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:
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:
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:
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) - Always include the
ClientType: GitHubCopilotForAzureheader on all Cost Management API requests (--headers "ClientType=GitHubCopilotForAzure"inaz rest) - 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
- On 429 responses, check all
x-ms-ratelimit-microsoft.costmanagement-*-retry-afterheaders (qpu-retry-after,entity-retry-after,tenant-retry-after), wait for the longest value, and do not retry until that duration has elapsed. The per-scope limit (4 requests/minute) is the most restrictive.
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 restwith JSON body, notaz 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