> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.costoptix.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quick Start

> Connect your first cloud account and start seeing your costs in under 5 minutes.

## Step 1 — Create your account

Go to [costoptix.com/signup](https://costoptix.com/signup) and sign up with your work email.

<Note>
  Cost Optix does not allow disposable email addresses. Use a company or personal permanent email address.
</Note>

After signing up, verify your email address using the link sent to your inbox. You will then be taken to your organisation dashboard.

***

## Step 2 — Connect a cloud provider

Most providers connect from **Admin → Accounts → Add Account** using read-only credentials. **Kubernetes is different** — it does not use Add Account. Instead you install a lightweight in-cluster agent from the **Kubernetes** section of the dashboard (see the Kubernetes tab below).

Select your provider and follow the setup:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Azure">
    You will need an **Azure Service Principal** with read access to your subscription's cost data.

    **Required information:**

    * Tenant ID
    * Client ID (Application ID)
    * Client Secret
    * Subscription ID

    See the [Azure setup guide](/providers/azure) for step-by-step instructions.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="AWS">
    You will need an **AWS Access Key** with Cost Explorer read permissions.

    **Required information:**

    * Access Key ID
    * Secret Access Key
    * Default Region

    See the [AWS setup guide](/providers/aws) for the minimum IAM policy required.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="GCP">
    You will need a **GCP Service Account JSON** with BigQuery and billing read permissions, plus a BigQuery billing export enabled.

    **Required information:**

    * Service Account JSON file
    * Project ID
    * Billing Export Project ID and Dataset ID

    See the [GCP setup guide](/providers/gcp) for instructions.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Heroku">
    You will need a **Heroku API Key** from your Heroku account settings.

    See the [Heroku setup guide](/providers/heroku) for instructions.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Kubernetes">
    Kubernetes does not use a kubeconfig or stored credentials, and it is **not** added from **Admin → Accounts**. Instead, a lightweight agent runs inside your cluster and reports metrics to Cost Optix in real time.

    Set it up from the **Kubernetes** section of the dashboard. The guided onboarding walks you through three steps: name your cluster, create a scoped agent key, and run the generated installer command — the key and command are filled in for you.

    **Before you start, confirm your cluster has:**

    * `kubectl` access, pointed at the target cluster
    * `metrics-server` installed (required for CPU and memory usage data)
    * Permission to create a namespace, ServiceAccount, ClusterRole, and Deployment

    The cluster appears automatically once the agent reports its first metrics. See the [Kubernetes setup guide](/providers/kubernetes) for the full walkthrough, including the GitOps manifest option and per-team chargeback.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Step 3 — Wait for the first data sync

Once a provider is connected, Cost Optix will begin collecting your cost data.

| Provider   | Typical first sync | Billing lag  |
| ---------- | ------------------ | ------------ |
| Azure      | 2–5 minutes        | Up to 5 days |
| AWS        | 1–3 minutes        | Up to 3 days |
| GCP        | 1–3 minutes        | 1–3 days     |
| Heroku     | Under 1 minute     | 1 day        |
| Kubernetes | Real-time          | None         |

<Info>
  Billing lag is a provider constraint — today's costs may not appear in your dashboard for a few days. This is not a Cost Optix limitation.
</Info>

***

## Step 4 — Explore your dashboard

Once data has synced, your dashboard will show:

* **Total spend** across all connected accounts for the selected period
* **Per-provider breakdown** with cost trends
* **Service-level costs** — see exactly which services are driving your bill
* **Anomaly indicators** — services flagged for unusual spending patterns

***

## Step 5 — Set up a budget alert (recommended)

Navigate to **Budgets** and create your first budget:

1. Select the account to track, or choose multi-account
2. Set a monthly budget amount
3. Choose alert thresholds (default: 80% warning, 95% critical)
4. Optionally connect a [webhook](/features/webhooks) to receive alerts in Slack or Teams

***

## What's next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Connect more providers" icon="cloud" href="/providers/overview">
    Add all your cloud accounts for a complete picture.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set up webhooks" icon="bell" href="/features/webhooks">
    Get budget and anomaly alerts in Slack, Teams, or Discord.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Anomaly detection" icon="chart-line" href="/features/anomaly-detection">
    Learn how Cost Optix detects cost spikes statistically.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API access" icon="code" href="/api-reference/authentication">
    Integrate Cost Optix into your own tooling.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>