<!-- mcp-name: io.github.zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp -->

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<h1 align="center">llm-usage-mcp</h1>

<p align="center"><em>LLM Usage &amp; Cost Tracker — your local-first spend watchdog</em></p>

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<p align="center">English | <a href="https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/blob/main/README.zh.md">中文</a></p>

Stop treating your LLM API bills like a scary horror movie you only look at through your fingers at the end of the month. Know what your LLM calls actually cost — across every provider, in one place, on your own machine. Ask your coding agent (MCP) or type a command (CLI).

It's a cost **meter**, not a router: it tells you what you spent and which provider fits a workload — it never changes your calls. Pairs happily alongside a router or a model-leaderboard tool.

![Claude Code answering "how much did I spend?" via llm-usage](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/main/docs/assets/agent-spend.png)

Or straight from the terminal — your week's spend, broken down by provider, and a cross-provider cost comparison before you commit to a model:

![llm-usage CLI: weekly spend by provider and a cross-provider cost comparison](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/main/docs/assets/demo.gif)

## Why you'd want this

You're calling LLMs from a handful of providers — Claude, GPT, plus Chinese models like Qwen and DeepSeek. Each one bills in its own dashboard, in its own currency, with its own rules for what a "cached token" costs. So the simplest possible question — *how much am I spending, and on what?* — turns into four browser logins, looking up exchange rates for RMB to USD, and trying to decipher what a "cached context token discount" actually means in midnight math. Most people just cross their fingers and let the bill be a surprise at the end of the month.

`llm-usage-mcp` captures every call you make into one local store, costs it correctly per provider at the moment it happens, and hands the answer back **two ways**:

- **Ask your coding agent.** It's an MCP server, so Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP client can answer *"how much did I spend on Claude this week?"* or *"which provider is cheapest for a 10k-in / 2k-out call?"* in plain English.
- **Or type a command.** It's also a CLI — `llm-usage spend`, `llm-usage compare`, `llm-usage recommend` — for when you'd rather not round-trip through an agent.

And it stays out of your way:

- **Local-first.** No SaaS, no signup, no telemetry. Just a SQLite file at `~/.llm-usage/usage.db`. Privacy is a feature, not a setting.
- **Multi-provider, Chinese models included.** Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Qwen — streaming and non-streaming for all four. DeepSeek and Qwen run the same capture path as Anthropic and OpenAI, not a bolted-on afterthought. More providers (Gemini, Bedrock, Moonshot, …) are [on the way](#supported-providers).

## Quickstart

Two minutes from `git clone` to your first captured call. This part is about **capture** — getting calls recorded. [Reading the data back](#querying-your-spend) comes next.

### 1. Install

Install from PyPI with [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) (or `pipx`) — this puts the three console scripts on your `PATH`:

```bash
uv tool install llm-usage-mcp   # or: pipx install llm-usage-mcp
```

Prefer to hack on it? Clone and sync from source instead:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp.git
cd llm-usage-mcp
uv sync
```

Either way you get three console scripts:
- `llm-usage` — the multi-command CLI. See [From the command line (CLI)](#from-the-command-line-cli) below.
- `llm-usage-mcp` — the stdio MCP server.
- `llm-usage-proxy` — a back-compat alias; identical to `llm-usage proxy`.

> The Quickstart below uses `uv run …` (the from-source workflow). If you installed from PyPI, the scripts are already on your `PATH` — drop the `uv run` prefix, and register the MCP server with `claude mcp add llm-usage -- llm-usage-mcp`.

### 2. Set at least one API key

You only need a key for the provider(s) you actually use; the proxy starts regardless and per-route requests return `503 configuration_error` for any provider whose key is missing.

```bash
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
# and/or:
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-...
export DASHSCOPE_API_KEY=sk-...   # Qwen
```

Full env-var reference: [`docs/configuration.md`](https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/blob/main/docs/configuration.md) (or copy [`.env.example`](https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/blob/main/.env.example) to `.env` and fill in).

### 3. Run the capture proxy

```bash
uv run llm-usage-proxy
```

It binds **loopback-only** (`127.0.0.1:5525`) — never reachable from the network. The proxy holds your API keys server-side; clients never need them.

### 4. Point your coding agent at the proxy

The proxy exposes one route per provider. Set the matching `*_BASE_URL` env var on the client side:

| Provider | Client env var | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | `ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL` | `http://127.0.0.1:5525` |
| OpenAI | `OPENAI_BASE_URL` | `http://127.0.0.1:5525/openai/v1` |
| DeepSeek | `DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL` (or any OpenAI-SDK base-url override) | `http://127.0.0.1:5525/deepseek/v1` |
| Qwen | DashScope OpenAI-compatible base | `http://127.0.0.1:5525/qwen/v1` |

Example — launch Claude Code with calls routed through the proxy:

```bash
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:5525 claude
```

### 5. Confirm it's capturing

Make a call through your agent (or any client pointed at the proxy), then check it landed:

```bash
uv run llm-usage spend
```

Every call lands in `~/.llm-usage/usage.db` with tokens, cost, latency, and a `request_id` for idempotency — and shows up in that headline. That's the whole loop: capture on one side, answers on the other.

## Querying your spend

Once calls are being captured, you read them back two ways. Same data, same numbers — pick whichever fits the moment.

### Ask your coding agent (MCP)

Register the MCP server with Claude Code:

```bash
claude mcp add llm-usage -- uv --directory $(pwd) run llm-usage-mcp
```

Then just ask, in plain English, inside that session:

> How much did I spend on Anthropic today? Which provider is cheapest for a 10k-input / 2k-output call?

Claude picks the right tool and reads the numbers back. Seven tools are exposed over stdio; full param/return shapes are in [`docs/spec.md`](https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/blob/main/docs/spec.md).

| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `query_spend` | Totals + per-group rollups over a time window (group by provider / model / project / tag / day). |
| `usage_summary` | Headline summary for `today` / `week` / `month` / `year` — totals, top-N providers + models, largest call. |
| `compare_providers` | Given a hypothetical workload (tokens in / out), rank every priced model by cost. |
| `recommend_provider` | Pick the cheapest priced model that fits a stated budget. |
| `get_pricing` | Inspect the vendored pricing snapshot. |
| `list_providers` | List providers + their models + OpenAI-compatibility flag. |
| `record_usage` | Manual write path — log a call when the capture proxy isn't in the picture. |

`query_spend` and `usage_summary` default to `include_failed=false` so partial-stream rows don't pollute totals; opt-in via the param.

### From the command line (CLI)

The same questions, as a CLI — eight subcommands under one `llm-usage` console, for when typing is faster than asking your agent.

> The examples below assume `llm-usage` is on your `PATH` — either `source .venv/bin/activate` or `uv tool install .`. Otherwise, prefix each command with `uv run` (e.g. `uv run llm-usage spend`).

```text
$ llm-usage
 Local-first LLM spend capture + query, exposed over MCP.

 Commands
   proxy      Run the local LLM capture proxy on 127.0.0.1.
   compare    Project the cost of a hypothetical workload across every priced model.
   models     Browse the local pricing catalog.
   recommend  Recommend the cheapest priced model for a workload + budget.
   spend      Show recorded spend over a calendar period.
   status     Snapshot of the local install: DB, proxy, providers, pricing.
   providers  List configured providers with key state, wire-format, model count.
   about      Show version, author, license, and the project homepage.
```

| Command | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| [`compare`](#compare) | Given a workload, who's cheapest? |
| [`models`](#models) | What do they actually charge per million tokens? |
| [`recommend`](#recommend) | I've got $0.04 left — which model won't bankrupt me? |
| [`spend`](#spend) | How much did I just spend? |
| [`status`](#status) | Is everything actually working? |
| [`providers`](#providers) | What's configured locally? |
| [`about`](#about) | What is this, and where do I report a bug? |
| `proxy` | Run the capture proxy (same as `llm-usage-proxy`). |

Conventions that hold across every command:

- `--json` emits the same Pydantic shape the matching MCP tool returns. Pipe straight into `jq`.
- `--color {auto,always,never}` honors `NO_COLOR` and TTY detection. The palette is a warm, low-contrast dark theme — easy on the eyes at 11pm.
- Filter flags (`--provider`, `--model`) are case-insensitive on providers, case-sensitive on models, and repeatable where they act as whitelists.
- `--version` / `-V` prints the version and exits. `--install-completion {bash|zsh|fish|powershell}` installs a tab-completion script — one shell restart later, every flag is `<Tab>`-able.

#### `compare`

Rank every priced model by projected cost for an `n`-input / `m`-output call. Cheapest first, percent against the cheapest. Default view family-deduplicates rows that share both a model family root *and* an identical price — so `gpt-5-mini` and `gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07` collapse to one row with `×2`. Pass `--all` to see every catalog row.

```bash
# How does an 8k-in / 2k-out call price out today?
$ llm-usage compare --in 8000 --out 2000

# Just OpenAI's models:
$ llm-usage compare --in 8000 --out 2000 --model gpt-5-mini --model gpt-5-nano

# Same projection, JSON for a script:
$ llm-usage compare --in 8000 --out 2000 --json | jq '.ranked[0]'
```

![llm-usage compare ranking models by projected cost](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/main/docs/assets/cli-compare.png)

#### `models`

Catalog browser. Sibling of `compare`, but answers "what does this model charge?" rather than "what would my workload cost?". Rates per million tokens, sorted alphabetically by provider by default; switch with `--sort input` or `--sort output` to find the cheapest in either axis. Cache rates are hidden until you ask (`--cache`) because most models don't have them and empty columns waste width.

```bash
# Full catalog, deduped.
$ llm-usage models

# OpenAI's nano models only, with cache rates:
$ llm-usage models --provider openai --match nano --cache

# Cheapest input rate first — quick "what's the floor right now?":
$ llm-usage models --sort input
```

#### `recommend`

Picks one. Filters by `--provider`, `--model`, and `--budget`, then returns the cheapest match plus two runner-ups. The reasoning string explains what it assumed and what got chosen, so you can sanity-check rather than trust blindly.

```bash
# Cheapest priced model, full stop.
$ llm-usage recommend

# Anything Anthropic that fits under one cent for a 1k/1k call:
$ llm-usage recommend --provider anthropic --budget 0.01

# Of these three specific candidates, which wins?
$ llm-usage recommend --model gpt-5-mini --model claude-sonnet-4-6 --model qwen-max
```

v1 ranks by cost only. `--task` is optional and surfaces in the reasoning text; it doesn't drive selection (the tool isn't an LLM and can't interpret free text).

#### `spend`

Read the SQLite. The default view is a `usage_summary` headline — total dollars, top-3 providers, top-3 models, largest single call. Pass `--group-by` to switch into rollup mode.

```bash
# Headline for this week.
$ llm-usage spend

# This month grouped by model, JSON for a dashboard:
$ llm-usage spend --period month --group-by model --json | jq

# Spend on a specific project tag, day-by-day:
$ llm-usage spend --group-by day --project my-side-thing
```

Period boundaries are calendar UTC: `today` = since 00:00 UTC, `week` = since Monday, `month` = since the 1st, `year` = since January 1st. Failed / partial-stream rows are excluded by default; opt in with `--include-failed`.

![llm-usage spend headline — totals, top providers, largest call](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/main/docs/assets/cli-spend.png)

#### `status`

One screen, four sections: Database, Capture proxy, Providers, Pricing. The "is everything actually working?" command. Read-only — running it on a fresh install before you've ever booted the proxy or MCP server prints `database not initialized` rather than silently creating the file.

```bash
$ llm-usage status

# Skip the network probe (offline, CI, slow link):
$ llm-usage status --no-net

# Machine-readable for a healthcheck script:
$ llm-usage status --json
```

#### `providers`

Per-provider configuration view. Wider than the `status` Providers block: adds the wire-format flag (`openai-compat: yes/no`) and an optional `--models` expansion that lists every priced model under each provider.

```bash
$ llm-usage providers
$ llm-usage providers --models   # expand each provider with its model list
```

#### `about`

The front-door panel: version, author, license, and the project homepage. The human-facing companion to `--version` — fields are read from the installed package metadata, so they match what PyPI shows.

```bash
$ llm-usage about

# Machine-readable, for a script or an issue template:
$ llm-usage about --json
```

## Supported providers

| Provider | Auth | Non-streaming | Streaming | Cache pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | `x-api-key` | yes | yes | `cache_creation` + `cache_read` |
| OpenAI | `Bearer` | yes | yes | nested `prompt_tokens_details.cached_tokens` |
| DeepSeek | `Bearer` | yes | yes | `prompt_cache_hit_tokens` / `_miss_tokens` |
| Qwen (DashScope) | `Bearer` | yes | yes | usually omitted on the OpenAI-compat endpoint |

**More on the way.** Google Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Moonshot (Kimi), Zhipu GLM, MiniMax, and others are scoped in [`docs/post_v1_providers.md`](https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/blob/main/docs/post_v1_providers.md).

**Where prices come from.** Pricing is a vendored, trimmed snapshot of [LiteLLM's pricing JSON](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm/blob/main/litellm/model_prices_and_context_window_backup.json), refreshed weekly by a GitHub Action ([`refresh-pricing.yml`](.github/workflows/refresh-pricing.yml)). Models LiteLLM doesn't carry yet are filled in locally via [`pricing_overrides.json`](src/llm_usage/core/pricing_data/pricing_overrides.json).

## Configuration

Everything is env vars (or a `.env` file at the repo root). Defaults are sane — nothing is required to start the proxy. Full reference: [`docs/configuration.md`](https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/blob/main/docs/configuration.md). The three you're most likely to touch:

| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| `LLM_USAGE_DB_URL` | `sqlite:///$HOME/.llm-usage/usage.db` | Where the local DB lives. |
| `LLM_USAGE_PROXY_PORT` | `5525` | Capture proxy port (loopback only). |
| `LLM_USAGE_<PROVIDER>_BASE_URL` | each provider's official endpoint | Point a provider at a reverse proxy / gateway — handy in network-restricted regions. |

## Docker

A minimal [`Dockerfile`](https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/blob/main/Dockerfile) is included **only** for automated MCP registry validation (e.g. Glama), which verifies that the packaged server boots and responds to MCP introspection. The recommended way to run the server is still `uvx llm-usage-mcp` locally — this is a local-first tool, not a hosted service.

## License

[MIT](https://github.com/zhaoyue722/llm-usage-mcp/blob/main/LICENSE).