A few months ago I opened my AI bill and had that tiny stomach-drop moment every solo dev knows.
The number was not insane. That was the annoying part. It was just high enough to make me stop trusting my own usage.
I kept asking the same questions:
How many tokens did that prompt just burn?
Which model got expensive?
Why does this feel invisible until the invoice shows up?
That frustration is basically why I built TokenBar.
I did not want another dashboard to check later. I wanted cost visibility while I was actually working. Right there in the menu bar. No guessing. No surprises.
The best tools I use now are the ones that make the hidden cost obvious before it becomes a problem.
That idea still shapes how I build: if something matters, surface it early.
What invisible cost in your workflow would you rather see live?
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