Install CloudBurn

In this guide, you'll install CloudBurn and get cost estimates showing up in your Pull Requests. The setup takes about 5 minutes if you already have the GitHub Action configured.

Requirements

Before installing CloudBurn, make sure you have one of these GitHub Actions running in your repository:

Why? CloudBurn analyzes the diff/plan output these actions generate. Without one of them, CloudBurn has nothing to analyze.

Installation

Step 1: Install from GitHub Marketplace

1. Go to the CloudBurn GitHub Marketplace page
2. Click "Install it for free" or "Set up a plan"
3. Choose your installation scope:
   • All repositories - Recommended for teams who want cost visibility across all projects
   • Only select repositories - Good for testing or if you only want it on specific projects
4. Click "Install" to authorize

Step 2: Permissions (Automatic)

CloudBurn requests these permissions during installation:

These are configured automatically. You don't need to do anything extra.

Step 3: Verify It Works

Here's how to confirm everything is set up correctly:

1. Create a test PR - Make any infrastructure change (add a Lambda function, change an EC2 instance type, etc.)
2. Wait for the action - Your CDK Diff or Terraform Plan action needs to complete first
3. Check for the comment - CloudBurn automatically posts a cost analysis within a few seconds

The comment shows:

• Estimated monthly cost changes - What this PR will add (or remove) from your AWS bill
• Cost breakdown by resource - Which resources are driving the cost
• Before vs. after comparison - See the full cost impact at a glance

How CloudBurn Works

Once installed, CloudBurn runs automatically. Here's what happens:

1. You push changes - CloudBurn monitors your Pull Requests
2. Action runs - When it detects a CDK diff or Terraform plan comment, it kicks into gear
3. Cost calculation - CloudBurn analyzes the changes and calculates the cost impact
4. Comment posted - The analysis appears as a PR comment
5. Auto-updates - Push more commits? CloudBurn updates its comment automatically

Multi-Environment Setup

Running multiple environments (dev, staging, prod)? CloudBurn handles that. If your GitHub Action uses custom headers, CloudBurn posts separate cost analyses for each:

# Example: Your workflow uses headers for environments
- name: Post CDK Diff Comment
  uses: towardsthecloud/aws-cdk-diff-pr-commenter@v1
  with:
    diff-file: dev-diff.txt
    header: "Dev Environment"  # CloudBurn recognizes this
    aws-region: us-east-1

- name: Post CDK Diff Comment
  uses: towardsthecloud/aws-cdk-diff-pr-commenter@v1
  with:
    diff-file: prod-diff.txt
    header: "Production Environment"  # Separate comment for prod
    aws-region: eu-west-1

Each header gets its own cost analysis comment, keeping your environments clearly separated.

Troubleshooting

Comment not appearing

What you see: PR has infrastructure changes but no cost analysis comment.

Check these:

1. GitHub Action status - Did the CDK Diff or Terraform Plan action complete successfully?
2. Diff/plan format - Is the output properly formatted? (Use --no-color for CDK)
3. Repository access - Is CloudBurn installed for this repository?
4. Wait a moment - Cost analysis typically appears within seconds, but can take up to 30 seconds

Cost estimates look wrong

What you see: Numbers don't match what you expected.

Check these:

1. Review the diff/plan - Does the infrastructure change match what you expected?
2. AWS region - Is the correct region specified in your workflow?
3. Resource support - Some resource types don't have cost estimates available yet
4. Pricing variations - Costs are estimates based on standard pricing; your actual costs may vary with reserved instances, savings plans, or negotiated rates

Multiple comments appearing

What you see: Several CloudBurn comments on the same PR.

This is expected if:

• You're using custom headers for multiple environments (each gets its own comment)
• The action ran multiple times with different configurations

To reduce comments:

• Use a single workflow without headers for single-environment setups
• Keep header values consistent across workflow runs

Uninstalling

Need to remove CloudBurn?

1. Go to your GitHub organization or account Settings
2. Navigate to GitHub Apps (under Integrations)
3. Find CloudBurn and click Configure
4. Scroll down and click Uninstall (or adjust which repositories it can access)

What's Next

• Review your first cost analysis - Open a PR with infrastructure changes and see it in action
• Explore advanced workflows - Check the CDK Diff examples or Terraform Plan examples
• Share with your team - The more people reviewing cost impact, the fewer surprise bills