cost-estimation
Forecast Azure spend and price planned resources or workloads. WHEN: \"forecast Azure spending\", \"project next month cost\", \"compare forecast to my planning target\", \"how much will Azure cost\", \"estimate VM cost\", \"compare storage tiers\", \"compare Azure regions\", \"retail price\", \"EA…
Install / Use
npx skills add microsoft/skills --skill cost-estimationInstalls into whichever agent you are using.
SKILL.md
Installable skill definition
Quality Score
Category
MarketingSupported Platforms
Our assessment of cost-estimation
cost-estimation scores 75/100 on our quality scale, 327th of 373 Marketing skills we index.
Its SKILL.md is 1.9 KB long, split into 6 sections and no code examples: moderately detailed.
With 3,051 GitHub stars, it is one of the more widely adopted skills in the catalogue.
Maintenance, license and trust
- The repository was last updated 5 days ago, so cost-estimation is actively maintained.
- It is released under the MIT license, a permissive license that allows use, modification and commercial use with attribution.
- Its trust signals score 100/100, with no cautions. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit — read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.
cost-estimation compared with similar skills
All 4 of these similar skills score higher than cost-estimation; compare them before choosing.
| Skill | Score | Stars | Updated | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cost-estimation (this skill)by microsoft | 75 | 3.1k | 5d ago | SKILL.md |
| algorithmic-artby anthropics | 100 | 177.9k | 6d ago | SKILL.md |
| pptxby anthropics | 100 | 177.9k | 6d ago | SKILL.md |
| designby nextlevelbuilder | 100 | 130.2k | 7d ago | SKILL.md |
| ui-ux-pro-maxby nextlevelbuilder | 100 | 130.2k | 7d ago | SKILL.md |
Frequently asked questions
- How do I install cost-estimation?
- Run
npx skills add microsoft/skills --skill cost-estimation. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent. - Which AI agents does cost-estimation work with?
- It is written for Universal, as a SKILL.md file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
- Is cost-estimation safe to use?
- It is MIT-licensed and scores 100/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
- Is cost-estimation still maintained?
- The repository was last updated 5 days ago, so cost-estimation is actively maintained.
Skill content
View source on GitHubname: cost-estimation description: "Forecast Azure spend and price planned resources or workloads. WHEN: "forecast Azure spending", "project next month cost", "compare forecast to my planning target", "how much will Azure cost", "estimate VM cost", "compare storage tiers", "compare Azure regions", "retail price", "EA rate card", "negotiated pricesheet". DO NOT USE FOR: configured budget health or alerts, bill analysis, cost spikes, rightsizing, or commitments." license: MIT metadata: author: Microsoft version: "1.1.1"
Azure Cost Estimation
Quick Reference
| Intent | Workflow | Primary tools |
|--------|----------|---------------|
| Forecast existing spend | Cost forecast | forecast_costs |
| Price planned resources | Pricing estimate | Pricing tools |
When to Use This Skill
Use for forecasts, pricing, and planning targets.
MCP Tools
| Tool | Use |
|------|-----|
| forecast_costs | Forecast a scope. |
| get_retail_prices | Get public prices. |
| start_pricesheet_download, get_pricesheet_status | Get Enterprise Agreement (EA) or Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) prices. |
Fallback: API mappings.
Workflow
- Distinguish forecasts from hypothetical pricing.
- Confirm scope, assumptions, period, region, OS, and currency.
- Load the matching workflow and label every value type.
- Never transform MCP results in a shell or interpreter; request tool-side filtering or bounded follow-up queries.
Error Handling
| Error | Action | |-------|--------| | Ambiguous meter | Ask for OS, term, tier, or usage. | | Forecast unavailable | Explain the history requirement. | | Pricesheet pending | Honor the returned polling interval. | | Multiple currencies | Never combine currencies. | | Server error | Retry once; then report the trace ID. |
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Languages
Trust signals
From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit — see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.