What does the Cost Estimation AI skill do?
Forecast Azure spend and price planned resources or workloads. WHEN: "forecast Azure spending", "project next month cost", "compare forecast to my planning target", "how much will Azure cost", "estimate VM cost", "compare storage tiers", "compare Azure regions", "retail price", "EA rate card", "negotiated pricesheet". DO NOT USE FOR: configured budget health or alerts, bill analysis, cost spikes, rightsizing, or commitments.
Why use Cost Estimation on TypingMind?
Because you install it once and use it with any model. Cost Estimation is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.
How do I install Cost Estimation in TypingMind?
Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure/tree/main/plugins/azure-cost/skills/cost-estimation. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and bundles its files and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.
Which AI models can use Cost Estimation?
Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.
How many AI models can I use with Cost Estimation?
As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Cost Estimation with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.
Is the Cost Estimation AI skill free?
Yes. It is published on GitHub by microsoft under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.
What are AI skills?
An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.
How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?
A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.
