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Multi-CloudPowerShellPythonCost Optimization

Multi-Cloud Dev/Test Cost Chef: Comprehensive Audit Suite

Hunt down cost optimization opportunities across AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI dev/test environments

Tool Type: Script Collection | Cloud Providers: AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI | Difficulty: Intermediate
Blaze
Blaze says:Start with your biggest cloud provider first and focus on oversized VMs and orphaned disks -- those two categories alone usually account for 60%+ of the savings you'll find in dev/test.

Multi-cloud audit quick start

Structured quick-reference sections for prerequisites, installation, usage, and troubleshooting.

Multi-cloud prerequisites

  • PowerShell modules for Azure/AWS/GCP script execution (Az.*, AWS.Tools.*, GoogleCloud as needed)
  • Python 3.x plus OCI dependencies (`oci`, `pandas`, `jinja2`, `matplotlib`) for OCI audits
  • Read-only cloud permissions to enumerate resources, tags/labels, and cost-impact metadata
  • Standardized output directory for CSV + HTML reports across providers
CloudAuth patternMinimum access
AzureAzure PowerShell / Az contextReader + metadata/tag visibility
AWSAWS CLI / AWS.Tools profileRead-only IAM for EC2/RDS/network/storage inventory
GCPgcloud / GoogleCloud module authViewer access to projects/resources
OCIOCI config / API keyRead permissions on target compartments

Standard rollout path

  1. 1Start with the provider where your dev/test spend is highest.
  2. 2Run one audit per cloud and normalize the CSV/HTML outputs into a shared review folder.
  3. 3Prioritize oversized compute, orphaned storage, and missing automation tags first.
  4. 4Share findings with app/platform owners before enabling remediation automation.
PowerShell (Azure)
.\\Azure-DevTest-CostChef.ps1 -OutputPath "C:\\Reports"
PowerShell (AWS)
.\\AWS-DevTest-CostChef.ps1 -Region "us-west-2" -OutputPath "C:\\Reports"
PowerShell (GCP)
.\\GCP-DevTest-CostChef.ps1 -Project "my-dev-project" -OutputPath "C:\\Reports"
Python (OCI)
python OCI-DevTest-CostChef.py --output-path ./reports --compartments "ocid1.compartment..."

What the suite is designed to find

CategoryTypical savings patternExpected impact
Oversized resourcesRight-sizing VMs / DBs / compute30-50% on targeted resources
Zombie resourcesOrphaned disks, IPs, empty load balancersUp to 100% on removed assets
Missing automationNo shutdown/scheduling in non-prod40-70% depending runtime windows
Premium featuresUnneeded tiers/SKUs in dev/test20-40% on tier downgrades

Report output usage

OutputAudienceUse case
CSVFinOps / analystsSorting, trend analysis, dashboards
HTML reportEngineering / leadershipReview sessions and action plans
  • Use a shared naming convention per provider so multi-cloud comparisons are easier month over month.

Operational rollout guidance

  • For large environments, scope by project/account/subscription first to reduce runtime and validate permissions.
  • Integrate recurring scans into CI/CD or scheduled tasks before enabling remediation automation.
  • Track findings by category to show progress (oversized, zombie, automation gaps, premium tiers).

Read-only first

Use this suite for audit/reporting first. Validate false positives and ownership before automating any cleanup actions.

What This Recipe Cooks Up

This CloudCostChefs audit suite is your complete multi-cloud cost detective for dev/test environments. It hunts down resources across AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI that are oversized, using premium features, missing automation, or simply forgotten and abandoned.

Perfect for FinOps teams managing multi-cloud environments who need to identify 20-60% cost savings opportunities in non-production workloads. Get both CSV data and beautiful CloudCostChefs-styled HTML reports for each cloud provider.

What You'll Discover

  • Premium SKUs and tiers in dev/test environments
  • Oversized VMs and compute instances
  • Resources missing automation tags and scheduling
  • Orphaned storage volumes and disks
  • Unused network resources (IPs, load balancers)
  • Permissive security configurations

Perfect For

  • FinOps teams managing multi-cloud environments
  • Cloud architects standardizing optimization practices
  • DevOps engineers implementing automation
  • Finance teams tracking non-prod spending
  • Organizations with large cloud footprints
  • Teams preparing for cost optimization initiatives

Multi-Cloud Coverage

Azure

  • PaaS Premium SKUs - App Services, SQL Databases, Redis
  • VMs Missing Auto-Tags - No stop/start automation
  • Oversized VMs - Large VM sizes for dev/test
  • Orphaned Disks - Unattached managed disks
  • Missing Expiration Tags - No cleanup automation
  • Unused Public IPs - Static IPs not attached
  • Permissive Security Groups - Overly broad access

AWS

  • RDS Production Sizes - Large database instances
  • EC2 Missing Tags - No scheduling automation
  • Oversized EC2 Instances - Large types for dev/test
  • Unattached EBS Volumes - Orphaned storage
  • Unused Elastic IPs - Static IPs without assignments
  • Premium ElastiCache - High-performance cache
  • Empty Load Balancers - ALBs/NLBs with no targets
  • Permissive Security Groups - 0.0.0.0/0 access

GCP

  • Cloud SQL Production Sizes - Large database tiers
  • Missing Automation Labels - No scheduling
  • Oversized Compute Instances - Large machine types
  • Unattached Persistent Disks - Orphaned storage
  • Unused Static IPs - Reserved IPs without use
  • Premium Memorystore - High-availability cache
  • Empty Load Balancers - No backends configured
  • Permissive Firewall Rules - Broad internet access

OCI

  • Database Production Shapes - Large DB instances
  • Missing Automation Tags - No scheduling
  • Oversized Compute Instances - Large shapes
  • Unattached Block Volumes - Orphaned storage
  • Unused Public IPs - Reserved IPs without use
  • Empty Load Balancers - No backends configured
  • Permissive Security Lists - Broad access rules

Prerequisites & Setup

Azure & AWS Requirements

# Install required PowerShell modules
Install-Module -Name Az.Accounts -Force
Install-Module -Name Az.Resources -Force
Install-Module -Name AWS.Tools.Common -Force
Install-Module -Name AWS.Tools.EC2 -Force
Install-Module -Name AWS.Tools.RDS -Force

Permissions: Read-only access to resources, tags, and cost data

GCP & OCI Requirements

# GCP PowerShell setup
Install-Module -Name GoogleCloud -Force
# OCI Python requirements
pip install oci pandas jinja2 matplotlib

Permissions: Viewer role for GCP, Read permissions for OCI

Usage Examples

Azure Usage

# Run Azure audit with default settings
.\Azure-DevTest-CostChef.ps1 -OutputPath"C:\Reports"

Scans your current Azure subscription for dev/test resources and saves reports to specified directory.

AWS Usage

# Run AWS audit for specific region
.\AWS-DevTest-CostChef.ps1 -Region"us-west-2" -OutputPath"C:\Reports"

Audits AWS resources in the specified region and generates detailed reports.

GCP Usage

# Run GCP audit for specific project
.\GCP-DevTest-CostChef.ps1 -Project"my-dev-project" -OutputPath"C:\Reports"

Scans a specific GCP project for optimization opportunities and generates reports.

OCI Usage

# Run OCI audit for specific compartments
python OCI-DevTest-CostChef.py --output-path ./reports --compartments"ocid1.compartment..."

Audits specified OCI compartments and generates Python-based reports.

Key Features Across All Scripts

Smart Detection

  • Tag/Label-Based Filtering - Only scans resources tagged as dev/test
  • Cost Impact Analysis - Focuses on resources with highest cost impact
  • Automation Gap Detection - Identifies missing auto-shutdown configurations

Rich Reporting

  • CSV Exports - Machine-readable data for further analysis
  • Beautiful HTML Reports - Executive-ready presentations
  • Cloud-Specific Styling - Each script matches cloud provider branding
  • Actionable Recommendations - Specific cost-saving suggestions

Unified Approach

  • Common Methodology - Same approach across all cloud providers
  • Unified Branding - CloudCostChefs theme throughout
  • Consistent Output Format - Similar report structures
  • Scalable Architecture - Easy to extend with new checks

Expected Cost Savings

These scripts typically identify 20-60% cost savings in dev/test environments by finding:

Oversized resources
30-50% savings through right-sizing VMs, databases, and other compute resources
Zombie resources
100% savings through cleanup of orphaned disks, unused IPs, and empty load balancers
Missing automation
40-70% savings through scheduling and auto-shutdown of non-production resources
Premium features
20-40% savings through tier optimization and removal of unnecessary premium features

Common Issues & Warnings

Large Environment Performance

For very large environments (1000+ resources), scripts may take 10+ minutes to run. Consider filtering by resource groups or projects.

Authentication Timeouts

For long-running scans, cloud provider authentication may time out. Use service principals or refresh credentials before running.

Custom Tag Schemes

If your organization uses non-standard tagging schemes, modify the scripts' tag detection logic to match your conventions.

Getting Started Checklist

Step 1: Preparation

  • Clone the repository from GitHub
  • Install required modules for your cloud providers
  • Configure authentication for each cloud
  • Create output directory for reports

Step 2: Execution

  • Run scripts for each cloud provider
  • Review HTML reports for findings
  • Export CSV data for further analysis
  • Implement recommended optimizations
Download from GitHub

Integration Options

CI/CD Pipeline

Run these scripts as part of your CI/CD pipeline to catch cost issues before they reach production.

  • GitHub Actions integration
  • Azure DevOps pipeline tasks
  • Jenkins job templates

Dashboard Integration

Feed the CSV outputs into your existing dashboards and BI tools.

  • Power BI templates
  • Grafana dashboards
  • Excel reporting

Automation

Schedule regular runs and automate remediation actions.

  • Scheduled task execution
  • Email report distribution
  • Ticket creation for findings

Related Resources

5 Ways to Build Your First FinOps Team

Learn how to assemble a lean, effective FinOps team that can implement the optimizations identified by these tools.

Balancing Cloud Savings with SLAs

Understand how to optimize costs without compromising performance or reliability in your cloud environments.

Azure Dev/Test Auditor

Focused Azure-specific tool for detailed auditing of dev/test environments.

90-Day FinOps Checklist

Step-by-step guide to implementing a comprehensive FinOps practice in your organization.

Ready to Optimize Your Dev/Test Environments?

Download the Multi-Cloud Dev/Test Cost Chef suite and start identifying 20-60% cost savings opportunities today.

Download ScriptsView FinOps Checklist

What to do next

Pick the path that fits where you are right now.

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Trust & run-safety metadata

Key execution details for Dev-Test Resource Cost Chef - Comprehensive Audit Suite for AWS, Azure, GCP & OCI so users know what they are downloading or running before they act.

Need verification guidance? See Security & Trust and Responsible Disclosure.

Read-only / reportingGitHub sourceExplicit + inferred metadata

Maintainer

CloudCostChefs

Last Updated

June 14, 2025

Last Tested

February 23, 2026

Minimum Access

Read-only access to dev/test resource inventories and billing metadata in the target cloud(s)

Execution Type

GitHub-hosted reporting toolkit (PowerShell/Python dev-test cost analysis)

Version

2025-06-14

SHA256 Checksum

Not published yet (recommend adding checksum for downloadable files)

Verification Notes

Source is hosted on GitHub. Version pin matches the docs metadata date; review repository code, dependencies, and sample commands before production use.

Safe Usage Checklist

  • Run against a sandbox or a single dev/test subscription/account first to validate output and cost assumptions.
  • Use findings as candidate optimization actions and confirm business context with app owners before cleanup.
  • Run in a non-production subscription/account/tenancy first and capture sample output before broader rollout.
  • Use least-privilege access. Current best hint from docs: Read-only access to dev/test resource inventories and billing metadata in the target cloud(s).

Quick start (fast path)

Minimal steps to safely get value from this tool without reading the entire page first.

Estimated time: 20-30 minutes per environmentDifficulty: IntermediateAccess: Review / read-only

  1. 1. Confirm scope and permissions

    Use least privilege and test in a non-production scope first. Minimum access hint: Read-only access to dev/test resource inventories and billing metadata in the target cloud(s).

  2. 2. Get the tool package / source

    View on GitHub and review the files before running.

    GitHub

  3. 3. Check prerequisites

    • ✅ PowerShell 5.1+ (or Core 7+) with internet access for Azure and AWS scripts
    • ✅ Python 3.6+ for OCI script with oci, pandas, jinja2, and matplotlib packages
    • ✅ Azure modules: Az.Accounts, Az.Resources (auto-installed if missing)

  4. 4. Run safely and review output

    Source is hosted on GitHub. Version pin matches the docs metadata date; review repository code, dependencies, and sample commands before production use. Start with a small sample scope, then expand once results look correct.

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