Cost Optimization
thomast1906/github-copilot-agent-skills
Analyze Azure architectures for cost optimization opportunities, provide savings recommendations, and calculate ROI for improvements.
Analyze actual Azure spend, bill changes, and AKS or AI costs.
Install Cost Analysis
$ npx skills add microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure cost-analysis --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/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis .claude/skills/cost-analysis && 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 "cost-analysis" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure/tree/main/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis into .claude/skills/cost-analysis/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "cost-analysis", 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/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure/tree/main/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysisType 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 microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure cost-analysis --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis .agents/skills/cost-analysis && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "cost-analysis" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure/tree/main/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis into .agents/skills/cost-analysis/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "cost-analysis", 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 microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure cost-analysis --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis .cursor/skills/cost-analysis && 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 "cost-analysis" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure/tree/main/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis into .cursor/skills/cost-analysis/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "cost-analysis", 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/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure.git --path plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis--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 microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure cost-analysis --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis .gemini/skills/cost-analysis && 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 "cost-analysis" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure/tree/main/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis into .gemini/skills/cost-analysis/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "cost-analysis", 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 microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure cost-analysisInstalls 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 microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis .github/skills/cost-analysis && 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 "cost-analysis" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure/tree/main/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis into .github/skills/cost-analysis/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "cost-analysis", 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 microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure cost-analysis --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis .opencode/skills/cost-analysis && 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 "cost-analysis" agent skill from https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure/tree/main/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis into .opencode/skills/cost-analysis/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "cost-analysis", 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.
Facts
- Skill name
cost-analysis- GitHub stars
- 255
- Token cost
- ~489 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 159 words
- Files
- 14 (incl. references)
- Skills in repo
- 56
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Analyze actual Azure spend, bill changes, and AKS or AI costs.
- Works in 5 steps: Confirm scope, period, currency, and… → Load only the matching workflow above. → Never transform MCP results in a shell… → …
- Pricing estimates
- SKILL.md covers Quick Reference, When to Use This Skill, MCP Tools and Workflow, plus 1 more section
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Cost Analysis is an agent skill from microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Analyze actual Azure spend, bill changes, and AKS or AI costs. WHEN: "Azure cost breakdown", "most expensive resources", "why did my bill increase", "cost spike", "unexpected charge", "Cosmos DB charges", "Foundry model costs", "AKS cluster cost", "namespace cost", "enable AKS cost analysis", "idle AKS capacity". DO NOT USE FOR: forecasts, pricing estimates, rightsizing, commitments, or budgets.
Its SKILL.md is about 490 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 15 other files, including reference files (for example `references/ai-cost-analysis.md`, `references/aks-anomaly.md` and `references/aks-cost-analysis.md`).
It sits in DevOps & Cloud, covering Cloud cost optimization. It works with Microsoft Azure, Azure Kubernetes Service and Azure Cosmos DB. The repository describes itself as: GitHub Copilot for Azure. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Pricing estimates
- Tasks that involve Cloud cost optimization
Example prompts
- “Azure cost breakdown”
- “most expensive resources”
- “why did my bill increase”
- “/cost-analysis”
Workflow steps
5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- Confirm scope, period, currency, and breakdown.
- Load only the matching workflow above.
- Never transform MCP results in a shell or interpreter; request tool-side
- Respect row limits and label incomplete data.
- Separate measured cost from inferred causes and recommendations.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit d8f4f4e. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
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.
Runs code
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.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Cost Analysis loads about 489 tokens when it runs, and up to ~6k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 103 tokens; SKILL.md has 159 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.
Safety
Auto-check passed
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.
SKILL.md
The full file from microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure at commit d8f4f4e, republished under its MIT licence (© microsoft). 159 words, ~489 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/cost-analysis/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 13 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.- name
- cost-analysis
- description
- Analyze actual Azure spend, bill changes, and AKS or AI costs. WHEN: "Azure cost breakdown", "most expensive resources", "why did my bill increase", "cost spike", "unexpected charge", "Cosmos DB charges", "Foundry model costs", "AKS cluster cost", "namespace cost", "enable AKS cost analysis", "idle AKS capacity". DO NOT USE FOR: forecasts, pricing estimates, rightsizing, commitments, or budgets.
- license
- MIT
- metadata.author
- Microsoft
- metadata.version
- 0.0.0-placeholder
Azure Cost Analysis
Quick Reference
| Intent | Workflow | Primary tools |
|---|---|---|
| Query historical spend | Cost query | query_costs |
| Explain a spike | Cost investigation | query_costs, Resource Graph |
| Analyze AKS spend | AKS cost analysis | query_aks_costs, Resource Graph |
| Analyze AI service spend | AI cost analysis | query_costs |
When to Use This Skill
Use for spend, anomalies, and AKS or AI allocation.
MCP Tools
Use cost tools and Resource Graph first. If an operation is unavailable, follow fallback and safety.
Workflow
- Confirm scope, period, currency, and breakdown.
- Load only the matching workflow above.
- Never transform MCP results in a shell or interpreter; request tool-side totals, grouping, sorting, or bounded follow-up queries.
- Respect row limits and label incomplete data.
- Separate measured cost from inferred causes and recommendations.
Error Handling
| Error | Action |
|---|---|
| Access denied | Name the required scope and role. |
| Empty result | Distinguish no data from unavailable data. |
| Multiple currencies | Report each currency separately. |
| Server error | Retry once; then stop with the trace ID. |
© microsoft, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
SKILL.md and 13 other files (references) in plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis of microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure.
- SKILL.md
- references/ai-cost-analysis.md
- references/aks-anomaly.md
- references/aks-cost-analysis.md
- references/aks-enablement.md
- references/cost-investigation.md
- references/cost-query/dimensions-by-scope.md
- references/cost-query/error-handling.md
- references/cost-query/examples.md
- references/cost-query/guardrails.md
- references/cost-query/request-body-schema.md
- references/cost-query/workflow.md
- references/tools-and-safety.md
- version.json
Open the folder on GitHubat commit d8f4f4e
Used in 2 other repositories
We found 2 copies of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders. This page covers the copy in microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.
Compare with similar skills
Cost Analysis 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Analysis this skillmicrosoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure | 255 | — | ~489 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Cost Optimizationthomast1906/github-copilot-agent-skills | 202 | — | ~2.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Azure ArchitectFerroxLabs/wayland | 608 | — | ~4.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Cloud Cost Optimizationwshobson/agents | 40k | 13 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 |
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Categories
Questions about Cost Analysis
What does Cost Analysis do?
Analyze actual Azure spend, bill changes, and AKS or AI costs. Cost Analysis is an agent skill from microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Analyze actual Azure spend, bill changes, and AKS or AI costs.
When should I use Cost Analysis?
Cost Analysis fits situations like: pricing estimates; tasks that involve Cloud cost optimization.
How do I install Cost Analysis in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis in microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure) into .claude/skills/cost-analysis in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Cost Analysis in Codex?
Run `npx skills add microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-analysis in microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure) into .agents/skills/cost-analysis in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Cost Analysis in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure --skill cost-analysis -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/cost-analysis, .gemini/skills/cost-analysis, .github/skills/cost-analysis and .opencode/skills/cost-analysis in your project.
What does Cost Analysis need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Cost Analysis is instructions for the agent only.
Does Cost Analysis access the network?
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.
Is Cost Analysis safe to install?
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.
What licence does Cost Analysis use?
Cost Analysis is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Cost Analysis use?
About 489 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2k 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 5.5k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.
What are the alternatives to Cost Analysis?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Cost Analysis: Cost Optimization (thomast1906/github-copilot-agent-skills, 202 stars), Azure Architect (FerroxLabs/wayland, 608 stars), Cloud Cost Optimization (wshobson/agents, 40k stars) and Spotinfo (alexei-led/spotinfo, 164 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Cost Analysis?
microsoft (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure, which has 255 GitHub stars. The repository holds 56 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.
Source: microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.