token-budget-gate

# token-budget-gate — Pre-Task Token Cost Gate Multi-step and multi-agent tasks can silently consume large token budgets. This skill estimates cost before execution, outputs a gate verdict, and calibrates estimates against actual usage after completion — preventing surprise overruns without blocking legitimate work. > **FH context**: FH default execution tier is `standard` (~15K tokens). This skill gates against accidental `full` (~30K) or `max` (~60K+) consumption on tasks that could be handled lighter. --- ## Triggers - `/token-budget-gate` - "token budget", "token cost", "how expensive", "will this use a lot of tokens" - "estimate tokens", "token estimate before we start" - Before invoking: `agent-composer`, `sim-conductor`, `steel-quench` (max-tier skills) - Automatically proposed when task description contains: multi-agent, parallel dispatch, full suite, all files, entire codebase --- ## Gate Thresholds (defaults — user-configurable) | Signal | Verdict | Action | |---|---|---| | Estimated < 10K tokens | 🟢 **GREEN** | Proceed without comment | | 10K–30K tokens | 🟡 **YELLOW** | Proceed with notice — suggest lighter approach if one exists | | 30K–60K tokens | 🟠 **ORANGE** | Confirm before proceeding — present scope reduction options | | > 60K tokens | 🔴 **RED** | Block + require explicit approval — present mandatory reduction | Custom threshold: user can set `TOKEN_BUDGET_MAX=N` in conversation or `.claude/settings.json`. --- ## Execution Steps ### Step 1. P...