Azure Pricing MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for querying Azure pricing and estimating Terraform infrastructure costs.

Quick Start

See Getting Started Guide for detailed installation.

Features

🔍 Search Azure Pricing - Query Azure Retail Prices API for any service
💰 Calculate Costs - Estimate costs with time period conversions (hour/day/month/year)
🔎 Service Discovery - Auto-discover available SKUs for 6 service categories
📊 Terraform Estimation - Estimate complete Terraform plan costs
🎯 54 Resource Types - Support for all major Azure services via Terraform
🤖 Copilot Integration - GitHub Copilot skill for intelligent cost queries

Supported Resources (54 types - 100% coverage)

High-Priority Services:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Virtual Machines (Linux, Windows, AKS)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Functions (Consumption, Premium)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Event Hubs, Service Bus, Event Grid
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Container Registry, Container Instances, Container Apps
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Application Gateway, Firewall, Load Balancer, VPN Gateway
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL, Cosmos DB, Redis, MariaDB, SQL MI)
⭐⭐⭐ Storage, NetApp Files, Backup
⭐⭐⭐ Analytics (Data Factory, Databricks, Synapse, HDInsight)
⭐⭐ API Management, Logic Apps, Spring Apps
⭐⭐ Monitoring, Site Recovery, Maps

View all 54 supported resources →

New: Discovery Tools (6 specialized + 1 generic)

Explore Azure services before deployment:

discoverVmOptions - Find VMs by series/OS with specs
discoverStorageOptions - Compare storage tiers & redundancy
discoverDatabaseOptions - Explore database SKUs by type/tier
discoverComputeOptions - Functions, App Service, Containers
discoverMessagingOptions - Event Hubs, Service Bus, Event Grid
discoverNetworkingOptions - App Gateway, Firewall, Load Balancer, VPN
discoverGenericOptions - Fallback for any Azure service

Installation

Option 1: VS Code Extension (Recommended)

Install the miiitchdev.azure-pricing-mcp extension from the VS Code Marketplace:

code --install-extension miiitchdev.azure-pricing-mcp

Or download from GitHub Releases and install manually.

Option 2: Manual MCP Server Setup

npm run mcp:build

The server communicates via stdio and can be integrated with MCP clients like GitHub Copilot.

Integration with VS Code / GitHub Copilot

Step 1: Configure MCP Server

Add the server to your VS Code settings (settings.json):

{
  "github.copilot.chat.mcp.servers": {
    "azure-pricing": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/azurepricing.mcp/dist/mcp/server.js"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/azurepricing.mcp with the actual path to this project.

Step 2: Install Copilot Skill

The Copilot skill is located in .github/skills/azure-pricing/. For repository-wide use:

The skill is already in the correct location
Copilot will auto-discover it when you open this repository in VS Code

For personal use (across all projects), copy the skill to your personal skills directory:

# macOS/Linux
cp -r .github/skills/azure-pricing ~/.copilot/skills/

# Windows
xcopy /E /I .github\skills\azure-pricing %USERPROFILE%\.copilot\skills\azure-pricing

Step 3: Verify Setup

Open VS Code with this repository
Open Copilot Chat (Cmd/Ctrl + I)
Type /skills to see available skills
Look for "azure-pricing" in the list
Ask: "@azure-pricing show me d-series vms in eastus"

Available MCP Tools (14 total)

Core Tools (7)

1. `searchPrices`

Search for Azure retail prices with filters.

Parameters:

serviceName (string): Azure service name (e.g., "Virtual Machines", "Storage")
armRegionName (string): Azure region (e.g., "eastus", "westeurope")
armSkuName (string): SKU name (e.g., "Standard_D2s_v3")
productName (string): Product name pattern
unitOfMeasure (string): Unit (e.g., "1 Hour", "1 GB/Month")
limit (number): Max results (default: 10)

Example:

@azure-pricing search prices for Virtual Machines in eastus with SKU Standard_D2s_v3

3. `calculateCost`

Calculate cost for a specific Azure service.

Parameters:

serviceName (string, required): Service name
armRegionName (string, required): Region
armSkuName (string): SKU name
quantity (number, required): Quantity (e.g., number of VMs, GB)
period (string): Time period - "hour", "day", "month" (default), "year"

Example:

@azure-pricing calculate cost for 2 VMs with Standard_D2s_v3 in eastus for 1 month

4. `discoverVmOptions`

Discover available VM SKUs with pricing in a region. Helps explore VM options before deployment.

Parameters:

armRegionName (string, required): Azure region (e.g., "eastus", "westeurope")
seriesFilter (string, optional): VM series filter (e.g., "d", "e", "f" for D/E/F-series)
osType (string, optional): Operating system - "Linux" or "Windows"
limit (number, optional): Maximum results (default: 20)

Example:

@azure-pricing show me available D-series Linux VMs in East US

See VM Discovery Documentation for detailed usage examples.

5. `estimateTerraformCost`

Estimate total cost for a Terraform plan (resources to be created/updated).

Parameters:

planJson (string, required): Terraform plan JSON (from terraform show -json tfplan)
period (string): Time period - "hour", "day", "month" (default), "year"

Example:

# Generate plan and estimate
terraform plan -out=tfplan
terraform show -json tfplan > plan.json

# Use with MCP
@azure-pricing estimate cost for my terraform plan

6. `estimateTerraformState`

NEW - Estimate cost for existing Terraform infrastructure from state file.

Parameters:

stateJson (string, required): Terraform state JSON (from terraform show -json or .tfstate file)
period (string): Time period - "hour", "day", "month" (default), "year"

Example:

# Get current state cost
terraform show -json > state.json

# Use with MCP
@azure-pricing estimate cost for my current terraform state

Use Cases:

Audit current infrastructure costs
Track spending over time
Compare environments (dev vs prod)

7. `compareTerraformCosts`

NEW - Compare costs between current state and planned changes. Shows before/after and delta.

Parameters:

stateJson (string, required): Current Terraform state JSON
planJson (string, required): Terraform plan JSON with changes
period (string): Time period - "hour", "day", "month" (default), "year"

Example:

# Generate both state and plan
terraform show -json > state.json
terraform plan -out=tfplan
terraform show -json tfplan > plan.json

# Compare costs
@azure-pricing compare costs between my state and plan

Output:

Current state cost
After changes cost
Delta ($ and %)
Impact indicator (increase/decrease/no change)

Use Cases:

Review cost impact before applying changes
Infrastructure change approval process
Budget planning and forecasting

8. `listSupportedResources`

List all 54 supported Terraform resource types.

Example:

@azure-pricing what terraform resources are supported?

Discovery Tools (6)

9. `discoverStorageOptions`

Explore storage SKUs with filtering.

Parameters:

armRegionName (required): Azure region
storageType (optional): blob, file, queue, table, datalake
performanceTier (optional): Standard, Premium
redundancyFilter (optional): LRS, GRS, ZRS, GZRS
limit (optional): Max results (default: 20)

10. `discoverDatabaseOptions`

Explore database SKUs by type and tier.

Parameters:

armRegionName (required): Azure region
databaseType (required): mysql, postgresql, sql, cosmosdb, redis, mariadb, sqlmi, cassandra
tier (optional): Basic, GeneralPurpose, BusinessCritical
generation (optional): Gen4, Gen5
limit (optional): Max results (default: 20)

8. `discoverComputeOptions`

Explore Functions, App Service, Container options.

Parameters:

armRegionName (required): Azure region
computeType (required): functions, appservice, containerinstances, containerapps
tier (optional): Basic, Standard, Premium
osType (optional): Linux, Windows
limit (optional): Max results (default: 20)

9. `discoverMessagingOptions`

Explore Event Hubs, Service Bus, Event Grid SKUs.

Parameters:

armRegionName (required): Azure region
messagingType (required): eventhub, servicebus, eventgrid
tier (optional): Basic, Standard, Premium
limit (optional): Max results (default: 20)

10. `discoverNetworkingOptions`

Explore networking service SKUs.

Parameters:

armRegionName (required): Azure region
networkingType (required): applicationgateway, firewall, loadbalancer, vpn
tier (optional): Basic, Standard, Premium, WAF
limit (optional): Max results (default: 20)

11. `discoverGenericOptions`

Fallback discovery for any Azure service.

Parameters:

serviceName (required): Exact Azure service name
armRegionName (required): Azure region
productFilter (optional): Filter by product pattern
skuFilter (optional): Filter by SKU pattern
unitOfMeasure (optional): Filter by unit
limit (optional): Max results (default: 20)

Example:

@azure-pricing show me Azure Data Factory v2 options in eastus

How to Generate Terraform Plan JSON

# Initialize and create plan
terraform init
terraform plan -out=tfplan

# Convert to JSON
terraform show -json tfplan > plan.json

Then use the JSON content with the estimateTerraformCost tool.

Example Terraform Plans

See the examples/ directory:

simple-plan.json: Basic VM, storage, and public IP
aks-plan.json: Kubernetes cluster with PostgreSQL database

Testing the Server

Manual Test

# Build first
npm run build

# Run the server (it will wait for stdin)
node dist/mcp/server.js

# Send a request (paste this JSON and press Enter)
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}

# Or test with a tool call
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"listSupportedResources","arguments":{}}}

Using Examples

node dist/mcp/server.js
# Then send:
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":3,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"estimateTerraformCost","arguments":{"planJson":"<paste-examples/simple-plan.json-content>"}}}

Architecture

src/
├── mcp/
│   └── server.ts                  # MCP server and 5 tool handlers
├── pricing/
│   ├── PricingCalculator.ts       # Azure Pricing API client with caching
│   ├── PricingDiscovery.ts        # VM discovery service
│   └── types.ts                   # TypeScript interfaces
├── calculator/
│   ├── CostCalculator.ts          # Cost calculation logic
│   └── UnitConverter.ts           # Unit conversion (hours, GB, etc.)
└── terraform/
    ├── TerraformParser.ts          # Parse Terraform plan JSON
    ├── TerraformCostEstimator.ts   # Main orchestrator
    └── ResourceMapper.ts           # Map TF resources to Azure

Unit of Measure Handling

The server automatically handles different Azure pricing units:

Time-based (1 Hour): VMs, databases → multiply by hours in period
Storage (1 GB/Month): Storage accounts → quantity is GB capacity
Data Transfer (1 GB): Network egress → quantity is GB transferred
Static (1/Month): Public IPs → flat monthly rate
Transactions (100 Transactions): Storage operations

Documentation

Implementation Details - Technical summary and architecture decisions
Copilot Skill ⭐ - Official Copilot skill (SKILL.md format)
Time Period Handling - Detailed explanation of time calculations (730 hours/month)
VM Discovery - How to discover and compare VM options
Resource Type Handling - How different Azure resources are handled
Resource Workflows - Visual workflows for all resource types
Other Resources Status - Quick reference for non-VM resources

Note: Old documentation in .github/skills/azure-pricing/ is deprecated. Use .github/skills/azure-pricing/ instead.

Key Concepts

Time Period Calculations

The server uses Azure's standard calculation:

1 month = 730 hours (365 days × 24 hours ÷ 12 months)
1 year = 8,760 hours (365 days × 24 hours)
All calculations assume 24/7 operation unless specified

See Time Period Handling for formulas and examples.

Pricing Type

All estimates use Consumption pricing (pay-as-you-go). Reserved Instances and Spot pricing are not included.

Error Handling

Unsupported Terraform resources are reported but don't fail estimation
Missing pricing data returns null for specific resources
All errors include descriptive messages

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

# Run basic tests (4 tests)
npm test

# Run comprehensive resource tests (17 tests)
npm run test:resources

# Run VM discovery tests
npm run test:discovery

# Run all tests
npm run test:all

# Development mode with auto-reload
npm run mcp:dev

# Build and run server
npm run mcp:build

Testing

See TESTING.md for detailed testing documentation.

Test Suites:

npm test - Basic functionality (4 tests)
npm run test:resources - All 11 resource types (17 tests)
npm run test:discovery - VM discovery
npm run test:all - Complete test suite

Note: Resource tests may show warnings for missing pricing data. This is normal due to Azure API pagination and availability. Tests validate code logic, not API data completeness.

API Reference

Azure Retail Prices API

Base URL: https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices

API Version: 2023-01-01-preview

OData Filters Supported:

serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines'
armRegionName eq 'eastus'
armSkuName eq 'Standard_D2s_v3'
contains(productName, 'Linux')
type eq 'Consumption'

Troubleshooting

Server not responding

Make sure the server is running and accessible:

node dist/mcp/server.js

You should see: Azure Pricing MCP Server running on stdio

No prices found

Check region name (use armRegionName like "eastus", not "East US")
Verify SKU name is correct (e.g., "Standard_D2s_v3")
Some resources may not have pricing data in all regions

Terraform plan not working

Ensure you're using JSON format: terraform show -json tfplan
Check that resource types are supported: use listSupportedResources tool
Verify the plan includes resource_changes array

Contributing

To add support for new Terraform resource types:

Add mapping to src/terraform/ResourceMapper.ts
Define serviceName, extractSku, and skuField
Rebuild and test

License

MIT

Azure Pricing MCP Server

Michel Perfetti

Azure Pricing MCP Server

Quick Start

Features

Supported Resources (54 types - 100% coverage)

New: Discovery Tools (6 specialized + 1 generic)

Installation

Option 1: VS Code Extension (Recommended)

Option 2: Manual MCP Server Setup

Integration with VS Code / GitHub Copilot

Step 1: Configure MCP Server

Step 2: Install Copilot Skill

Step 3: Verify Setup

Available MCP Tools (14 total)

Core Tools (7)

1. searchPrices

3. calculateCost

4. discoverVmOptions

5. estimateTerraformCost

6. estimateTerraformState

7. compareTerraformCosts

8. listSupportedResources

Discovery Tools (6)

9. discoverStorageOptions

10. discoverDatabaseOptions

8. discoverComputeOptions

9. discoverMessagingOptions

10. discoverNetworkingOptions

11. discoverGenericOptions

How to Generate Terraform Plan JSON

Example Terraform Plans

Testing the Server

Manual Test

Using Examples

Architecture

Unit of Measure Handling

Documentation

Key Concepts

Time Period Calculations

Pricing Type

Error Handling

Development

Testing

API Reference

Azure Retail Prices API

Troubleshooting

Server not responding

No prices found

Terraform plan not working

Contributing

License

Links

1. `searchPrices`

3. `calculateCost`

4. `discoverVmOptions`

5. `estimateTerraformCost`

6. `estimateTerraformState`

7. `compareTerraformCosts`

8. `listSupportedResources`

9. `discoverStorageOptions`

10. `discoverDatabaseOptions`

8. `discoverComputeOptions`

9. `discoverMessagingOptions`

10. `discoverNetworkingOptions`

11. `discoverGenericOptions`