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Explorer is the interactive workspace for answering cloud cost questions. Use it when you need to narrow a cost issue with a Where clause, group spend by the right dimension, compare periods, and decide what should happen next.
Costory Explorer showing cost breakdown by service with chart and period comparison table

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Overview

Explorer is built for investigation. You start with a cost question, refine the query, and use the result as context for another workflow. Most teams use Explorer to:
  • Identify which service, account, region, team, resource, or dimension explains a cost change
  • Compare the selected period with a reference period to understand absolute and relative movement
  • Combine cost metrics, usage metrics, and formulas for unit economics analysis
  • Save the query as a dashboard widget, alert, report, or context for the FinOps MCP

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Build a cost query

The query bar controls what data Explorer returns.
Use Scopes in the top toolbar to apply a saved team, environment, or business-unit filter without rebuilding the Where clause.
You can run the same investigation from chat. Ask the Costory MCP something like “compare this month’s GCP spend to last month, grouped by service” and it queries, compares periods, and suggests the group-by for you.

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What to do with the result

Explorer is often the starting point for a recurring workflow.

Create a dashboard

Turn a useful query into a persistent dashboard widget.

Create an alert

Monitor the same cost surface and notify owners when a condition is met.

Schedule a Cost Report

Send a recurring snapshot to Slack, Microsoft Teams, or email.

Continue in MCP

Copy the query context into Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or Dust through the FinOps MCP.

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Frequently asked questions

Yes. Save the query as a dashboard widget when you want a recurring view, or use it as the basis for an alert or scheduled Cost Report.
Yes. Add usage metrics and formulas in Explorer to calculate ratios such as cost per user or cost per transaction. See Unit Economics for the full workflow.

Dashboards

Build persistent views from Explorer queries.

Unit Economics

Add metrics and formulas to cost analysis.

FinOps MCP

Query Costory data and create FinOps workflows from an AI assistant.

Cost Reports

Deliver recurring cost snapshots to Slack, Teams, or email.
Last modified on June 30, 2026