New: costhawk_list_codex_sessions - List available local Codex sessions
- New: Optional Codex auto-sync (COSTHAWK_CODEX_AUTO_SYNC=true)

$3

Auto-Sync - Automatic background syncing

- New: Auto-sync Claude Code usage every 15 minutes while MCP server is running
- New: Initial sync 30 seconds after server starts
- New: Graceful shutdown handling for sync cleanup
- Requires COSTHAWK_API_KEY to be configured for auto-sync

$3

Claude Code Local Tracking - Major new feature release

- New: costhawk_sync_claude_code_usage - Sync local Claude Code transcripts to CostHawk
- New: costhawk_get_local_claude_code_usage - View usage offline with cost breakdown
- New: costhawk_list_claude_code_sessions - List available local sessions
- New: Full support for all 4 Claude Code token types (input, output, cache write, cache read)
- New: Offline cost calculation with embedded pricing
- New: Savings comparison vs Claude Pro/Max subscriptions

$3


- Savings analysis tools (costhawk_get_savings, costhawk_get_savings_breakdown)
- Subscription management (costhawk_list_subscriptions`)
- Webhook support for Slack, Discord, Teams, PagerDuty
- Usage tracking and anomaly detection

$3

- Initial release
- Basic usage summary and cost tracking
- Model pricing lookup
- Alert notifications

Links

- Join Waitlist
- Documentation
- npm Package

License

MIT