# Jeremylongshore Claude Code Plugins Plus Skills Optimizing Cloud Costs > Optimizing Cloud Costs - Skill: `tomevault-io/jeremylongshore-claude-code-plugins-plus-skills-optimizing-c` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/jeremylongshore-claude-code-plugins-plus-skills-optimizing-c` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/jeremylongshore-claude-code-plugins-plus-skills-optimizing-c/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: DevOps & Infra - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/jeremylongshore-claude-code-plugins-plus-skills-optimizing-c --- # Optimizing Cloud Costs ## Overview Analyze cloud spending across AWS, GCP, and Azure to identify waste, recommend rightsizing, and generate cost-saving configurations. Covers reserved instances, spot/preemptible workloads, storage tiering, idle resource cleanup, and budget alerting using cloud-native cost management APIs. ## Prerequisites - Cloud provider CLI authenticated with billing/cost-explorer read access - AWS: `ce:GetCostAndUsage`, `ec2:DescribeInstances`, `cloudwatch:GetMetricData` permissions - GCP: Billing Account Viewer and Compute Viewer roles - Azure: Cost Management Reader role - Access to current infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, CloudFormation) for rightsizing changes - At least 30 days of billing data for meaningful analysis ## Instructions 1. Pull current cost data using cloud cost APIs (`aws ce get-cost-and-usage`, `gcloud billing budgets list`) 2. Identify the top 10 cost drivers by service, region, and resource tag 3. Detect idle resources: instances with < 5% average CPU over 14 days, unattached EBS volumes, unused Elastic IPs, orphaned snapshots 4. Recommend rightsizing: compare instance utilization against available instance types and suggest downsizing 5. Evaluate reserved instance or savings plan coverage against on-demand spend; recommend commitments for steady-state workloads 6. Identify spot/preemptible candidates: stateless, fault-tolerant workloads (batch jobs, CI runners, dev environments) 7. Review storage costs: recommend S3 Intelligent-Tiering, lifecycle policies for infrequent access, or Glacier for archives 8. Generate Terraform/IaC changes to implement approved optimizations 9. Set up budget alerts with thresholds at 50%, 80%, and 100% of monthly budget 10. Create a cost optimization report summarizing findings, savings estimates, and implementation priority ## Output - Cost analysis report with per-service breakdown and savings recommendations - Terraform/CloudFormation changes for rightsizing and reserved instance purchases - S3 lifecycle policy configurations for storage tiering - Budget alert configurations (CloudWatch, GCP Budget, Azure Cost Alerts) - Cleanup scripts for idle resources (with dry-run mode for safety) ## Error Handling | Error | Cause | Solution | |-------|-------|---------| | `Access Denied on Cost Explorer API` | Missing `ce:*` IAM permissions | Attach the `AWSBillingReadOnlyAccess` managed policy to the IAM user/role | | `No billing data available` | Account is too new or cost export not enabled | Enable Cost Explorer (takes 24h to populate) or set up CUR (Cost and Usage Report) | | `Rightsizing recommendation breaks workload` | Instance too small for peak load | Base sizing on P95 utilization, not average; keep a 20% headroom buffer | | `Spot instance terminated mid-job` | Spot capacity reclaimed by provider | Use spot fleet with diversified instance types and implement checkpointing | | `Budget alert not firing` | SNS topic or notification channel misconfigured | Verify SNS subscription is confirmed and test with a low threshold | ## Examples - "Analyze AWS costs for the last 3 months, identify the top waste areas, and generate a cleanup script for unattached EBS volumes and unused Elastic IPs." - "Compare on-demand EC2 spend against Savings Plans pricing and recommend 1-year commitments for steady-state workloads." - "Create S3 lifecycle policies to move objects older than 90 days to Glacier and delete after 365 days across all buckets tagged `env:production`." ## Resources - AWS Cost Explorer: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cost-management/latest/userguide/ce-what-is.html - GCP Cost Management: https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/how-to/budgets - Azure Cost Management: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/ - FinOps Foundation: https://www.finops.org/framework/ --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/jeremylongshore) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.