git:20260622.035cde3 to git:20260701.0a1aa9c

---

name: deft-directive-cost

description: >-

Pre-build cost & budget transparency phase. Use after the project

SPECIFICATION is approved and before the build skill kicks off, to produce a

plain-English COST-ESTIMATE.md the user can read, react to, and explicitly

accept, rescope, no-build, or skip with a recorded reason. Audience is non-

technical users; voice is dollars and whole-number bands, not spreadsheets.

---

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# Deft Directive Cost

Plain-English cost & budget transparency phase between SPECIFICATION

approval and build kickoff. Closes the adoption-blocker surfaced by

issue #739 (and issue #151 umbrella) where users finished the spec

flow and stopped at build because deft offered no cost signal.

Legend (from RFC2119): !=MUST, ~=SHOULD, ≉=SHOULD NOT, ⊗=MUST NOT, ?=MAY.

## When to Use

- After `skills/deft-directive-setup/SKILL.md` Phase 3 has produced an

- Before `skills/deft-directive-build/SKILL.md` kicks off

- When the user says "cost", "budget", "pre-build cost", "how much will

this cost", or asks to estimate cost before building

## Audience & Voice

- ! Non-technical users. Voice is plain English, dollars, and whole

numbers. No spreadsheets, no scientific notation, no industry jargon.

- ! Loose ranges, not single point estimates. Express bands as **low /

typical / high**.

- ⊗ Use jargon like "TCO", "burn rate", "p50", "OPEX vs CAPEX",

"amortised", "blended rate", "unit economics", "FTE", or any other

term a non-technical user is unlikely to know.

Methodology lives in `references/cost-models.md`. The canonical body of

the artifact lives in `templates/COST-ESTIMATE.md`.

## Platform Detection

! Before resolving any config paths, detect the host OS from your

environment context and resolve the `USER.md` path:

| Platform | USER.md default path |

|--------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

| Windows | `%APPDATA%\deft\USER.md` (e.g. `C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Roaming\deft\USER.md`) |

| Unix (macOS/Linux) | `~/.config/deft/USER.md` |

- ! If `$DEFT_USER_PATH` is set, it takes precedence on any platform.

Path resolution mirrors `skills/deft-directive-build/SKILL.md` so the

two skills agree on the user's preferences file.

## Inputs

"approved"`. If the spec is not yet approved, stop and redirect to

`skills/deft-directive-setup/SKILL.md` Phase 3 / the spec approval

gate.

architecture narratives). Optional but improves the estimate.

- ~ `templates/COST-ESTIMATE.md` (canonical artifact body).

- ~ `references/cost-models.md` (methodology).

## Phases

### Phase 1 -- Read the spec & detect categories

- ! Read the approved spec and the project definition.

- ! Walk the spec and identify which cost categories apply for this

project: hosting / infrastructure, API / third-party fees, pre-flight

account sign-ups, build & maintenance time. Drop categories that do

not apply.

- ~ State each category's relevance to the user in one sentence (e.g.

"Because the spec says we will use an LLM, the AI / LLM row applies

and is usually the largest swing factor").

### Phase 2 -- Draft `COST-ESTIMATE.md`

- ! Copy `templates/COST-ESTIMATE.md` into the project root as

`COST-ESTIMATE.md`.

- ! Fill in each category with a **low - typical - high** plain-English

band. Use whole numbers where the precision does not matter.

- ! State the **scale assumption** beside the typical band (e.g. "About

100 active users per day, each doing 5 main actions"). The same

project shape can be \$10 / month or \$10,000 / month depending on

traffic, so the assumption is required.

- ! Roll up into a **monthly band** (low / typical / high). Keep the

roll-up loose -- adding a range to a range gives a range; do NOT

collapse to a single number.

- ! When the high band is more than ~10x the typical band, surface a

**scale considerations** note explaining what would push the project

from typical to high (e.g. "media-heavy traffic blows up egress").

- ! USD-only first pass. The artifact MUST say "USD" up top so

international users know to convert.

- ⊗ Quote single-point estimates ("this will cost $47.12 / month").

- ⊗ Cite live vendor pricing as if it were a guarantee. The artifact is

a snapshot; vendor pricing changes.

### Phase 3 -- Read it back to the user

- ! Show the user the **TL;DR**, the **monthly band** (low / typical /

high), and the **scale considerations** note (if present).

- ~ Offer to read any other section in full on request.

- ! Surface the explicit **decision point** menu in Phase 4.

### Phase 4 -- Decision point (build kickoff confirmation menu)

! Present the user with this exact, numbered menu. Per the framework

menu rule (#767), `Discuss` and `Back` MUST be the final two numbered

options. The four substantive choices come first.

```

This is your project's cost estimate. Pick one.

1. Build -- accept the cost and start the build phase

2. Rescope -- keep building but reduce cost first

3. No-build -- stop here; record the reason

4. Skip -- skip the cost phase; record a short reason

5. Discuss -- ask follow-up questions before deciding

6. Back -- return to the previous step (e.g. spec edits)

```

- ! `Discuss` MUST be option 5 and `Back` MUST be option 6 (the final

two numbered options) per the #767 framework rule.

- ! The decision MUST be recorded in `COST-ESTIMATE.md` under

**Decision recorded** (decision, date, recorded-by, reason). The

reason field is REQUIRED for `rescope`, `no-build`, and `skip` (so

that the artifact's existence is auditable). The reason field is

optional for `build`.

- ! On `Rescope`, return the user to spec edits (chain back to

`skills/deft-directive-refinement/SKILL.md` to pull spec scope back,

or the interview), then re-run this skill from Phase 1.

- ! On `No-build`, write the decision to `COST-ESTIMATE.md`, mark the

skill.

- ! On `Skip`, write the decision and skip reason to `COST-ESTIMATE.md`

and proceed to the build kickoff.

- ! On `Build`, write the decision to `COST-ESTIMATE.md` and proceed

to the build kickoff.

- ! On `Discuss`, take questions and re-show the same menu. Do NOT

proceed without an explicit choice from options 1-4.

- ! On `Back`, return to the spec / setup phase. Do NOT proceed without

re-running this skill.

- ⊗ Proceed to the build skill silently without surfacing the decision

point to the user.

## Output Targets

- ! `COST-ESTIMATE.md` (in the project root). Created by Phase 2 and

finalised in Phase 4 with the recorded decision.

agents discover the cost decision when re-reading the project

definition.

## Anti-Patterns

- ⊗ Quote single-point cost estimates -- always use loose plain-English

bands.

- ⊗ Use industry jargon (TCO, p50, FTE, OPEX vs CAPEX, etc.) in the

artifact or skill prose -- the audience is non-technical.

- ⊗ Skip the decision point -- the build skill MUST refuse kickoff

until the user has explicitly chosen build / rescope / no-build /

skip(+reason).

- ⊗ Hide the `Discuss` and `Back` options or place them at the top of

the menu -- they MUST be the final two numbered options per #767.

- ⊗ Generate `COST-ESTIMATE.md` and chain into build silently without

surfacing the decision point.

- ⊗ Skip the `Skip` reason -- if the user opts to skip the cost phase,

the reason MUST be recorded so the artifact's existence is auditable.

- ⊗ Cite live vendor pricing as a guarantee -- the artifact is a

snapshot; pricing changes over time.

- ⊗ Localise to non-USD currency in the first pass -- USD-only is the

contract; international users convert manually.

- ⊗ Promise a project will "definitely" stay within a band -- always

say "expected", "typical", or "in our estimate".

## EXIT

When the user makes a decision in Phase 4 and the decision is recorded

in `COST-ESTIMATE.md`:

- ! Confirm exit explicitly: `deft-directive-cost complete -- exiting skill.`

- ! State the next step based on the decision:

- `Build` or `Skip` -> chain into `skills/deft-directive-build/SKILL.md`

- `Rescope` -> chain into `skills/deft-directive-refinement/SKILL.md`

for targeted spec edits, then re-run this skill

- `No-build` -> exit; do NOT chain into build

- `Discuss` -> remain in this skill until the user picks 1-4

- `Back` -> chain back to the previous skill (spec / setup)

⊗ Exit this skill silently without confirming completion or providing

next-step instructions.