Budgetary: estimate token spend MCP Server

by thriftellio.github.thriftell/budgetaryv0.13.0

Pre-flight token-spend estimate (range, scenario, confidence) for a coding task, or an abstention.

0Node.jsstdioofficial registry

context tax

queued

security

queued

cold start

queued

freshness

Maintained52d ago

Install Budgetary: estimate token spend MCP server

claude mcp add thriftell -e BUDGETARY_API_KEY='<budgetary-api-key>' -- npx -y @budgetary/mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thriftell": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@budgetary/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BUDGETARY_API_KEY": "<budgetary-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (project).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thriftell": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@budgetary/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BUDGETARY_API_KEY": "<budgetary-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Settings → Developer → Edit Config (claude_desktop_config.json), then restart.

{
  "servers": {
    "thriftell": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@budgetary/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BUDGETARY_API_KEY": "<budgetary-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thriftell": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@budgetary/mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BUDGETARY_API_KEY": "<budgetary-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json.

Configuration

Variable	Required	Secret	Description
BUDGETARY_API_KEY	yes	yes	Budgetary API key (bg_live_ or bg_test_ prefix). Get one at https://budgetary.tools.
BUDGETARY_HOST	—	—	Optional tag naming the MCP host this server runs under — e.g. claude-code, cursor, codex, copilot. It labels each estimate with where it came from, and an explicit value overrides the host name the MCP handshake reports. Free-form; defaults to "mcp" when unset.

Freshness

Maintained — last maintenance signal 52d ago. The newest of the signals below sets the band.

Last commit (default branch)
2026-08-18 · 52d ago · GitHub
Latest release
2026-08-09 · 2mo ago · GitHub · @budgetary/mcp@0.13.0
Package published
no data · npm/PyPI
Registry entry updated
2026-08-10 · 2mo ago · official registry · v0.13.0

FAQ

›How do I install the Budgetary: estimate token spend MCP server in Claude Code?

Run: claude mcp add thriftell -e BUDGETARY_API_KEY='<budgetary-api-key>' -- npx -y @budgetary/mcp. For Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop and Windsurf, use the install tabs above.

›Does Budgetary: estimate token spend require an API key?

Yes. It expects BUDGETARY_API_KEY, of which 1 is a secret.

›Can I use Budgetary: estimate token spend as a remote (hosted) MCP server?

No hosted endpoint is published; it runs locally over stdio.

›Is Budgetary: estimate token spend in the official MCP registry?

Yes, as io.github.thriftell/budgetary.