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Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with CloudWise in just a few minutes!

🆕 Choose Your Path​

CloudWise offers two ways to analyze your AWS costs:

PathBest ForSetup TimeRequirements
🔌 Online ModeProduction use with real-time monitoring~10 minutesAWS admin access, IAM role creation
📁 Air-Gapped ModeEvaluation, compliance-restricted environments~5 minutesAWS CloudShell access only
Air-Gapped Mode - No AWS Connection Required!

If your company has strict compliance rules or you want to evaluate CloudWise before connecting your AWS account, try Air-Gapped Mode! Simply run our export script in AWS CloudShell, download the ZIP file, and upload it to CloudWise. No IAM roles, no cross-account access, no security review needed.

Skip to Air-Gapped Mode Setup →

🔌 Online Mode Setup​

📋 Prerequisites​

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • An AWS account with billing access
  • Administrative permissions to create IAM roles
  • A CloudWise account (sign up at cloudcostwise.io)

🚀 Step-by-Step Setup​

Step 1: Try the Workspace on Sample Data (no signup)​

  1. Visit cloudcostwise.io and open the Workspace
  2. It loads on a curated sample account—talk to the agent, ask "where's my waste?", and see exactly what the live product looks like (same surface, sample data)
  3. When you're ready, click Connect to bring the agent onto your own account

Step 2: Create Your CloudWise Account​

  1. From the Connect flow, register with email (or SSO / magic-link)
  2. Verify your email
  3. Free is available forever, or choose Shield ($19/mo or $149/year) for anomaly alerts and more

Step 3: Connect Your AWS Account​

  1. Continue through the Connect flow in the Workspace
  2. Follow the guided CloudFormation setup to create a read-only IAM role (details in the AWS Setup Guide)
  3. The agent moves from sample data onto your real scan data (the Live state)

Step 4: Wait for Data Collection​

  • Your first scan runs within ~1 hour of connecting (CloudWise assigns your account to one of 24 hourly scan shards)
  • Cost data typically appears within 2-4 hours; for brand-new AWS Cost and Usage Report configurations, AWS itself may take up to 24 hours to deliver the first report
  • Historical data (up to 12 months) will be imported automatically

Step 5: Set Up Alerts (Shield Plan)​

  1. Open Settings → Notifications
  2. Enable Cost Anomaly Detection for automatic spike alerts
  3. Connect Slack for instant notifications
  4. Optionally set up budget alerts

🛡️ CloudWise Shield Features​

Shield (the Watch rung—$19/mo or $149/year) includes:

  • ✅ Automatic cost anomaly detection
  • ✅ Slack & email alerts for cost spikes
  • ✅ Up to 5 AWS accounts
  • ✅ 50 agent questions per day
  • ✅ All 191 waste detectors

Learn more about Shield

🎯 What's Next?​

Now that you're set up, explore these key features:

  • 🤖 The agent (Workspace): Ask questions about your costs in plain English - Learn More
  • 🚨 Anomaly Detection: Automatic cost spike alerts - Learn More
  • 🗑️ Waste Detection: 191 detectors across 42 services - Learn More
  • 🔧 AI Remediation: Let the agent propose and (on Agentic) execute fixes - Learn More

Try the Agent Now!​

Open the Workspace and ask:

  • "What are my top services?"
  • "How much am I spending this month?"
  • "Where can I save money?"

🆘 Need Help?​

📁 Air-Gapped Mode Quick Start​

Air-Gapped Mode lets you analyze your AWS costs without connecting your AWS account to CloudWise. Perfect for:

  • Security-conscious organizations with strict compliance requirements
  • Evaluating CloudWise before committing to full integration
  • One-time cost audits without ongoing monitoring

Step 1: Run the Export Script in AWS CloudShell​

  1. Open AWS CloudShell in your AWS Console

  2. Download the CloudWise export script and verify its checksum:

    # Download the script and its checksum
    curl -sLO https://cloudcostwise.io/scripts/cloudwise-export.sh
    curl -sL  https://cloudcostwise.io/scripts/SHA256SUMS | grep cloudwise-export.sh > SHA256SUMS

    # Verify integrity before running
    sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS 2>/dev/null || shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS

    # Run the script
    bash cloudwise-export.sh
    Enterprise DLP Compliance

    For organizations with strict Data Loss Prevention policies, add the --anonymize flag to hash AWS account IDs and resource identifiers before they leave your network:

    bash cloudwise-export.sh --anonymize

    Learn more about client-side anonymization →

    Multi-Region Export

    To analyze resources across multiple AWS regions in a single upload:

    bash cloudwise-export.sh --regions us-east-1,eu-west-1,ap-southeast-1

    Global services (CloudFront, Route53) are exported once automatically. Without --regions, the script exports only the current CloudShell region.

    Why verify the checksum?

    Verifying the SHA256 checksum ensures the script hasn't been tampered with in transit. The checksum file is published alongside every release. Learn more →

    Minimal AWS API Cost

    This script incurs minimal AWS API costs, typically under $0.10. Most API calls (describe/list) are free. The only paid calls are CloudWatch GetMetricStatistics ($0.01/1,000 requests) and Cost Explorer ($0.04 total).

  3. Wait for the export to complete (~3-5 minutes)

  4. Download the generated cloudwise-export.zip file

Step 2: Download Your CUR Report​

For full cost analysis, also download your Cost and Usage Report:

  1. Go to AWS Billing Console
  2. Navigate to Cost & Usage Reports
  3. Download your latest CUR CSV file

Step 3: Upload to CloudWise​

  1. Log into CloudWise and open Air-Gapped Mode (the offline path of the Connect flow)
  2. Start a new upload
  3. Upload your files:
    • Required: cloudwise-export.zip (resource data)
    • Optional: CUR CSV file (for cost analysis)
  4. Follow the instructions on the page

Step 4: View Results​

Within seconds, you'll see:

  • Waste Detection: Unused resources costing you money
  • Cost Breakdown: Where your money is going (if CUR uploaded)
  • Optimization Opportunities: Actionable savings recommendations
What's Included in Air-Gapped Mode?

Air-Gapped Mode covers up to 171 of the 191 waste detectors with the full export, spanning EC2, EBS, RDS, Lambda, S3, DynamoDB, and more — with multi-region support via --regions. The remaining 20 detectors (Compute Optimizer recommendations, Reserved Instance / Savings Plan suggestions, Commitment Risk Intelligence, and orphaned DNS cross-referencing) require Online Mode.

For regulated enterprises: Compliance tier ($99/mo or $799/year) extends Air-Gapped Mode with 365-day data retention, persistent anonymization salt, Cost By Tag analysis, and quarter-over-quarter variance reports.

⏱️ Total setup time: ~10 minutes (Online) / ~5 minutes (Air-Gapped)
⏳ Data availability: 6-8 hours (Online) / Instant (Air-Gapped)