| name | azure-cost-optimization |
| description | **ANALYSIS SKILL** — Identify cost savings across Azure subscriptions via cost + utilization analysis. WHEN: "optimize Azure costs", "reduce Azure spending", "find cost savings", "rightsize VMs", "find orphaned resources", "optimize Redis costs". DO NOT USE FOR: deploying (azure-deploy), general diagnostics (azure-diagnostics), security issues (azure-compliance). |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"author":"Microsoft","version":"1.0.0"} |
Azure Cost Optimization Skill
Analyze Azure subscriptions to identify cost savings through orphaned resource cleanup, rightsizing, and optimization recommendations based on actual usage data.
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when the user asks to:
- Optimize Azure costs or reduce spending
- Analyze Azure subscription for cost savings
- Generate cost optimization report
- Find orphaned or unused resources
- Rightsize Azure VMs, containers, or services
- Identify where they're overspending in Azure
- Optimize Redis costs specifically - See Azure Redis Cost Optimization for Redis-specific analysis
Rules
- Read-only analysis first — never delete or modify resources during the assessment phase; remediation is a separate user-approved step
- Validate prerequisites before starting (Azure CLI authenticated,
costmanagement + resource-graph extensions, azqr installed, Cost Management Reader + Monitoring Reader + Reader roles)
- Use real data — recommendations must be grounded in actual cost queries and utilization metrics, not assumptions
- Cite sources — every savings estimate must reference the underlying cost query or pricing API result (audit trail in
output/cost-query-result<timestamp>.json)
- Classify safely — mark recommendations as Safe / Review / Risky; never auto-apply destructive operations
- Redis-specific scope — when the user asks about Redis only, follow Azure Redis Cost Optimization instead of the general subscription workflow
- Save artifacts to
output/costoptimizereport<timestamp>.md and the audit trail JSON
- Out of scope: deploying resources (use
azure-deploy), security issues (use azure-compliance), general diagnostics (use azure-diagnostics)
Instructions
High-level step list (full procedure in
references/workflow-steps.md):
Branching rule: when the user mentions Redis, Azure Cache for Redis, or Azure Managed
Redis, follow the Redis-specific path (Steps 1.5 → 1.6 → Redis-only analysis) instead of
the general subscription workflow.
Output
The skill generates:
-
Cost Optimization Report (output/costoptimizereport<timestamp>.md)
- Executive summary with total costs and top drivers
- Detailed cost breakdown with Azure Portal links
- Prioritized recommendations with actual data and estimated savings
- Implementation commands with safety warnings
-
Cost Query Results (output/cost-query-result<timestamp>.json)
- Audit trail of all cost queries and responses
- Validation evidence for recommendations
Important Notes
📋 Reference: Read references/best-practices-notes.md for data classification labels, best practices, common pitfalls, and safety requirements.
SDK Quick References
Reference Index
Load these on demand — do NOT read all at once:
| Reference | When to Load |
|---|
references/auth-best-practices.md | Auth Best Practices |
references/azure-quick-review.md | Azure Quick Review |
references/azure-redis.md | Azure Redis |
references/azure-resource-graph.md | Azure Resource Graph |
references/workflow-steps.md | Steps 0–3: prerequisites, best practices, azqr, resource discovery |
references/detailed-workflow-steps.md | Steps 4-9: cost queries, pricing, metrics, report, audit, cleanup |
references/best-practices-notes.md | Data classification, best practices, pitfalls, safety |
