copilot-usage-analytics

name	copilot-usage-analytics
description	Use when estimating per-session Copilot CLI cost, analyzing model-routing efficiency, tracking agent dispatch patterns, or documenting which GitHub Copilot usage APIs exist. Covers session cost estimation, model selection recommendations, and API landscape mapping.
compatibility	["VS Code","Cursor","Windsurf","Claude Code"]
metadata	{"category":"Uncategorized","tags":["uncategorized"],"maturity":"beta","audience":["developers"]}
allowed-tools	["bash","git","grep","find"]

Copilot Usage Analytics Skill

Use this skill when the goal is to estimate Copilot CLI session costs from dispatch patterns, recommend model-routing strategies based on task complexity, or document the current state of GitHub Copilot usage APIs.

When to Use

• Estimating cost for a completed or in-progress Copilot CLI session
• Analyzing which sub-agent dispatches are driving the most token consumption
• Choosing the right model tier for a task to minimize cost without sacrificing quality
• Auditing agent workflows for routing inefficiencies
• Generating an ROI report (issues resolved versus estimated spend)
• Documenting which Copilot usage APIs are available versus missing

How to Invoke

Reference this skill by attaching skills/copilot-usage-analytics/SKILL.md to your agent context, or instruct the agent:

Use the copilot-usage-analytics skill. Apply the session cost estimate template and the model-routing recommendation template to the current session's dispatch log.

Workflow

1. Collect dispatch data — enumerate all tool calls and sub-agent dispatches in the session, noting the model identifier used for each.
2. Estimate token consumption — use message length and interaction count as a proxy for input/output tokens per dispatch.
3. Apply cost rates — map each model to its published token rate to produce a per-dispatch and per-session cost estimate.
4. Identify high-cost dispatches — rank dispatches by estimated cost and flag any where a lighter model would suffice.
5. Generate routing recommendations — for each flagged dispatch, recommend an alternative model tier and explain the trade-off.
6. Produce session summary — fill in the session cost estimate template with totals, per-model breakdown, and optimization actions.

Templates in This Skill

Template	Purpose
templates/session-cost-estimate-template.md	Per-session cost breakdown by dispatch, model, and estimated token usage
templates/model-routing-recommendation-template.md	Structured recommendations for right-sizing model selection per task type
templates/api-landscape.md	Reference map of GitHub Copilot usage APIs — what exists, what is missing, and current workarounds

API Landscape Summary

Three data sources were investigated for programmatic Copilot CLI usage data:

Source	Endpoint	Status	Notes
GitHub REST — Copilot Usage	GET /orgs/{org}/copilot/usage	⚠️ Partial	Returns IDE completion metrics only; CLI/agent token data not exposed
GitHub REST — Copilot Billing	GET /orgs/{org}/copilot/billing	⚠️ Partial	Returns seat counts only; no per-model or per-session cost data
Power BI Copilot Usage dataset	Dataset 5c6c70ac-*	❌ Auth error	Requires separate AAD scope (AADSTS9010010); not available via standard MCP token

Until GitHub exposes per-session usage data (expected via Copilot Metrics API expansion), session cost must be self-tracked using this skill's estimation workflow.

Model Routing Guidance

Task Complexity	Recommended Model	Rationale
Simple lookup, label assignment, short summarization	GPT-4o-mini / Claude Haiku	Low reasoning demand; high token efficiency
Code generation, refactoring, structured output	GPT-4o / Claude Sonnet	Balanced quality-to-cost ratio
Architecture design, multi-file reasoning, threat modeling	GPT-4o / Claude Sonnet 3.7+	High accuracy required; cost justified by complexity
Creative or exploratory research	Claude Opus	Reserve for tasks where quality difference is measurable

Guardrails

• Token estimates are proxies, not exact counts — present them with an explicit uncertainty range.
• Do not use model cost rates that are more than 30 days old; rates change and stale data misleads decisions.
• ROI reports must include the number of issues resolved, not just cost; cost alone is not an actionable metric.
• Do not make routing recommendations that sacrifice correctness for cost on security or compliance tasks.

Agent Pairing

This skill is designed to be used alongside:

• agentops agent (agents/agentops.agent.md) — monitors agent lifecycle health and can incorporate cost signals into rollback and routing decisions.
• performance-analyst agent (agents/performance-analyst.agent.md) — pairs token-cost data with latency and throughput metrics for a full efficiency picture.
• sprint-planner agent (agents/sprint-planner.agent.md) — uses ROI estimates to prioritize automation investments.