configuring-auto-scaling-policies

name	configuring-auto-scaling-policies
description	Configure use when you need to work with auto-scaling. This skill provides auto-scaling configuration with comprehensive guidance and automation. Trigger with phrases like "configure auto-scaling", "set up elastic scaling", or "implement scaling".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash(cmd:*)
version	1.25.0
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
license	MIT
tags	["devops","scaling","auto-scaling"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code

Configuring Auto-Scaling Policies

Overview

Configure auto-scaling policies for cloud workloads across AWS Auto Scaling Groups, GCP Managed Instance Groups, Azure VMSS, and Kubernetes Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA). Generate scaling configurations based on CPU, memory, request rate, or custom metrics with appropriate thresholds, cooldown periods, and scale-in protection.

Prerequisites

• Cloud provider CLI installed and authenticated (aws, gcloud, or az)
• For Kubernetes HPA: kubectl configured with cluster access and metrics-server deployed
• Baseline performance data for the target workload (average CPU, memory, request rate)
• Understanding of traffic patterns (steady, bursty, scheduled)
• IAM permissions to create/modify scaling policies and CloudWatch/Stackdriver alarms

Instructions

1. Identify the scaling target: EC2 Auto Scaling Group, GCP MIG, Azure VMSS, or Kubernetes Deployment
2. Analyze current workload metrics to establish baseline utilization and peak patterns
3. Define scaling boundaries: minimum instances/pods, maximum instances/pods, desired count
4. Select scaling metric(s): CPU utilization, memory, request count, queue depth, or custom metrics
5. Set target thresholds: scale-out trigger (e.g., CPU > 70%), scale-in trigger (e.g., CPU < 30%)
6. Configure cooldown periods to prevent flapping (typically 300s scale-out, 600s scale-in)
7. Add scale-in protection for stateful workloads or leader nodes if needed
8. Generate the scaling policy configuration in the appropriate format (Terraform, YAML, or CLI commands)
9. Validate by simulating load and confirming scaling events fire correctly

Output

• Terraform HCL for AWS ASG scaling policies with CloudWatch alarms
• Kubernetes HPA manifests (YAML) with resource or custom metric targets
• GCP autoscaler configurations for Managed Instance Groups
• Scaling policy JSON/YAML for Azure VMSS
• CloudWatch or Stackdriver alarm definitions tied to scaling actions

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
No scaling activity despite high load	Metric not reaching threshold or cooldown active	Verify metric source in CloudWatch/Stackdriver; check cooldown timer with describe-scaling-activities