Azure Cost Management Skill

Unified skill for all Azure cost management tasks: querying historical costs, forecasting future spending, and optimizing to reduce waste.

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when user wants to:

Query or analyze Azure costs (how much am I spending, show my bill, cost breakdown)
Break down costs by service, resource, location, or tag
Analyze cost trends over time
Forecast future Azure spending or project end-of-month costs
Optimize Azure costs, reduce spending, or find savings
Find orphaned or unused resources
Rightsize Azure VMs, containers, or services
Generate cost optimization reports

Quick Reference

Property	Value
Query API Endpoint	`POST {scope}/providers/Microsoft.CostManagement/query?api-version=2023-11-01`
Forecast API Endpoint	`POST {scope}/providers/Microsoft.CostManagement/forecast?api-version=2023-11-01`
MCP Tools	`azure__documentation`, `azure__extension_cli_generate`, `azure__get_azure_bestpractices`
CLI	`az rest`, `az monitor metrics list`, `az resource list`
Required Role	Cost Management Reader + Monitoring Reader + Reader on scope

MCP Tools

Tool	Description	Parameters	When to Use
`azure__documentation`	Search Azure documentation	`query` (Required): search terms	Research Cost Management API parameters and options
`azure__extension_cli_generate`	Generate Azure CLI commands	`intent` (Required): task description, `cli-type` (Required): `"az"`	Construct `az rest` commands for cost queries
`azure__get_azure_bestpractices`	Get Azure best practices	`intent` (Required): optimization context	Inform query design with cost management best practices
`azure__extension_azqr`	Run Azure Quick Review compliance scan	`subscription` (Required): subscription ID, `resource-group` (Optional): resource group name	Find orphaned resources and cost optimization opportunities
`azure__aks`	Azure Kubernetes Service operations	varies by sub-command	AKS cost analysis: list clusters, get node pools, inspect configuration

💡 Tip: Prefer MCP tools over direct CLI commands. Use az rest only when MCP tools don't cover the specific operation.

Routing

Read the user's request and follow the appropriate workflow below.

User Intent	Workflow	Example Prompts
Understand current costs	Cost Query Workflow	"how much am I spending", "cost by service", "show my bill"
Reduce costs / find waste	Cost Optimization Workflow	"optimize costs", "find orphaned resources", "reduce spending"
Project future costs	Cost Forecast Workflow	"forecast costs", "end of month estimate", "how much will I spend"
Full cost picture	All three workflows combined	"give me the full picture of my Azure costs"

Important: When optimizing costs, always present the total bill and cost breakdown alongside optimization recommendations.

Scope Reference (Shared Across All Workflows)

Scope	URL Pattern
Subscription	`/subscriptions/<subscription-id>`
Resource Group	`/subscriptions/<subscription-id>/resourceGroups/<resource-group-name>`
Management Group	`/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/<management-group-id>`
Billing Account	`/providers/Microsoft.Billing/billingAccounts/<billing-account-id>`
Billing Profile	`/providers/Microsoft.Billing/billingAccounts/<billing-account-id>/billingProfiles/<billing-profile-id>`

💡 Tip: These are scope paths only — not complete URLs. Combine with the API endpoint and version.

Part 1: Cost Query Workflow

For the full cost query workflow (scope selection, report types, timeframes, dataset configuration, API calls, pagination, guardrails, examples, and error handling), see:

📄 Cost Query Workflow

Part 2: Cost Optimization Workflow

For the full cost optimization workflow (prerequisites, best practices, Redis/AKS-specific analysis, Azure Quick Review, resource discovery, cost queries, pricing validation, utilization metrics, and report generation), see:

📄 Cost Optimization Workflow

Part 3: Cost Forecast Workflow

For the full cost forecast workflow (scope selection, time period rules, dataset configuration, forecast-specific options, API calls, response interpretation, guardrails, and error handling), see:

📄 Cost Forecast Workflow

Data Classification

ACTUAL DATA = Retrieved from Azure Cost Management API
ACTUAL METRICS = Retrieved from Azure Monitor
VALIDATED PRICING = Retrieved from official Azure pricing pages
ESTIMATED SAVINGS = Calculated based on actual data and validated pricing

Best Practices

Always query actual costs first — never estimate or assume
Always present the total bill alongside optimization recommendations
Validate pricing from official sources — account for free tiers
Use REST API for cost queries (more reliable than az costmanagement query)
Save audit trail — include all queries and responses
Include Azure Portal links for all resources
For costs < $10/month, emphasize operational improvements over financial savings
Never execute destructive operations without explicit approval

Common Pitfalls

Assuming costs: Always query actual data from Cost Management API
Ignoring free tiers: Many services have generous allowances
Using wrong date ranges: 30 days for costs, 14 days for utilization
Not showing the bill: Always present cost breakdown alongside optimization recommendations
Cost query failures: Use az rest with JSON body, not az costmanagement query

Safety Requirements

Get approval before deleting resources
Test changes in non-production first
Provide dry-run commands for validation
Include rollback procedures

SDK Quick References

Redis Management: .NET

azure-cost