cloudthinker-ai Finout Management Skill
Manage cloud cost allocation and MegaBill analysis with Finout.
MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern
Always list connected accounts and cost centers before querying MegaBill data.
Phase 1: Discovery
#!/bin/bash
finout_api() {
local method="${1:-GET}"
local endpoint="$2"
local data="${3:-}"
if [ -n "$data" ]; then
curl -s -X "$method" -H "Authorization: Bearer $FINOUT_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"https://api.finout.io/v1/${endpoint}" -d "$data"
else
curl -s -X "$method" -H "Authorization: Bearer $FINOUT_API_TOKEN" \
"https://api.finout.io/v1/${endpoint}"
fi
}
echo "=== Finout Account Status ==="
finout_api GET "account" | jq '{
name: .name,
connectedProviders: .connectedProviders,
dataStatus: .dataStatus
}'
echo ""
echo "=== Connected Cloud Accounts ==="
finout_api GET "integrations" | jq -r '
.items[] | "\(.id)\t\(.provider)\t\(.name)\t\(.status)"
' | column -t
echo ""
echo "=== Cost Centers ==="
finout_api GET "cost-centers" | jq -r '
.items[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\tOwner: \(.owner // "unassigned")"
' | column -t | head -15
Core Helper Functions
#!/bin/bash
finout_api() {
local method="${1:-GET}"
local endpoint="$2"
local data="${3:-}"
if [ -n "$data" ]; then
curl -s -X "$method" -H "Authorization: Bearer $FINOUT_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
"https://api.finout.io/v1/${endpoint}" -d "$data"
else
curl -s -X "$method" -H "Authorization: Bearer $FINOUT_API_TOKEN" \
"https://api.finout.io/v1/${endpoint}"
fi
}
Output Rules
- TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Target ≤50 lines per output
- Use jq to extract cost summaries from MegaBill responses
- Round costs to 2 decimal places
Common Operations
MegaBill Analysis
#!/bin/bash
PERIOD="${1:-monthly}"
echo "=== MegaBill Summary ==="
finout_api POST "megabill/query" '{"period": "'$PERIOD'", "groupBy": ["provider"]}' | jq -r '
.data[] | "\(.provider)\t$\(.totalCost | . * 100 | round / 100)\tChange: \(.changePercent | . * 100 | round / 100)%"
' | sort -t'$' -k2 -rn | column -t
echo ""
echo "=== Top Services by Cost ==="
finout_api POST "megabill/query" '{"period": "'$PERIOD'", "groupBy": ["service"], "limit": 20}' | jq -r '
.data[] | "\(.service)\t$\(.totalCost | . * 100 | round / 100)\t\(.provider)"
' | sort -t'$' -k2 -rn | column -t | head -20
Virtual Tagging
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Virtual Tags ==="
finout_api GET "virtual-tags" | jq -r '
.items[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\tRules: \(.rules | length)\tCoverage: \(.coverage // "unknown")"
' | column -t | head -20
echo ""
echo "=== Untagged Cost Analysis ==="
finout_api POST "megabill/query" '{"period": "monthly", "groupBy": ["virtual-tag:team"], "filter": {"virtual-tag:team": "untagged"}}' | jq '{
untaggedCost: .data[0].totalCost,
percentOfTotal: .data[0].percentOfTotal
}'
echo ""
echo "=== Tag Coverage by Provider ==="
finout_api GET "virtual-tags/coverage" | jq -r '
.items[] | "\(.provider)\tTagged: \(.taggedPercent | . * 100 | round / 100)%\tUntagged Cost: $\(.untaggedCost | . * 100 | round / 100)"
' | column -t
Showback Reports
#!/bin/bash
COST_CENTER="${1:-}"
echo "=== Showback Report ==="
if [ -n "$COST_CENTER" ]; then
finout_api GET "showback/reports?costCenter=${COST_CENTER}" | jq -r '
.items[] | "\(.costCenter)\t\(.period)\t$\(.totalCost | . * 100 | round / 100)\tServices: \(.serviceCount)"
' | column -t | head -15
else
finout_api GET "showback/reports" | jq -r '
.items[] | "\(.costCenter)\t\(.period)\t$\(.totalCost | . * 100 | round / 100)"
' | sort -t'$' -k3 -rn | column -t | head -20
fi
Cost Allocation
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Cost Allocation by Team ==="
finout_api POST "megabill/query" '{"period": "monthly", "groupBy": ["virtual-tag:team"]}' | jq -r '
.data[] | "\(.team // "unallocated")\t$\(.totalCost | . * 100 | round / 100)\t\(.percentOfTotal | . * 100 | round / 100)%"
' | sort -t'$' -k2 -rn | column -t | head -20
echo ""
echo "=== Cost by Environment ==="
finout_api POST "megabill/query" '{"period": "monthly", "groupBy": ["virtual-tag:environment"]}' | jq -r '
.data[] | "\(.environment // "untagged")\t$\(.totalCost | . * 100 | round / 100)"
' | sort -t'$' -k2 -rn | column -t
Cost Anomaly Detection
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Recent Cost Anomalies ==="
finout_api GET "anomalies?days=7" | jq -r '
.items[] |
"\(.detectedAt[0:10])\t\(.service)\t\(.provider)\tExpected: $\(.expectedCost | . * 100 | round / 100)\tActual: $\(.actualCost | . * 100 | round / 100)\tDeviation: \(.deviationPercent | round)%"
' | sort -r | column -t | head -15
echo ""
echo "=== Anomaly Alert Rules ==="
finout_api GET "anomalies/rules" | jq -r '
.items[] | "\(.name)\tThreshold: \(.thresholdPercent)%\tScope: \(.scope)\tEnabled: \(.enabled)"
' | column -t | head -10
Safety Rules
- Read-only operations: Finout queries do not modify infrastructure or billing
- Virtual tag caution: Virtual tags affect cost attribution reports -- validate rules before applying
- API token scope: Ensure token has appropriate read permissions for all needed accounts
- Report accuracy: Cross-reference Finout data with native cloud billing for audits
Output Format
Present results as a structured report:
Managing Finout Report
══════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]
Resource Status Key Metric Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name] [ok/warn] [value] [findings]
Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.
Anti-Hallucination Rules
- NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
- NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or
--helpoutput. - NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
- ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
- ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |
Common Pitfalls
- Data ingestion delay: New cloud accounts need 24-72 hours for full MegaBill data
- Virtual tag conflicts: Overlapping virtual tag rules can double-count costs
- Currency normalization: Multi-currency accounts need exchange rate configuration
- Shared resources: Shared infrastructure (NAT gateways, load balancers) needs explicit allocation rules
- Historical data: Virtual tag changes do not retroactively update historical reports
- API rate limits: Bulk MegaBill queries may hit rate limits -- use pagination for large datasets