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Getting started.

Follow these six steps to create a workspace, connect a read-only provider, scan your configuration, and start reviewing findings.

1

Create your account

Start from pricing or sign-up. Complete the required fields shown by Clerk's hosted form and verify your email if prompted; the configured sign-in method determines whether additional identity fields are required. No cloud credentials are requested at account creation. Free is a bounded evaluation with its expiry shown in the workspace. Review paid-plan scope and identity setup before purchase; custom terms use the Enterprise contact path.

2

Join or create a workspace

Joining a team? Accept its invitation rather than creating a duplicate workspace. Confirm the active organization before connecting access or reviewing billing. Ask its administrator to replace an expired invitation.

3

Connect a provider

Follow Azure read-only setup for the available provider. AWS private-pilot and Google Cloud private-preview scope require separate confirmation.

4

Run an audit

Trigger an on-demand run. Growth and Enterprise can also enable daily, weekly, or monthly scheduled audits where supported by the provider connection.

If the run fails or covers only part of the selected scope, check its collection status and troubleshooting steps before treating the results as complete.

Read the first cost result

Choose the matching scope, period and native currency before investigating a resource.

Reading a cost figureMatch the context. Then read the amount.
Static public Costframe sample: Production, September 2026, EUR. Net billed scope cost is €56,148.25; the largest itemized charge, vm-api-02, is €12,482.36.

Static public sample · not customer data

  1. Match the context

    Production · September 2026 · EUR. Compare the same scope, period, currency and cost basis.

  2. Read the scope total

    €56,148.25 is the sample net billed cost for Production. It is not a savings figure.

  3. Inspect the resource separately

    vm-api-02 accounts for €12,482.36. Its charge is part of the scope total, not an additional amount.

The capture is a static example, not a live control. A resource charge alone does not establish spare capacity or justify a change.
Understand the cost basis and reconciliation checks
5

Review findings

Sort by impact, risk or type. Record owner decisions and review implementation evidence. A closed item alone does not verify a financial outcome.

6

Export & align

Export supported CSV files where entitled, keeping scope, period, source revision and native currency visible. General audit PDF remains unavailable during the controlled launch; dedicated AVD reports have separate controls. Check reports and export availability before sharing.

Developer Quickstart: Verify API Access

Query active audits and findings programmatically via the Costframe REST API. Execute the following command with your authenticated Clerk token:

curl -X GET "https://api.costframe.co/audits" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <clerk-jwt-token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

Continue with the next step

Connect an Azure subscription ↗Return to the documentation directory ↗Troubleshoot a failed task ↗