> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.costhawk.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Welcome to CostHawk

> Track, monitor, and optimize your AI API costs across all providers

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/costhawk/3dZTUnwA16Gw5mje/logo/costhawk-logo.webp?fit=max&auto=format&n=3dZTUnwA16Gw5mje&q=85&s=657bc89c241f2ba4825749d59c44a9c7" alt="CostHawk" style={{ maxWidth: '200px', marginBottom: '20px' }} width="2144" height="1984" data-path="logo/costhawk-logo.webp" />

## What is CostHawk?

CostHawk is an AI cost platform for teams using OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and coding assistants.

Use it in progressive depth:

* Admin API sync for low-friction org reporting
* OTel for real-time telemetry
* Proxy + wrapped keys for hard-stop enforcement
* MCP for assistant-native workflows (fully supported)

## Key Features

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Usage Tracking" icon="chart-line" href="/features/usage-tracking">
    Monitor API calls, tokens, and costs across all your AI providers in real-time.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Savings Calculator" icon="piggy-bank" href="/features/savings">
    See if your flat-rate subscriptions (Claude Max, OpenAI Pro) are worth it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Alerts & Anomalies" icon="bell" href="/features/alerts">
    Get notified about cost spikes, budget warnings, and unusual activity.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Admin API Sync" icon="key" href="/integrations/admin-api">
    Connect provider admin keys to ingest org-level usage and costs quickly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Proxy Controls" icon="shuffle" href="/integrations/overview">
    Add wrapped-key routing for runtime controls and hard spending limits.
  </Card>

  <Card title="MCP Server" icon="terminal" href="/mcp-server/overview">
    Query your CostHawk data directly from Claude Code, Claude Desktop, or Codex workflows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Trust & Privacy" icon="shield-check" href="/mcp-server/overview#trust--privacy">
    Local-first parsing, no prompt content, preview before upload, opt-in auto-sync.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Quick Start

Get started in under 5 minutes:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose your path">
    Start with <a href="/integrations/admin-api">Admin API Sync</a> for quick visibility, then layer on Proxy/OTel as needed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable MCP for assistant workflows">
    Install CostHawk MCP so you can query usage/savings directly from your coding assistant.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install MCP with Auto-Sync (optional but recommended)">
    **All platforms (recommended):**

    ```bash theme={null}
    npm exec --yes costhawk@latest -- --login
    ```

    This handles browser approval + setup automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start tracking">
    Restart your MCP host, then ask: "What's my AI API usage this month?"
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Why CostHawk?

* **Admin API sync** - Pull provider usage/cost data with minimal setup
* **API proxy** - Add per-request enforcement and hard-stop controls
* **Multi-provider support** - Track OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more in one place
* **Flat-rate savings analysis** - Know if Claude Max or OpenAI Pro is worth it for you
* **Spending limits** - Set daily/monthly budgets with hard stops to prevent runaway costs
* **MCP integration** - Query your costs directly from assistants (fully supported)
* **Real-time alerts** - Never be surprised by an API bill again
* **Privacy-first design** - Local parsing, no prompt content, preview before upload
* **Developer-first** - Built by developers, for developers

## Trust & Privacy

We believe transparency builds trust. CostHawk is designed so you can verify everything:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What files does CostHawk access?">
    Run `npm exec --yes costhawk@latest -- --what-we-read` to see exactly which files the MCP server accesses. We only read usage metadata from `~/.claude/projects` and Codex session logs (`~/.codex/sessions`, `~/.config/codex/sessions`, or `~/.local/share/codex/sessions`).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What data gets sent to CostHawk?">
    Only usage metadata: token counts, model names, timestamps, and hashed project IDs. Never your code, prompts, or file paths. Use `dryRun: true` to preview any payload.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I disable automatic syncing?">
    Auto-sync is off by default. Enable with `COSTHAWK_AUTO_SYNC=true`. You can also disable Codex sync specifically with `COSTHAWK_CODEX_AUTO_SYNC=false`.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>