Agent skill

adobe-cost-tuning

Optimize Adobe API costs across Firefly Services (generative credits), PDF Services (document transactions), and Photoshop/Lightroom APIs. Use when analyzing Adobe billing, reducing API costs, or implementing usage monitoring and budget alerts. Trigger with phrases like "adobe cost", "adobe billing", "adobe credits", "reduce adobe costs", "adobe pricing", "adobe budget".

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npx add-skill https://github.com/jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills/tree/main/plugins/saas-packs/adobe-pack/skills/adobe-cost-tuning

SKILL.md

Adobe Cost Tuning

Overview

Optimize costs across Adobe's consumption-based APIs. Each API family has different pricing models: Firefly uses generative credits, PDF Services uses document transactions, and Photoshop/Lightroom use API call credits.

Prerequisites

  • Access to Adobe Admin Console billing (https://adminconsole.adobe.com)
  • Understanding of current API usage patterns
  • Monitoring infrastructure for usage tracking

Instructions

Step 1: Understand Adobe API Pricing Models

API Free Tier Paid Unit Key Limit
PDF Services 500 tx/month Document Transaction Per-page for extract, per-file for create
Firefly API Trial credits Generative Credit 1 credit per image generated
Photoshop API Trial credits API Credit 1 credit per operation (cutout, actions, etc.)
Lightroom API Trial credits API Credit 1 credit per auto-edit
I/O Events Included Free with entitlement 3,000 events/5sec rate limit
Document Generation Part of PDF Services Document Transaction Per-document generated

Step 2: Track Usage per API

typescript
// src/adobe/usage-tracker.ts
interface ApiUsageEntry {
  api: 'firefly' | 'pdf-services' | 'photoshop' | 'lightroom';
  operation: string;
  timestamp: Date;
  durationMs: number;
  creditsUsed: number;
}

class AdobeUsageTracker {
  private entries: ApiUsageEntry[] = [];

  record(entry: Omit<ApiUsageEntry, 'timestamp'>): void {
    this.entries.push({ ...entry, timestamp: new Date() });
  }

  getMonthlySummary(): Record<string, { calls: number; credits: number }> {
    const now = new Date();
    const monthStart = new Date(now.getFullYear(), now.getMonth(), 1);

    const monthly = this.entries.filter(e => e.timestamp >= monthStart);

    return monthly.reduce((acc, entry) => {
      const key = entry.api;
      if (!acc[key]) acc[key] = { calls: 0, credits: 0 };
      acc[key].calls++;
      acc[key].credits += entry.creditsUsed;
      return acc;
    }, {} as Record<string, { calls: number; credits: number }>);
  }

  checkBudget(api: string, monthlyLimit: number): { remaining: number; warning: boolean } {
    const summary = this.getMonthlySummary();
    const used = summary[api]?.credits || 0;
    const remaining = monthlyLimit - used;
    return { remaining, warning: remaining < monthlyLimit * 0.2 };
  }
}

Step 3: Cost Reduction Strategies

Strategy 1: Cache Firefly outputs by prompt hash

typescript
import crypto from 'crypto';

function promptHash(prompt: string, size: { width: number; height: number }): string {
  return crypto.createHash('sha256')
    .update(`${prompt}:${size.width}x${size.height}`)
    .digest('hex')
    .slice(0, 16);
}

// Before generating, check if identical prompt was already run
const hash = promptHash(prompt, { width: 1024, height: 1024 });
const cached = await cache.get(`firefly:${hash}`);
if (cached) return cached; // Saves 1 generative credit

Strategy 2: Minimize PDF Services transactions

typescript
// EXPENSIVE: Extract + Create + Merge = 3 transactions
await extractPdf(input);
await createPdf(html);
await mergePdfs([pdf1, pdf2]);

// CHEAPER: Combine operations where possible
// Use Document Generation API (1 transaction) instead of
// creating PDF then merging
await generateDocument(template, data); // 1 transaction

Strategy 3: Right-size Firefly image dimensions

typescript
// Same credit cost but different use cases:
// - Thumbnails: 512x512 (same 1 credit, faster generation)
// - Social media: 1024x1024
// - Print: 2048x2048 (same 1 credit, slower generation)
// Generate at the size you actually need — don't upscale unnecessarily

Strategy 4: Use Photoshop batch actions

typescript
// EXPENSIVE: 5 separate API calls = 5 credits
await removeBackground(image1);
await removeBackground(image2);
// ...

// CHEAPER: Photoshop Actions can chain operations
// Record an action that does: remove bg + resize + add watermark
// Run it once per image = 1 credit for all 3 operations
await runPhotoshopAction(image, actionFile);

Step 4: Budget Alert System

typescript
// Check PDF Services free tier monthly limit
const pdfTracker = new AdobeUsageTracker();

// Wrap PDF Services calls with tracking
async function trackedPdfExtract(pdfPath: string) {
  const budget = pdfTracker.checkBudget('pdf-services', 500); // Free tier

  if (budget.remaining <= 0) {
    throw new Error('PDF Services monthly quota exhausted. Upgrade or wait for reset.');
  }

  if (budget.warning) {
    console.warn(`PDF Services: only ${budget.remaining} transactions remaining this month`);
    // Send alert to Slack/email
  }

  const result = await extractPdfContent(pdfPath);
  pdfTracker.record({
    api: 'pdf-services',
    operation: 'extract',
    durationMs: 0,
    creditsUsed: 1,
  });

  return result;
}

Step 5: Cost Dashboard Query

sql
-- If tracking usage in your database
SELECT
  api,
  operation,
  DATE_TRUNC('day', timestamp) as date,
  COUNT(*) as calls,
  SUM(credits_used) as credits,
  AVG(duration_ms) as avg_latency_ms
FROM adobe_api_usage
WHERE timestamp >= DATE_TRUNC('month', CURRENT_DATE)
GROUP BY 1, 2, 3
ORDER BY credits DESC;

Output

  • Per-API usage tracking with credit consumption
  • Budget alerts at 80% threshold
  • Caching to prevent duplicate Firefly credit charges
  • Operation batching for Photoshop workflows
  • Monthly cost dashboard query

Error Handling

Issue Cause Solution
Unexpected charges Untracked batch jobs Wrap all calls with usage tracker
Free tier exceeded No budget alerts Implement 80% warning threshold
High Firefly costs Duplicate prompts Cache by prompt hash
PDF overage Unnecessary re-extractions Cache extraction results

Resources

Next Steps

For architecture patterns, see adobe-reference-architecture.

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