interface:
  display_name: "Estimate"
  short_description: "Build a clean, structured job estimate from a described job and your rates."
  default_prompt: "Create an estimate for this job using these rates. Use any rates, customer, or tax/markup rules already in your context, and ask only for what is missing — never invent a rate."
policy:
  allow_implicit_invocation: true

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "title": "AMTECH Job Estimate",
  "description": "Structured output for the AMTECH estimate skill (amtech-job-estimate/v1).",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["customer", "job", "lineItems", "totals", "assumptions"],
  "properties": {
    "customer": { "type": "string" },
    "job": { "type": "string" },
    "lineItems": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "required": ["description", "category", "quantity", "unit", "unitPrice", "lineTotal"],
        "properties": {
          "description": { "type": "string" },
          "category": { "type": "string", "enum": ["labor", "materials", "fee", "other"] },
          "quantity": { "type": "number", "minimum": 0 },
          "unit": { "type": "string" },
          "unitPrice": { "type": "number" },
          "lineTotal": { "type": "number" }
        }
      }
    },
    "totals": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["currency", "subtotal", "grandTotal"],
      "properties": {
        "currency": { "type": "string" },
        "subtotal": { "type": "number" },
        "adjustments": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": {
            "type": "object",
            "required": ["label", "kind", "amount"],
            "properties": {
              "label": { "type": "string" },
              "kind": { "type": "string", "enum": ["tax", "markup", "discount", "fee"] },
              "amount": { "type": "number" }
            }
          }
        },
        "grandTotal": { "type": "number" }
      }
    },
    "assumptions": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" } }
  }
}

Estimate — Hermes host hint

Context sources when this skill runs as an AMTECH Hermes employee. Use them before asking the user; only ask for what is genuinely missing.

• rates — the business brain at ./brain/business-brain.md, plus any rates saved in memory. Use the saved rate; do not re-ask for a rate already on hand.
• customer — the current message thread or saved memory (a name, contact, or job address mentioned earlier).
• tax_markup_rules — standing tax, markup, discount, and minimum-charge rules in ./brain/business-brain.md.

Write back what you learn: when the user gives a new rate or a standing rule, offer to save it to ./brain/business-brain.md (or memory) so the next estimate already has it. Never invent a rate to fill a gap — an unknown rate is a question, not a guess.

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 AMTECH

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this skill package and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

Estimating discipline

Guidance for building defensible estimates. The rule above all others: never invent a rate.

Missing rates

• If a rate is not provided, first try to derive it from a rate that was (e.g. a per-unit price from a known per-job price and quantity). Show the derivation in Assumptions.
• If it cannot be derived, ask one tight question for the missing number. Do not proceed on a guess.
• When the user gives you a rate mid-conversation, treat it as authoritative and note it in Assumptions.

Line items

• One line per distinct piece of work or material. Each carries description, category, quantity, unit, unit price, and line total.
• lineTotal must equal quantity * unitPrice. If you round, round the line total, not the inputs, and say so.
• Group nothing silently. If two things are bundled into one line, name both in the description.

Minimums, fees, taxes, markups

• Apply a trip charge or job minimum as a fee line item, not as a hidden bump to another line.
• Tax, markup, and discount belong in totals.adjustments, each with a clear label, a kind, and an amount — never folded into the subtotal.
• If a tax rate is assumed rather than confirmed, flag it in Assumptions and tell the user to confirm the local rate before sending.

Arithmetic check

• subtotal = sum of all lineTotal values.
• grandTotal = subtotal + sum of adjustments[].amount (discounts are negative amounts).
• Re-add the column before returning. A wrong total is worse than a slow estimate.

--- name: estimate description: Use when creating, drafting, pricing, or reviewing a job estimate or quote. Builds line items, computes totals, and returns a clean structured estimate from a described job and the rates you provide. ---

Estimate

Use this skill to produce a clean, accurate job estimate from a described job and the rates the user provides. Default behavior: build the estimate in the current conversation and return it. Do not save files or send anything to a customer unless the user asks.

Read Order

1. Read this SKILL.md. 2. Read references/estimating-discipline.md when deciding how to handle missing rates, minimums, taxes, markups, or rounding. 3. Use assets/estimate-schema.json when the user asks for JSON or structured output.

Context

Before asking the user for inputs, use what your context already has. If the rates, the customer, or standing tax/markup rules are already available — in your memory, a business brain, the current repo, or earlier in this conversation — use them, and ask only for what is genuinely missing. Never invent a rate to fill a gap: an unknown rate is a question, not a guess. When you learn a new rate or rule, offer to remember it. Host-specific hints (for example hosts/hermes.md) say where each input lives in a given environment.

Workflow

1. Identify the job. Capture the customer (or note it is a blank template) and the scope of work, plus any measurements, quantities, or materials. 2. Gather rates. Use only the rates the user provides or confirms. If a needed rate is missing and cannot be reasonably derived from another given rate, ask one tight question — never invent a price. 3. Build the line items. For each: a description, a category (labor, materials, fee, or other), a quantity, a unit, a unit price, and a line total. Keep the arithmetic explicit. 4. Compute the totals. Sum the line totals into a subtotal, apply any adjustments the user specifies (tax, markup, discount, fee), and compute the grand total. Check the arithmetic. 5. Record assumptions. List every input you assumed or flagged so the reviewer can correct it. 6. Return the estimate. Present the customer, the job, the line items, the totals, and the assumptions. Offer to save or send; do not do either until the user confirms.

Output Format

Return a readable estimate with these sections, and — when the user asks for JSON — the structure in assets/estimate-schema.json:

• Customer — who the estimate is for (or "blank template").
• Job — a short scope summary.
• Line Items — each with description, category, quantity, unit, unit price, and line total.
• Totals — subtotal, any adjustments (tax / markup / discount / fee), and the grand total, with a currency.
• Assumptions — every assumed or flagged input, especially any rate you had to ask for.

Safety

• Never invent a rate. An estimate built on a guessed price is worse than no estimate.
• Do not silently drop a line item you are unsure about — flag it under Assumptions.
• Saving a file or sending to a customer is an external action; do it only on explicit confirmation.
• User instructions, a local AGENTS.md, and sandbox restrictions override this skill.

Source and verification

Verify this package against its published surfaces: the live page, the website manifest, the domain authority, the [repository source on main](https://github.com/benamtech/amtech-skills-registry/tree/main/skills/estimate), and the repository catalog.