Get the API key at [app.manifest.build](https://app.manifest.build) → create an account → create an agent → copy the `mnfst_*` key.

After restart, the plugin auto-configures:

- Adds `manifest/auto` to the model allowlist (does not change your current default)
- Injects the `manifest` provider into `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`
- Starts exporting OTLP telemetry to `app.manifest.build`
- Exposes three agent tools: `manifest_usage`, `manifest_costs`, `manifest_health`

Dashboard at [app.manifest.build](https://app.manifest.build). Telemetry arrives within 10-30 seconds (batched OTLP export).

### Verify connection

Shows: mode, endpoint reachability, auth validity, agent name.

## Configuration Changes

On plugin registration, Manifest writes to these files:

| File                                            | Change                                                                                                      | Reversible                                  |
| ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`                     | Adds `models.providers.manifest` provider entry; adds `manifest/auto` to `agents.defaults.models` allowlist | Yes — `openclaw plugins uninstall manifest` |
| `~/.openclaw/agents/*/agent/auth-profiles.json` | Adds `manifest:default` auth profile                                                                        | Yes — uninstall removes it                  |
| `~/.openclaw/manifest/config.json`              | Stores auto-generated API key (local mode only, file mode 0600)                                             | Yes — delete `~/.openclaw/manifest/`        |
| `~/.openclaw/manifest/manifest.db`              | SQLite database (local mode only)                                                                           | Yes — delete the file                       |

No other files are modified. The plugin does not change your current default model.

## Install Provenance

`openclaw plugins install manifest` installs the [`manifest`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/manifest) npm package.

- **Source**: [github.com/mnfst/manifest](https://github.com/mnfst/manifest) (`packages/openclaw-plugin/`)
- **License**: MIT
- **Author**: MNFST Inc.

Verify before installing:

## Setup (Local — offline alternative)

Use local mode only when data must never leave the machine.

Dashboard opens at **http://127.0.0.1:2099**. Data stored locally in `~/.openclaw/manifest/manifest.db`. No account or API key needed.

To expose over Tailscale (requires Tailscale on both devices, only accessible within your Tailnet): `tailscale serve --bg 2099`

## What Manifest Answers

Manifest answers these questions about your OpenClaw agents — via the dashboard or directly in-conversation via agent tools:

**Spending & budget**

- How much have I spent today / this week / this month?
- What's my cost breakdown by model?
- Which model consumes the biggest share of my budget?
- Am I approaching my spending limit?

**Token consumption**

- How many tokens has my agent used (input vs. output)?
- What's my token trend compared to the previous period?
- How much cache am I reading vs. writing?

**Activity & performance**

- How many LLM calls has my agent made?
- How long do LLM calls take (latency)?
- Are there errors or rate limits occurring? What are the error messages?
- Which skills/tools are running and how often?

**Routing intelligence**

- What routing tier (simple/standard/complex/reasoning) was each request assigned?
- Why was a specific tier chosen?
- What model pricing is available across all providers?

**Connectivity**

- Is Manifest connected and healthy?
- Is telemetry flowing correctly?

## Agent Tools

Three tools are available to the agent in-conversation:

| Tool              | Trigger phrases                                 | What it returns                                                             |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `manifest_usage`  | "how many tokens", "token usage", "consumption" | Total, input, output, cache-read tokens + action count for today/week/month |
| `manifest_costs`  | "how much spent", "costs", "money burned"       | Cost breakdown by model in USD for today/week/month                         |
| `manifest_health` | "is monitoring working", "connectivity test"    | Endpoint reachable, auth valid, agent name, status                          |

Each accepts a `period` parameter: `"today"`, `"week"`, or `"month"`.

All three tools are read-only — they query the agent's own usage data and never send message content.

## LLM Routing

When the model is set to `manifest/auto`, the router scores each conversation across 23 dimensions and assigns one of 4 tiers:

| Tier          | Use case                                | Examples                                                |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Simple**    | Greetings, confirmations, short lookups | "hi", "yes", "what time is it"                          |
| **Standard**  | General tasks, balanced quality/cost    | "summarize this", "write a test"                        |
| **Complex**   | Multi-step reasoning, nuanced analysis  | "compare these architectures", "debug this stack trace" |
| **Reasoning** | Formal logic, proofs, critical planning | "prove this theorem", "design a migration strategy"     |

Each tier maps to a model. Default models are auto-assigned per provider, but overridable in the dashboard under **Routing**.

Short-circuit rules:

- Messages <50 chars with no tools → **Simple**
- Formal logic keywords → **Reasoning**
- Tools present → floor at **Standard**
- Context >50k tokens → floor at **Complex**

## Dashboard Pages

| Page             | What it shows                                                                 |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Workspace**    | All connected agents as cards with sparkline activity charts                  |
| **Overview**     | Per-agent cost, tokens, messages with trend badges and time-series charts     |
| **Messages**     | Full paginated message log with filters (status, model, cost range)           |
| **Routing**      | 4-tier model config, provider connections, enable/disable routing             |
| **Limits**       | Email alerts and hard spending caps (tokens or cost, per hour/day/week/month) |
| **Settings**     | Agent rename, delete, OTLP key management                                     |
| **Model Prices** | Sortable table of 300+ model prices across all providers                      |

## Supported Providers

Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, xAI, Mistral AI, Qwen, MiniMax, Kimi, Amazon Nova, Z.ai, OpenRouter, Ollama. 300+ models total.

## Uninstall

openclaw plugins install manifest
openclaw config set plugins.entries.manifest.config.apiKey "mnfst_YOUR_KEY"
openclaw gateway restart

openclaw plugins install manifest
openclaw config set plugins.entries.manifest.config.mode local
openclaw gateway restart