Azure Cost Optimization
aiskillstore/marketplace
Identify and quantify cost savings across Azure subscriptions by analyzing actual costs, utilization metrics, and generating actionable optimization recommendations.
ANALYSIS SKILL — Query, forecast and optimize Azure costs via cost + utilization analysis.
$ npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install jonathan-vella/apex apex-azure-cost-optimization --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization .claude/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "apex-azure-cost-optimization" agent skill from https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex/tree/main/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization into .claude/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "apex-azure-cost-optimization", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex/tree/main/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimizationType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install jonathan-vella/apex apex-azure-cost-optimization --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization .agents/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "apex-azure-cost-optimization" agent skill from https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex/tree/main/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization into .agents/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "apex-azure-cost-optimization", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install jonathan-vella/apex apex-azure-cost-optimization --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization .cursor/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "apex-azure-cost-optimization" agent skill from https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex/tree/main/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization into .cursor/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "apex-azure-cost-optimization", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex.git --path .github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install jonathan-vella/apex apex-azure-cost-optimization --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization .gemini/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "apex-azure-cost-optimization" agent skill from https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex/tree/main/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization into .gemini/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "apex-azure-cost-optimization", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install jonathan-vella/apex apex-azure-cost-optimizationInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization .github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "apex-azure-cost-optimization" agent skill from https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex/tree/main/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization into .github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "apex-azure-cost-optimization", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install jonathan-vella/apex apex-azure-cost-optimization --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization .opencode/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "apex-azure-cost-optimization" agent skill from https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex/tree/main/.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization into .opencode/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "apex-azure-cost-optimization", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
apex-azure-cost-optimizationANALYSIS SKILL — Query, forecast and optimize Azure costs via cost + utilization analysis.
Apex Azure Cost Optimization is an agent skill from jonathan-vella/apex. ANALYSIS SKILL — Query, forecast and optimize Azure costs via cost + utilization analysis. WHEN: "optimize Azure costs", "find cost savings", "what did we spend", "cost forecast", "rightsize VMs", "find orphaned resources", "optimize Redis costs". DO NOT USE FOR: deploying (apex-azure-deploy), general diagnostics (apex-azure-diagnostics), security issues (apex-azure-compliance).
Its SKILL.md is about 2.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 27 other files, including reference files (for example `references/azure-quick-review.md`, `references/azure-redis.md` and `references/azure-resource-graph.md`).
It sits in DevOps & Cloud, covering Cloud cost optimization. It works with Microsoft Azure and Redis. The repository describes itself as: APEX turns Azure platform engineering requirements into verified, deploy-ready IaC — powered by GitHub Copilot agents, real-time pricing, and built-in compliance. The licence is MIT.
2 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit b8e5908. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Apex Azure Cost Optimization loads about 2.1k tokens when it runs, and up to ~15k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 104 tokens; SKILL.md has 609 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
The full file from jonathan-vella/apex at commit b8e5908, republished under its MIT licence (© jonathan-vella). 609 words, ~2,079 tokens.
.claude/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 24 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.Analyze Azure subscriptions to identify cost savings through orphaned resource cleanup, rightsizing, and optimization recommendations based on actual usage data.
| User intent | Workflow |
|---|---|
| Understand current or historical cost | Cost query (query_costs) |
| Reduce costs or find waste | Instructions below |
| Project future cost | Cost forecast (forecast_costs) |
/subscriptions/<id>/subscriptions/<id>/resourceGroups/<name>/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/<id>/providers/Microsoft.Billing/billingAccounts/<id>Use this skill when the user asks to:
costmanagement + resource-graph extensions, azqr installed, Cost Management Reader + Monitoring Reader + Reader roles)agent-output/{project}/cost-query-result<timestamp>.json)agent-output/{project}/costoptimizereport<timestamp>.md and the audit trail JSON; without a project, ask for its name before writingapex-azure-deploy), security issues (use apex-azure-compliance), general diagnostics (use apex-azure-diagnostics)High-level step list (full procedure in
references/workflow-steps.md):
| # | Step | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Validate prerequisites (Azure CLI, costmanagement + resource-graph extensions, azqr, RBAC) | workflow-steps.md |
| 1 | Load Azure cost-optimization best practices via mcp_azure-mcp_get_azure_bestpractices | workflow-steps.md |
| 1.5 | (Conditional) Redis-specific analysis branch | azure-redis.md |
| 1.6 | (Redis branch) Choose analysis scope (subscription / prefix / tenant-wide) | azure-redis.md |
| 2 | Run Azure Quick Review (extension_azqr) for orphaned-resource discovery | azure-quick-review.md |
| 3 | Discover resources cross-subscription via Azure Resource Graph | azure-resource-graph.md |
| 4–9 | Cost queries, pricing validation, metrics, report, audit trail, cleanup | detailed-workflow-steps.md |
Branching rule: use Redis-only analysis only for an explicitly Redis-only request. Mixed-service or subscription-wide requests retain the general workflow and add Redis analysis for those resources. An ambiguous Redis mention never narrows scope; clarify intent while preserving all requested services.
The skill generates:
Cost Optimization Report (agent-output/{project}/costoptimizereport<timestamp>.md)
Cost Query Results (agent-output/{project}/cost-query-result<timestamp>.json)
📋 Reference: Read references/best-practices-notes.md for data classification labels, best practices, common pitfalls, and safety requirements.
Load these on demand — do NOT read all at once:
| Reference | When to Load |
|---|---|
../apex-entra-app-registration/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 |
references/cost-query/workflow.md | Cost breakdowns, trends and totals; query_costs limits and errors |
references/cost-forecast/workflow.md | Forecasts; forecast_costs period and row limits |
references/tools-and-safety.md | ARM MCP fallback APIs, evidence labels and approval rules |
references/azure-storage-tiers.md | Storage access tiers, lifecycle tiering and review signals |
© jonathan-vella, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
SKILL.md and 24 other files (references) in .github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization of jonathan-vella/apex.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit b8e5908
Apex Azure Cost Optimization next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex Azure Cost Optimization this skilljonathan-vella/apex | 217 | — | ~2.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Azure Cost Optimizationaiskillstore/marketplace | 433 | — | ~3.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Cloud Cost Optimizationwshobson/agents | 40k | 14 repos | ~1.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Spotinfoalexei-led/spotinfo | 164 | — | ~1.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| FrugalyuanboP/frugal | 198 | — | ~2.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Cloud ArchitectJeffallan/claude-skills | 12k | — | ~1.9k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
aiskillstore/marketplace
Identify and quantify cost savings across Azure subscriptions by analyzing actual costs, utilization metrics, and generating actionable optimization recommendations.
wshobson/agents
Cuts cloud spend across AWS, Azure, GCP and OCI with cost tagging, rightsizing, commitment and spot pricing models, and architecture changes.
alexei-led/spotinfo
Query Spot/preemptible VM prices, savings and interruption risk across AWS, GCP and Azure with the spotinfo CLI.
yuanboP/frugal
Cloud cost awareness for agents. An agent skill from yuanboP/frugal.
Jeffallan/claude-skills
Designs cloud architectures, migration plans, cost optimization recommendations and disaster recovery strategies across AWS, Azure and GCP.
davila7/claude-code-templates
Expert cloud architect specializing in AWS/Azure/GCP multi-cloud infrastructure design, advanced IaC (Terraform/OpenTofu/CDK), FinOps cost optimization, and modern architectural patterns.
jonathan-vella/apex
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jonathan-vella/apex
ANALYSIS SKILL — Azure Policy discovery: effective assignments (incl.
jonathan-vella/apex
UTILITY SKILL — Two-mode context-window management. An agent skill from jonathan-vella/apex.
jonathan-vella/apex
UTILITY SKILL — Python diagram generation for Azure architectures, WAF/cost/compliance charts, ERDs, swimlanes, timelines, and wireframes.
jonathan-vella/apex
WORKFLOW SKILL — Manual-only discovery and import of existing Azure resources into Terraform management.
jonathan-vella/apex
ANALYSIS SKILL — Manual-only audit of Anthropic Claude Opus 5.5 / Sonnet 5.5 and OpenAI GPT-6 / GPT-5.6 prompting guidance and APEX conventions.
Works with
Categories
ANALYSIS SKILL — Query, forecast and optimize Azure costs via cost + utilization analysis. Apex Azure Cost Optimization is an agent skill from jonathan-vella/apex. ANALYSIS SKILL — Query, forecast and optimize Azure costs via cost + utilization analysis.
Apex Azure Cost Optimization fits situations like: : deploying (apex-azure-deploy); general diagnostics (apex-azure-diagnostics); security issues (apex-azure-compliance).
Run `npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization in jonathan-vella/apex) into .claude/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
Run `npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization in jonathan-vella/apex) into .agents/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-cost-optimization -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization, .gemini/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization, .github/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization and .opencode/skills/apex-azure-cost-optimization in your project.
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Apex Azure Cost Optimization is instructions for the agent only.
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
Apex Azure Cost Optimization is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
About 2.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 12k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Apex Azure Cost Optimization: Azure Cost Optimization (aiskillstore/marketplace, 433 stars), Cloud Cost Optimization (wshobson/agents, 40k stars), Spotinfo (alexei-led/spotinfo, 164 stars) and Frugal (yuanboP/frugal, 198 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
jonathan-vella (a GitHub user) maintains it in jonathan-vella/apex, which has 217 GitHub stars. The repository holds 39 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 10, 2026.
Source: jonathan-vella/apex on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.