Cost Optimization

by microsoft354361d83247MITListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026

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.

FeaturedInstructions onlyDevOps & Cloud Business & Finance

AI-generated overview

Analyzes Azure resources to find waste and review Reservations or Savings Plans, recommending cost optimizations.

What it does: Guides an agent through Azure cost optimization workflows: reducing waste and rightsizing resources, and reviewing commitment utilization and recommendations. It relies on cost, Resource Graph, and benefit tools, and produces recommendations only, separating measured cost, reported savings, and qualitative opportunities. It does not delete, resize, purchase, or deploy resources.
When to use it: Use when asked to optimize Azure costs, reduce cloud spending, rightsize resources, find idle or orphaned resources, or investigate charges from deleted VMs or unused public IPs. Also use for reservation utilization, Savings Plan coverage, and commitment recommendations. It is not intended for cost spikes, forecasts, pricing estimates, budgets, or governance.
Requirements: Requires access to Azure cost, Resource Graph, and benefit MCP tools with appropriate permissions; no scripts are shipped, only reference documents.

Azure Cost Optimization

Quick Reference

Intent	Workflow	Primary tools
Reduce waste or rightsize	Optimization [blocked]	Cost and Resource Graph tools
Review commitments	Commitments [blocked]	`list_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 [blocked].

Workflow

Confirm scope, period, currency, and commitment intent.
Load only the matching workflow above.
Never transform MCP results in a shell or interpreter; request validated server-side projection, aggregation, or bounded follow-up queries.
Separate measured cost, reported savings, and qualitative opportunities.
Recommend changes only; do not delete, resize, purchase, or deploy resources.

Error Handling

Error	Action
Access denied	Name the scope and permission.
Multiple currencies	Group and report each currency separately.
Missing evidence	State the gap; do not invent values.
Server error	Retry once; then report the trace ID.

Source and attribution

Source:microsoft/skillsin.github/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-optimizationat commit354361d

License: MIT

Content belongs to its original authors. SourceWeft indexes it from a public repository.

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Cost Optimization

Azure Cost Optimization

Quick Reference

When to Use This Skill

MCP Tools

Workflow

Error Handling

Source and attribution

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