Frequently Asked Questions

Installation & Setup

Q: How do I install FinFocus?

A: The fastest way is the install script:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rshade/finfocus/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

For full options see the Installation Guide.

Q: Does FinFocus require a specific version of Pulumi?

A: FinFocus works with Pulumi 3.0+. We recommend the latest version.

Q: Can I use FinFocus with my cloud provider?

A: For projected costs, yes — works with all Pulumi-supported clouds via the aws-public plugin or local pricing specs. For actual costs, a plugin with billing API access is required (e.g., Vantage, AWS Cost Explorer).

Usage

Q: What is the simplest way to see my costs?

A: Navigate into any Pulumi project directory and run:

finfocus

FinFocus auto-detects your project and stack, exports the current state, runs pulumi preview --json, and opens an interactive cost dashboard. No flags needed. finfocus overview and finfocus ov are aliases for the same command.

Q: Do I need to export the Pulumi state and plan manually?

A: No — auto-detection handles this when you run finfocus from inside a Pulumi project directory. Use --pulumi-state and --pulumi-json only when you want to provide pre-exported files (e.g., in CI/CD where you control the export step).

Q: How do I select a specific Pulumi stack?

A: Pass --stack:

finfocus overview --stack production

Q: Why are some resources showing $0 cost?

A: Some resources don’t have pricing data available. Common cases:

S3 buckets (storage costs depend on actual data stored)
VPCs, subnets, IAM roles (no direct compute/storage cost)
Resources not yet covered by an installed plugin or local spec

Q: How accurate are the projected costs?

A: Accuracy depends on the plugin or spec used. The aws-public plugin uses AWS public pricing and is accurate for on-demand instance types. Actual costs may vary based on reserved instances, savings plans, and data transfer.

Q: Can I filter by custom tags?

A: Yes. Use --filter "tag:key=value" with any cost command:

finfocus overview --filter tag:env=production --plain --yes
finfocus cost projected --filter tag:team=platform

Q: How do I reset configuration?

A: FinFocus uses two config locations:

Global: rm -rf ~/.finfocus
Project-local: rm -rf $YOUR_PULUMI_PROJECT/.finfocus

Project-local config takes precedence over global when running inside a Pulumi project.

Plugins

Q: What plugins are available?

A: The main plugins today:

Plugin	Projected Costs	Actual Costs	Notes
`aws-public`	✓	✓	AWS public pricing API
Vantage	—	✓	Requires Vantage account
Kubecost	—	✓	Planned

Q: Do I need a plugin?

A: For projected costs: No — local pricing specs work without plugins. For actual costs: Yes — a plugin with billing API access is required.

Q: How do I install a plugin?

A: Use the plugin install command:

finfocus plugin install aws-public
finfocus plugin list

See Plugin Documentation for per-plugin setup.

Pulumi Analyzer

Q: What is the Pulumi Analyzer?

A: The analyzer is a FinFocus mode that shows cost estimates directly inside pulumi preview output — no separate command needed. It runs as a Pulumi Policy Pack.

Q: How do I set up the analyzer?

A: Install the analyzer plugin, then add it to your PATH:

finfocus analyzer install
export PATH="${HOME}/.pulumi/plugins/analyzer-finfocus-v$(finfocus --version | cut -d' ' -f2):${PATH}"
pulumi preview --policy-pack ~/.finfocus/analyzer

See the Analyzer Setup Guide for the full walkthrough.

Q: Does the analyzer block deployments?

A: No. All cost diagnostics are ADVISORY severity — they appear as informational output and never prevent pulumi up from running.

Troubleshooting

Q: “Plugin not found” error

A: Install the plugin first:

finfocus plugin install aws-public
finfocus plugin list   # confirm it appears
finfocus plugin validate

Q: “No cost data available”

A: Check in order:

Is a plugin installed? (finfocus plugin list)
Does the plugin support this resource type? (finfocus plugin validate)
Does the plugin have credentials configured?
Is the resource type covered by a local spec in ~/.finfocus/specs/?

Q: Cost data is slow to load

A: FinFocus caches results in a local BoltDB database (~/.finfocus/cache/cache.db). On subsequent runs, cached resources load instantly. To force a fresh fetch, set --cache-ttl 0:

finfocus overview --cache-ttl 0
finfocus cost projected --cache-ttl 0

Q: The overview TUI doesn’t launch (terminal compatibility)

A: Use --plain to force non-interactive output:

finfocus overview --plain --yes

Data & Privacy

Q: Does FinFocus send my data anywhere?

A: Only to the plugins you configure (e.g., a Vantage or Kubecost endpoint). Local specs and the cache are entirely on your machine. No telemetry is sent.

Q: Is my infrastructure data secure?

A: Pulumi state JSON contains resource details — treat it as sensitive. FinFocus is a local CLI tool; all data stays on your machine unless explicitly sent to a plugin’s external API.

Performance

Q: How long does cost calculation take?

A: First run: 1–10 seconds depending on stack size and plugin API latency. Subsequent runs: sub-second for cached results.

Q: Can I use FinFocus with large infrastructure (1000+ resources)?

A: Yes. The overview enriches resources concurrently and paginates the TUI automatically. For very large stacks, use --output ndjson for streaming output or --filter to narrow scope.

Support

Q: Where can I get help?

A: See these resources:

Q: How do I report a bug?

A: Open a GitHub Issue

Q: Can I contribute?

A: Yes! See Contributing Guide.