Cloud Cost Optimization CLI Tool Documentation

Getting Started

The Auron Cloud Cost Optimization CLI tool is a powerful solution designed to analyze and optimize your AWS infrastructure costs. By scanning your AWS resources and usage patterns, it provides actionable recommendations to reduce costs without compromising performance.

Our CLI tool enables you to:

Identify underutilized resources across your AWS environment
Analyze spending patterns and detect cost anomalies
Receive tailored recommendations for cost optimization
Generate detailed reports for cost management and planning

Key Features

Secure Analysis

Read-only permissions ensure zero risk to your infrastructure while providing comprehensive insights.

Detailed Reporting

Gain actionable insights with multi-format reports covering service-specific cost breakdowns.

Easy Installation

Simple pip install with minimal configuration. Get started in minutes, not hours.

Installation

Prerequisites

Python 3.9 or higher
pip package manager
AWS account with appropriate permissions (detailed below)
AWS CLI configured

Install via pip

pip install cloudcost

Verify Installation

cloudcost --version

Note: If you encounter any issues with the installation, ensure your pip is up to date by running pip install --upgrade pip before trying again.

AWS Permissions Required

To use the CLI tool effectively, you'll need to set up appropriate AWS permissions. The tool requires read-only access to analyze your AWS resources and Cost Explorer data.

Step-by-Step AWS Permission Setup

Create IAM User

Log in to your AWS Management Console
Navigate to IAM service
Click "Users" → "Create user"
Name the user (e.g., "cloud-cost-optimizer")
Under Permission Options, select "Attach policies directly"
Filter by Type: AWS Managed - job function, and select "ReadOnlyAccess" policy name
Click Next and create user
Select the new created user, and go to "Security Credentials" tab, Create Access key by selecting use case: "Command Line Interface (CLI)"
Download the CSV with your credentials or note the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key
Important: Store these credentials securely. You won't be able to view the Secret Access Key again.

Configure AWS Credentials

You can configure credentials using the AWS CLI (recommended) or directly in the tool.

Option 1: Using AWS CLI (Recommended)

aws configure
AWS Access Key ID [None]: YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
AWS Secret Access Key [None]: YOUR_SECRET_KEY
Default region name [None]: us-east-1
Default output format [None]: json

Option 2: Using Environment Variables

# For Linux/MacOS
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=YOUR_SECRET_KEY
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1

# For Windows (Command Prompt)
set AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
set AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=YOUR_SECRET_KEY
set AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1

Important: For security best practices, we recommend creating a dedicated IAM user with minimal permissions for this tool. Never use your AWS root credentials.

Usage Examples

The Auron Cloud Optimizer provides several commands to help you analyze and optimize your AWS costs:

Cost Analysis

cloudcost --profile default --region us-east-1
# Generates a comprehensive cost optimization report

Help Section

cloudcost --help

usage: cloud-cost-test [-h] [--version] [--profile PROFILE] [--region REGION]
options:
  -h, --help         show this help message and exit
  --version          Show the version
  --profile PROFILE  AWS profile to use
  --region REGION    AWS region to analyze

Troubleshooting

Access Denied Errors

If you encounter "Access Denied" errors, check the following:

Verify that your IAM user has all the required permissions listed in the AWS Permissions section
Check if your organization has Service Control Policies (SCPs) that might be restricting access
Ensure Cost Explorer is enabled in your AWS account

No Data in Reports

If your reports contain no data or limited information:

Ensure you have resources in the selected region
Check if AWS CLI credentials configured correctly

Installation Issues

Common installation problems and solutions:

Update pip to the latest version: pip install --upgrade pip
If you're getting dependency conflicts, try installing in a virtual environment
On Windows, you might need to run the command prompt as Administrator

Need Support?

If you need assistance with our CLI tool or want a more comprehensive AWS cost optimization solution, our experts are ready to help.

Get Expert Support