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Cost Optimization

MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft

  • Skill
  • Research and analysis
  • Cloud and DevOps
  • MIT
  • No issues found
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From the author

Optimize existing Azure resources and analyze Reservations or Savings Plans. WHEN: "optimize Azure costs", "reduce cloud spending", "rightsize resources", "find idle resources", "orphaned disk", "deleted VM still charged", "public IP still charging", "reservation utilization", "Savings Plan coverage", "commitment recommendation", "why is pay-as-you-go still charged". DO NOT USE FOR: cost spikes, forecasts, pricing estimates, budgets, or governance.
— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The cost-optimization skill provides a systematic approach to reducing Azure cloud spending. It focuses on two primary areas: identifying waste through resource rightsizing and evaluating the efficiency of existing Reservations and Savings Plans. The skill emphasizes data-driven analysis using Azure Resource Graph and cost management tools, requiring users to validate findings before taking action. It strictly prohibits automated resource modifications, ensuring that all recommendations for resizing, deletion, or commitment changes are presented with clear evidence, feasibility assessments, and potential trade-offs.

What it does

  • Analyzes Azure resource utilization to identify potential cost savings.
  • Evaluates the performance and coverage of existing Reservations and Savings Plans.
  • Provides a structured process for rightsizing resources based on factual inventory and usage data.
  • Distinguishes between utilization, coverage, and savings metrics for financial reporting.
  • Integrates with service-specific guidance for storage and caching resources.
  • Ensures that cost-saving actions do not conflict with existing commitments or reliability requirements.

When to use it

  • When you need to identify and eliminate waste in your Azure environment.
  • When investigating why pay-as-you-go costs are higher than expected.
  • When evaluating whether to purchase, exchange, or adjust Azure Reservations or Savings Plans.
  • When looking for orphaned resources like unattached disks or idle public IPs.
  • When you need to rightsize existing virtual machines or services to match actual demand.

Advantages

  • Promotes safe, evidence-based decision-making by requiring owner confirmation.
  • Prevents double-counting savings between rightsizing actions and commitment benefits.
  • Provides clear separation between measured costs and projected savings.
  • Standardizes the analysis of complex billing scopes and commitment terms.
  • Reduces the risk of accidental resource deletion or service disruption.

Usage examples

“How can I reduce my Azure spending for this month?”
The agent will initiate a cost analysis workflow, querying current resource usage and Advisor recommendations to identify high-impact, feasible savings opportunities.
“Are my Azure Reservations being used effectively?”
The agent will analyze your billing scope to report on reservation utilization and coverage, highlighting underutilized commitments for potential adjustment.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/cost-optimization/download

  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip cost-optimization.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Azure Cost Optimization

Quick Reference

IntentWorkflowPrimary tools
Reduce waste or rightsizeOptimizationCost and Resource Graph tools
Review commitmentsCommitmentslist_benefit_utilization, list_reservation_transactions, get_benefit_recommendations

When to Use This Skill

Use for waste, rightsizing, and commitments.

MCP Tools

Use cost and Resource Graph tools for optimization and benefit tools for commitments. Validate queries. Fallback: API mappings.

Workflow

  1. Confirm scope, period, currency, and commitment intent.

  2. Load only the matching workflow above.

  3. Never transform MCP results in a shell or interpreter; request validated server-side projection, aggregation, or bounded follow-up queries.

  4. Separate measured cost, reported savings, and qualitative opportunities.

  5. Recommend changes only; do not delete, resize, purchase, or deploy resources.

Error Handling

ErrorAction
Access deniedName the scope and permission.
Multiple currenciesGroup and report each currency separately.
Missing evidenceState the gap; do not invent values.
Server errorRetry once; then report the trace ID.

Files

references/services/redis.md

Azure Redis Cost Optimization

Use Resource Graph and Azure Advisor to collect authoritative Redis recommendations and configuration evidence.

Scope

Resolve subscription names to subscription scope paths. For cross-subscription requests, process no more than ten accessible subscriptions per batch. Tenant IDs are not Cost Management scopes.

Resource Graph workflow

  1. Query AdvisorResources for Cost recommendations whose resource ID belongs to an Azure Redis resource.

  2. Query Resources for the matching cache configuration, including resource ID, SKU, capacity, location, provisioning state, and ownership tags.

  3. Join recommendations to inventory by resource ID. Preserve the Advisor recommendation text, impact, savings fields, currency, and period.

  4. Use observed utilization metrics only when an Azure Resource Manager MCP (ARM MCP) monitoring operation returns them for the same resource and period.

Do not infer that a cache is idle, oversized, or safe to downgrade from its age, SKU, tags, or configuration alone. If Advisor and metrics provide no recommendation, report the inventory without manufacturing one.

Quantify savings with current cost and live candidate-SKU prices. Do not use generic savings ranges.

Report Templates

Subscription-Level Summary

Quick overview of costs and issues per subscription (use for multi-subscription scans). Include: subscription name/ID, total monthly cost, number of caches, cache count by SKU tier, and top issues found.

Detailed Cache Analysis

Individual cache breakdown with evidence-backed recommendations. Include cache name, resource group, SKU tier, current cost, Advisor evidence, available utilization metrics, and any evidence gaps.

ARM MCP Tools

Use Resource Graph's generate_query, validate_query, and execute_query to inventory cache resources and configuration. Use ARM MCP monitoring operations for utilization metrics when available. If an operation is unavailable, use the Azure Resource Graph, Advisor, or Monitor API mapped in tool fallback. Preserve evidence gaps when the fallback also returns no data.

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
Microsoft
Publisher
Microsoft (Official)
Source
microsoft/skills · .github/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-optimization · commit 0696600
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from .github/plugins/azure-cost/LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft or Microsoft.

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download cost-optimization.zip