How do you check the bid-ask spread before entering an options trade?

One thing I keep coming back to in options is the bid-ask spread, the gap between the highest price a buyer will pay and the lowest price a seller will accept. It is a cost that does not show up as a commission, but it is paid every time you enter and exit. As a worked example with made-up numbers: if an option shows a bid of 1.20 and an ask of 1.40, the midpoint is 1.30, but buying at the ask and immediately selling at the bid would cost you 0.20 per share, or 20 dollars per contract, before the underlying has moved at all. Wider spreads usually show up in thinly traded strikes, far-dated expirations, and options on less liquid underlyings. Tight spreads tend to appear near the money in heavily traded contracts, though that is a general pattern rather than a rule, and spreads can widen sharply around news or at the open and close. Some educational questions to think through: how much spread would make you skip a trade entirely, and do you ever use limit orders at prices between the bid and ask? What does your process look like for that check?