Setup guide
Get started in 4 steps. The entire setup takes less than 5 minutes.
Click the "Add to Slack" button to install the SaneCost app to your workspace.
What happens during installation:
After adding to Slack, run the connect command to link your AWS account.
The command will provide:
Note: Creates a read-only IAM role for EC2 and CloudWatch metrics. RDS and EBS monitoring coming soon.
Deploy our secure CloudFormation template to your AWS account.
In the AWS Console:
Security: The stack only grants read permissions to EC2 and CloudWatch metrics. Stop permissions with resource tagging will be available in future releases.
After installing, configure where SaneCost sends waste alerts in your Slack workspace. SaneCost will send you a welcome DM with these instructions.
Set your notification channel:
Choose a channel for cost alerts, then invite SaneCost so it can post there:
Recommended -- direct owner DMs: Add an Owner AWS tag to your EC2 instances with the owner's email address (e.g. Owner: alice@company.com). SaneCost will DM that person directly instead of posting to the channel -- the fastest way to fix waste.
Optional -- per-resource routing: Use the SlackChannel or Team AWS tags on individual EC2 instances to route their alerts to specific channels or teams.
SaneCost will start monitoring your AWS infrastructure and notify you about idle instances within 30 minutes.
First scan will run automatically and notify you of any findings.
Deep dive
Want to see exactly what each step looks like? These walkthroughs include Slack and AWS console mockups so you know what to expect.
OAuth flow, permissions review, and the welcome message.
CloudFormation deployment, IAM acknowledgment, and verification.
Channel config, invitation, and status verification.
Reading status output, configuring thresholds, and troubleshooting.
The detection pipeline, alert anatomy, and one-click actions.
Reference
/sanecost status
Show all connected AWS accounts and their status
/sanecost usage
View current usage, billing info, and resource limits
/sanecost config
View or update alert thresholds
/sanecost help
View all available commands and options
Troubleshooting
Ensure you have permissions to create IAM roles in your AWS account. You need administrator access or IAM creation permissions.
Make sure SaneCost has been invited to the channel where you expect alerts. Type /invite @SaneCost in that channel. Then run /sanecost status to verify your AWS connection is active.
This means your AWS account is already connected. Run /sanecost status in Slack to verify your connection. No further action is needed.
The setup link expires after 24 hours for security. Run /sanecost connect aws again to get a fresh link.