modbender AI Economic Tracker
Track daily costs, income, and net worth for AI agents. Implements economic pressure-driven decision making: "work or learn" based on financial runway.
Inspired by HKUDS/ClawWork research on economic incentives for AI agents.
Features
- Balance Tracking: Monitor current balance, total income, and total costs
- Survival Status: Automatic status classification (thriving/stable/struggling/critical/bankrupt)
- Runway Calculation: Days remaining before funds run out
- Service Valuation: Estimate task value using BLS wage data
- Work/Learn Decision: Economic pressure-driven task prioritization
- Daily Reports: Formatted economic status reports
- JSONL Logs: Append-only transaction history
Use Cases
- Agent Cost Management: Track API costs, compute resources, and operational expenses
- Revenue Tracking: Log income from completed tasks or services
- Economic Decision Making: Decide whether to work (earn) or learn (invest) based on financial status
- Service Pricing: Estimate fair pricing using US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data
- Financial Monitoring: Daily/weekly economic health checks
Installation
clawhub install ai-economic-tracker
Usage
Command Line
# View current status
python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py status
# Daily report
python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py report
# Initialize balance
python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py init 1000.0
# Record income
python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py income 50.0 "task_completion" "Completed data analysis"
# Record cost
python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py cost 15.0 "api_usage" "OpenAI API calls"
# Estimate service value
python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py estimate software_developer 2.5
# Get work/learn decision
python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py decide
From OpenClaw Agent
# In your agent workflow
exec("python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py report")
Cron Integration
Add to your OpenClaw cron for daily monitoring:
openclaw cron add "0 9 * * *" "python3 ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/ai-economic-tracker/tracker.py report" --label "daily-economic-report"
Configuration
Set environment variables to customize:
# Data directory (default: ~/.openclaw/workspace/data/economics)
export ECONOMIC_TRACKER_DATA_DIR="/custom/path/to/data"
# Daily costs (default values shown)
export ECONOMIC_TRACKER_ELECTRICITY_DAILY=0.50
export ECONOMIC_TRACKER_INTERNET_DAILY=1.50
# Survival thresholds (default values shown)
export ECONOMIC_TRACKER_THRIVING=5000
export ECONOMIC_TRACKER_STABLE=1500
export ECONOMIC_TRACKER_STRUGGLING=500
export ECONOMIC_TRACKER_CRITICAL=0
Data Storage
All data stored in JSONL format (append-only):
balance.jsonl: Balance snapshots with timestampsdaily_log.jsonl: Cost transactionsincome_log.jsonl: Income transactions
Default location: ~/.openclaw/workspace/data/economics/
Status Levels
| Status | Balance Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 Thriving | > $5,000 | Healthy runway, can invest in learning |
| 🔵 Stable | $1,500 - $5,000 | Comfortable, balanced work/learn |
| 🟡 Struggling | $500 - $1,500 | Low runway, prioritize income |
| 🔴 Critical | $0 - $500 | Emergency mode, work only |
| 💀 Bankrupt | < $0 | Out of funds |
BLS Wage Reference
Built-in hourly wage data for service valuation:
- Computer Systems Manager: $90.38/hr
- Financial Manager: $86.76/hr
- Software Developer: $69.50/hr
- Financial Analyst: $47.16/hr
- Market Research: $38.71/hr
- Data Analyst: $52.00/hr
- General Operations: $64.00/hr
- Customer Service: $22.00/hr
Work/Learn Decision Logic
The tracker implements economic pressure-driven decision making:
- Critical/Struggling (< $1,500): Must work to earn money
- Stable ($1,500 - $5,000): 70% work, 30% learn
- Thriving (> $5,000): 50% work, 50% learn
Use decide command to get recommendation based on current balance.
Example Output
📊 经济日报 | 2026-02-26
========================================
💰 余额: $1,234.56
📈 总收入: $2,500.00
📉 总支出: $1,265.44
💵 净利润: $1,234.56
🔥 日消耗: $2.00
⏳ 跑道: 617 天
🔵 状态: STABLE
========================================
Dependencies
Zero external dependencies. Uses only Python standard library:
jsonosdatetimepathlib
Security
- No API keys required
- All data stored locally
- No network requests
- Configurable via environment variables (no hardcoded paths)
Inspiration
Based on research from HKUDS/ClawWork on economic incentives for AI agents. Adapted for OpenClaw agent systems.
License
MIT
Author
OpenClaw Community
Version
1.0.0