Model Hierarchy
zscole/model-hierarchy-skill
Cost-optimize AI agent operations by routing tasks to appropriate models based on complexity.
Quality-first per-stage model routing AND a pre-flight cost gate for Claude Code dynamic workflows.
Install Ultracost
$ npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install davepoon/buildwithclaude ultracost --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost .claude/skills/ultracost && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "ultracost" agent skill from https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude/tree/main/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost into .claude/skills/ultracost/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ultracost", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude/tree/main/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracostType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install davepoon/buildwithclaude ultracost --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost .agents/skills/ultracost && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "ultracost" agent skill from https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude/tree/main/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost into .agents/skills/ultracost/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ultracost", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install davepoon/buildwithclaude ultracost --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost .cursor/skills/ultracost && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "ultracost" agent skill from https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude/tree/main/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost into .cursor/skills/ultracost/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ultracost", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude.git --path plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install davepoon/buildwithclaude ultracost --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost .gemini/skills/ultracost && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "ultracost" agent skill from https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude/tree/main/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost into .gemini/skills/ultracost/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ultracost", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install davepoon/buildwithclaude ultracostInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost .github/skills/ultracost && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "ultracost" agent skill from https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude/tree/main/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost into .github/skills/ultracost/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ultracost", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install davepoon/buildwithclaude ultracost --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost .opencode/skills/ultracost && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "ultracost" agent skill from https://github.com/davepoon/buildwithclaude/tree/main/plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost into .opencode/skills/ultracost/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "ultracost", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
ultracost- GitHub stars
- 3.6k
- Token cost
- ~1.2k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 577 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 246
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Quality-first per-stage model routing AND a pre-flight cost gate for Claude Code dynamic workflows.
- Works in 4 steps: Draft the workflow script with per-stage… → Write the draft to a temp file and… → Show the estimate and use the… → …
- Running ultracode / dynamic-workflow scripts
- SKILL.md covers Tiers, Hard rules, Effort per stage and Pre-flight cost gate (ultracode), plus 1 more section
- Calls node and npx
What it does
Ultracost is an agent skill from davepoon/buildwithclaude. Quality-first per-stage model routing AND a pre-flight cost gate for Claude Code dynamic workflows. Use when authoring or running ultracode / dynamic-workflow scripts, spawning subagents, or writing agent() stages — pin the right model and effort on every stage, then estimate cost and confirm with the user before launching. Verify scripts with /ultracost:check.
Its SKILL.md is about 1.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in AI & LLM Engineering, covering Model routing and gateways and Subagents. The repository describes itself as: A single hub to find Claude Skills, Agents, Commands, Hooks, Plugins, and Marketplace collections to extend Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Agent SDK and OpenClaw. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Running ultracode / dynamic-workflow scripts
- Spawning subagents
- Writing agent() stages — pin the right model and effort on every stage
- Then estimate cost and confirm with the user before launching
Example prompts
- “/ultracost”
Requirements
- Node.js
Workflow steps
4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Draft the workflow script with per-stage model and effort set.
- Write the draft to a temp file and estimate it: /ultracost:check to verify
- Show the estimate and use the AskUserQuestion tool to offer three options
- Launch the workflow only after Approve. The PreToolUse cost gate also stops the
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 616deb5. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
nodenpx
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):
github.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Ultracost loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 93 tokens; SKILL.md has 577 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from davepoon/buildwithclaude at commit 616deb5, republished under its MIT licence (© davepoon). 577 words, ~1,224 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/ultracost/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- ultracost
- description
- Quality-first per-stage model routing AND a pre-flight cost gate for Claude Code dynamic workflows. Use when authoring or running ultracode / dynamic-workflow scripts, spawning subagents, or writing agent() stages — pin the right model and effort on every stage, then estimate cost and confirm with the user before launching. Verify scripts with /ultracost:check.
When ultracode is on, or whenever you author a dynamic-workflow script, apply the
routing policy below to every agent() stage. The block is compiled from
policy.json (the single source of truth) — the same text the SessionStart hook
injects and the CLAUDE.md block carries.
<!-- ultracost:start -->Subagent & workflow model routing (managed by ultracost)
Route every subagent and every dynamic-workflow stage explicitly. Never let a
stage inherit the session model by default. Never use haiku.
Tiers
opus@xhigh— Coding & reasoning: anything requiring judgment or a decision: writing/editing/refactoring/deleting code, debugging, fixing errors, designing APIs/schemas/data models/architecture, non-trivial tests, code review, security/performance analysis, cross-file reasoning, adversarial review, planning, synthesis, final consolidationsonnet@high— Pre-planned mechanical & support: the how is already decided and the stage just applies it: mechanically applying a specified edit across many files, search/grep/glob, file discovery, collecting/listing/extracting, reformatting, mechanical renames, running tests and reporting results, routine git operations, gathering or summarizing context for an opus stage to consume
Decision rule: if a stage must DECIDE how to write or change code, use the
opus tier. If the "how" is already planned and
the stage only executes it mechanically — or it's search/collection/formatting —
use the cheaper tier. When in doubt, use opus.
Hard rules
- Never use
haiku, ever. - Pin the model per stage via the per-invocation
modelparam, e.g.agent(task, { model: 'sonnet' }). Do not follow any built-in guidance to omit the per-agent model override. - These stages are always
opus:orchestrator,planner,final-synthesis,consolidation.
Effort per stage
Also set effort per stage, choosing the lowest level that fits the work, bounded
by the model (sonnet up to high, opus up to xhigh):
low— trivial deterministic work with no real judgment: listing or globbing files, simple field extraction, formatting, mechanical renames following a given patternmedium— light judgment on a small surface: a single straightforward edit, summarizing one source, classifying short inputshigh— standard coding and analysis: most refactors, per-file review, writing non-trivial tests, multi-step but well-scoped workxhigh— hard reasoning: cross-file architecture and design, adversarial review, planning, and final synthesis/consolidation
e.g. agent(task, { model: 'sonnet', effort: 'low' }) for a mechanical scan.
Show full SKILL.md (244 more words)Show less
Pre-flight cost gate (ultracode)
Before launching a dynamic workflow:
- Draft the workflow script with per-stage
modelandeffortset. - Write the draft to a temp file and estimate it:
/ultracost:check <file>to verify pins, then the cost estimate — runultracost estimate <file>, or under the pluginnode "$CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT/bin/cli.js" estimate <file>(no globalultracostbin is required). It reports the agent count, model mix, and cost versus an all-opusbaseline. - Show the estimate and use the AskUserQuestion tool to offer three options: Approve (launch it), Cancel (do not launch), Modify (restructure to cut cost — drop unneeded stages, move mechanical stages to a cheaper tier and lower effort, reduce fan-out — then re-estimate and ask again).
- Launch the workflow only after Approve. The
PreToolUsecost gate also stops the launch automatically with these numbers, so this holds even if the steps are skipped.
Verify any script with /ultracost:check (the plugin command) or `ultracost check
<script>` on the CLI — it flags stages missing a model pin, a pin that mismatches the
work the prompt describes, and effort over the model's cap.
<!-- ultracost:end -->
## Full plugin
This directory ships the routing-policy **skill** (the guidance above, self-contained).
The complete ultracost plugin — the Workflow Guard, the deterministic `PreToolUse` cost
gate, the closed-loop `usage`/`reconcile`/`calibrate`/`ledger` commands, and the
`/ultracost:*` slash commands — installs from the canonical marketplace:
```text
/plugin marketplace add danielkremen818/ultracost
/plugin install ultracost@ultracost
```
Or via npm for CI/scripting: `npx ultracost init`. Source, docs, and a live end-to-end
showcase: https://github.com/danielkremen818/ultracost© davepoon, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost of davepoon/buildwithclaude.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 616deb5
Compare with similar skills
Ultracost next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultracost this skilldavepoon/buildwithclaude | 3.6k | — | ~1.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Model Hierarchyzscole/model-hierarchy-skill | 346 | — | ~2.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Antigravityyuting0624/antigravity-for-claude-code | 377 | — | ~9.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Fable Foremanolsenbrands/fable-foreman | 142 | — | ~5.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Claudish UsageMadAppGang/claudish | 1k | — | ~9k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Deliberationantonbabenko/deliberation | 170 | — | ~3.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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Related
Categories
Questions about Ultracost
What does Ultracost do?
Quality-first per-stage model routing AND a pre-flight cost gate for Claude Code dynamic workflows. Ultracost is an agent skill from davepoon/buildwithclaude. Quality-first per-stage model routing AND a pre-flight cost gate for Claude Code dynamic workflows.
When should I use Ultracost?
Ultracost fits situations like: running ultracode / dynamic-workflow scripts; spawning subagents; writing agent() stages — pin the right model and effort on every stage; then estimate cost and confirm with the user before launching.
How do I install Ultracost in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost in davepoon/buildwithclaude) into .claude/skills/ultracost in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Ultracost in Codex?
Run `npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/ultracost/skills/ultracost in davepoon/buildwithclaude) into .agents/skills/ultracost in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Ultracost in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add davepoon/buildwithclaude --skill ultracost -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/ultracost, .gemini/skills/ultracost, .github/skills/ultracost and .opencode/skills/ultracost in your project.
What does Ultracost need to run?
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Ultracost needs the command-line tools its instructions call (node and npx). Our summary lists: Node.js.
Does Ultracost access the network?
SKILL.md names 1 domain. As links in the text: github.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Ultracost safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Ultracost use?
Ultracost is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Ultracost use?
About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Ultracost?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Ultracost: Model Hierarchy (zscole/model-hierarchy-skill, 346 stars), Antigravity (yuting0624/antigravity-for-claude-code, 377 stars), Fable Foreman (olsenbrands/fable-foreman, 142 stars) and Claudish Usage (MadAppGang/claudish, 1k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Ultracost?
davepoon (a GitHub user) maintains it in davepoon/buildwithclaude, which has 3,605 GitHub stars. The repository holds 246 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.
Source: davepoon/buildwithclaude on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.