Context#

The Finance screen (t-063) shows estimated cost per task via estimateTaskCosts(), which regex-matches task IDs in session log filenames. This is approximate — it misses tasks that don't appear in filenames, and can't distinguish two tasks running in the same session.

For accurate per-task cost tracking, the OpenClaw gateway would need to tag each inference call with the active task ID at the source, so usage entries carry taskId alongside agentId and timestamp.

Mission#

Research and document the feature request for OpenClaw gateway per-task inference tagging.

1. Read ~/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/docs/ — find any mention of usage tracking, inference events, or metadata tagging on runs.
2. Check if there's already a mechanism to pass task context into a run (e.g. via session metadata, payload fields, or environment variables picked up by the cost logger).
3. If a path exists today: document it in projects/deepseek-api/PROJECT.md with a "task cost tagging" section and create a follow-up implementation task.
4. If no path exists: write a concise feature request doc at projects/deepseek-api/feature-request-task-cost-tagging.md.
5. Post a one-line summary to Discord #robbie.

Acceptance criteria#

• Research done, findings documented
• Either implementation path found + follow-up task created, OR feature request doc written
• t-065 marked done

Outcome (2026-05-08)#

Researched OpenClaw gateway docs + actual usage cache shape. Findings:

• No mechanism exists today to tag inference cost with the active taskId. The .usage-cost-cache.json entries (sample inspected) carry timestamp/totalCost/totalTokens/... but no task or run id. OTel exports (docs/gateway/opentelemetry.md) tag channel/provider/model/agent only — no openclaw.task.* attribute.
• taskId IS already a first-class scope at the SDK layer (OpenClawEvent.taskId, task.updated events, artifacts.list({taskId})). The plumbing just doesn't reach the cost logger.
• estimateTaskCosts() in MC is unfixable as-is — it regex-greps event JSON for t-NNN and charges a flat $0.001/event. Wildly inaccurate.

Deliverable: projects/deepseek-api/feature-request-task-cost-tagging.md — concise upstream feature request proposing two additive changes (usage entry taskId field + openclaw.task.id OTel attribute). Backward compatible, low risk, unlocks audit-grade Finance numbers and cost-per-task SLOs.

Next: Maxime greenlights → file as GitHub issue against openclaw/openclaw.