aws-cost-optimizer

Comprehensive AWS cost analysis and optimization recommendations using AWS CLI and Cost Explorer

Install with Tessl CLI

npx tessl i github:boisenoise/skills-collections --skill aws-cost-optimizer

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Overall
score

61%

Review — 49%

Does it follow best practices?

If you maintain this skill, you can automatically optimize it using the tessl CLI to improve its score:

npx tessl skill review --optimize ./path/to/skill

Learn more

Validation — 10 / 11 Passed

Validation for skill structure

SKILL.md

Review

Evals

Discovery

33%

Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.

The description identifies the domain (AWS cost analysis) and mentions key tools but lacks concrete actions and explicit trigger guidance. It would benefit significantly from listing specific capabilities and adding a 'Use when...' clause to help Claude distinguish this skill from other AWS-related skills.

Suggestions

Add a 'Use when...' clause with trigger terms like 'AWS bill', 'cloud costs', 'reduce spending', 'cost optimization', 'billing analysis'

List specific concrete actions such as 'analyze spending by service', 'identify unused resources', 'generate cost reports', 'recommend Reserved Instance purchases'

Include common user phrases like 'why is my AWS bill so high', 'save money on AWS', 'EC2 costs', 'S3 spending'

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Names the domain (AWS cost) and mentions tools (AWS CLI, Cost Explorer), but lacks specific concrete actions like 'identify unused resources', 'analyze spending trends', or 'generate savings reports'.	2 / 3
Completeness	Describes what it does at a high level but completely lacks a 'Use when...' clause or any explicit trigger guidance for when Claude should select this skill.	1 / 3
Trigger Term Quality	Includes relevant keywords like 'AWS', 'cost', 'optimization', 'Cost Explorer', but missing common variations users might say like 'cloud spending', 'billing', 'reduce AWS bill', 'EC2 costs', or 'savings'.	2 / 3
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	The AWS cost focus is somewhat specific, but 'optimization recommendations' is vague and could overlap with general AWS skills or cloud infrastructure skills without clearer boundaries.	2 / 3
	Total	7 / 12 Passed

Implementation

65%

Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.

This is a solid, actionable skill with excellent AWS CLI command examples that are immediately executable. The main weaknesses are verbosity in some sections (example prompts, Kiro integration), and missing validation checkpoints in the workflow for destructive operations like resource deletion. The content would benefit from tighter editing and explicit verify-before-delete steps.

Suggestions

Add explicit validation steps to the workflow: e.g., '2a. VERIFY: Review the list of unattached volumes, confirm each is truly unused before deletion'

Remove or significantly trim the 'Example Prompts' section - Claude doesn't need examples of how users might ask questions

Remove the 'Integration with Kiro CLI' section as it's not relevant to the skill's core purpose

Consider splitting the full command reference into a separate COMMANDS.md file, keeping only 2-3 essential examples in the main skill

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	The skill is reasonably efficient but includes some unnecessary sections like 'When to Use This Skill' (obvious from title), 'Example Prompts' (Claude knows how to respond to prompts), and 'Integration with Kiro CLI' which adds little value. The core commands are well-presented but could be tighter.	2 / 3
Actionability	Excellent executable AWS CLI commands with proper syntax, date calculations, and query filters. Commands are copy-paste ready with realistic parameters and output formatting. The checklist and workflow provide concrete, specific guidance.	3 / 3
Workflow Clarity	The 4-step optimization workflow is clear but lacks explicit validation checkpoints. For deletion operations (EBS volumes, snapshots, Elastic IPs), there's no verify-before-delete feedback loop. The 'Safety Notes' mention verification but don't integrate it into the workflow steps.	2 / 3
Progressive Disclosure	Content is well-organized with clear headers, but it's somewhat monolithic at ~150 lines. The 'Additional Resources' section provides external links, but there's no splitting of detailed content (like the full command reference) into separate files. The checklist and example prompts could be separate reference files.	2 / 3
	Total	9 / 12 Passed

Validation

91%

Warnings & errors only

Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.

Validation — 10 / 11 Passed

Validation for skill structure

Criteria	Description	Result
frontmatter_unknown_keys	Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata	Warning

	Total	10 / 11 Passed

Reviewed: 7 days ago

Table of Contents

Discovery Implementation Validation

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