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▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄   Bicep Cost Estimator
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄   Estimate Azure costs directly from Bicep and ARM templates.
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▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄   title : Common Workflows
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄   page  : https://bicepcostestimator.net/guides/common-workflows
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄   repo  : https://github.com/polatengin/washington
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This page focuses on the most common end-to-end ways people use Bicep Cost Estimator in practice.

Estimate A Local Bicep File
─────────────────────────────

Use the CLI when you want a direct answer for one file on disk.

┌─ bash example ─────────────────────────────────────┐
│bce estimate --file infra/main.bicep                │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

If the template depends on parameter values, include the matching  .bicepparam  file:

┌─ bash example ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│bce estimate --file infra/main.bicep --params-file infra/main.bicepparam│
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

If you need to override one or two values without editing the parameter file, add repeatable  --param  flags:

┌─ bash example ─────────────────────────────────────┐
│bce estimate \                                      │
│  --file infra/main.bicep \                         │
│  --params-file infra/main.bicepparam \             │
│  --param env=prod \                                │
│  --param location=westeurope                       │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Produce Output For Automation
───────────────────────────────

Switch the output format depending on where the estimate needs to go next.

┌─ bash example ───────────────────────────────────────┐
│# Machine-readable output for scripts                 │
│bce estimate --file infra/main.bicep --output json    │
│                                                      │
│# Spreadsheet-friendly rows                           │
│bce estimate --file infra/main.bicep --output csv     │
│                                                      │
│# Markdown for PR summaries or reports                │
│bce estimate --file infra/main.bicep --output markdown│
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Use  json  when another tool needs to read  lines ,  grandTotal , or  warnings . Use  markdown  when you want a ready-to-paste table.

Estimate Compiled ARM JSON
────────────────────────────

If you already have ARM JSON, estimate it directly instead of compiling Bicep again:

┌─ bash example ─────────────────────────────────────┐
│bce estimate --file infra/main.arm.json             │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

This is useful in workflows that already produce ARM JSON as an artifact.

Browse The Published Docs From The Terminal
─────────────────────────────────────────────

The CLI includes a docs browser that reads the published docs site in plain text.

┌─ bash example ─────────────────────────────────────┐
│# Open the interactive browser                      │
│bce docs                                            │
│                                                    │
│# List published routes in website sidebar order    │
│bce docs list                                       │
│                                                    │
│# Print a single page                               │
│bce docs /getting-started                           │
│                                                    │
│# Search titles and summaries                       │
│bce docs search cache                               │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

In the interactive browser, use  Up  and  Down  to move,  Enter  to open,  Esc  to go back,  PageUp  and  PageDown  to scroll faster, and  q  to quit.

Inspect Costs Inside VS Code
──────────────────────────────

Use the extension when you want feedback while editing Bicep instead of after the fact.

Typical flow:

1. Open a  .bicep  file in VS Code.
2. Let automatic refresh run, or trigger the estimate command manually from the Command Palette.
3. Check CodeLens totals above resources and hover for details.
4. Open the  Cost Breakdown  view in the explorer to inspect the report tree.

The tree view shows:

• a root total for the current report
• one item per priced resource
• a warnings node when unsupported or unresolved resources were skipped

When you expand a resource node, the extension shows its resource type, pricing details, hourly cost, and monthly cost.

Estimate An Entire Workspace In VS Code
─────────────────────────────────────────

Use the workspace estimate command when you want one combined report for everything under the current repo root.

Current behavior:

• the extension scans all  .bicep  files recursively under the workspace root
• the result is aggregated into one report
• the tree view and status bar update from that aggregated report

This is useful for monorepos or infra folders that contain several deployable templates.

Gate A Pull Request On Cost
─────────────────────────────

Use the GitHub Action when you want cost checks in CI.

┌─ yaml example ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│- id: cost                                                                      │
│  uses: polatengin/washington@main                                              │
│  with:                                                                         │
│    file: infra/main.bicep                                                      │
│    params-file: infra/prod.bicepparam                                          │
│    output-format: markdown                                                     │
│    fail-on-threshold: 1000                                                     │
│                                                                                │
│- name: Append estimate summary                                                 │
│  run: |                                                                        │
│    echo '${{ steps.cost.outputs.estimation-result }}' >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"│
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

This gives you a visible workflow summary and fails the job when the monthly total is above the threshold.

Investigate Partial Or Suspicious Totals
──────────────────────────────────────────

When a total looks incomplete or stale, check in this order:

1. Read the warnings section first. Unsupported resource types are surfaced there instead of failing the whole estimate.
2. Confirm the resource type appears in Supported Resources https://bicepcostestimator.net/guides/supported-resources.
3. Prefer explicit  location , SKU, and sizing values when expression resolution is ambiguous.
4. Clear the pricing cache and rerun if the numbers look stale.

┌─ bash example ─────────────────────────────────────┐
│bce cache info                                      │
│bce cache clear                                     │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Related Reading
──────────────────

• CLI Commands https://bicepcostestimator.net/cli/commands
• VS Code Extension https://bicepcostestimator.net/vscode-extension
• GitHub Action https://bicepcostestimator.net/github-action
• Troubleshooting https://bicepcostestimator.net/guides/troubleshooting