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

# Explorer

> Use Costory Explorer to query AWS, GCP, and Azure costs with filters, group-bys, comparison periods, and saved context before turning the result into dashboards, alerts, reports, or MCP prompts.

**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.

<Frame caption="Explorer lets you analyze multi-cloud spend with filters, group-bys, and period comparison">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/costory/42bBN-TVANXyiZnv/images/explore/explore-cost-breakdown.gif?s=69b3250e3ff1b69db9f53120540cb6e8" alt="Costory Explorer showing cost breakdown by service with chart and period comparison table" width="1156" height="720" data-path="images/explore/explore-cost-breakdown.gif" />
</Frame>

## 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](/features/tagging/dimensions) 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](/features/mcp)

## Build a cost query

The query bar controls what data Explorer returns.

| Control        | What it does                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Metric**     | Select total cost, <Tooltip tip="A stable cost metric that removes Savings Plan fluctuation noise. Shows what each resource would cost at its effective discounted rate." cta="See Glossary" href="/docs/glossary#contracted-cost">Contracted Cost</Tooltip>, list cost, usage metrics, budgets, or formulas.                                              |
| **Group by**   | Break costs down by provider, service, account, region, tag, imported dimension, or [<Tooltip tip="Rule-based dimensions that map cloud resources to business groupings like teams, products, or environments." cta="See Glossary" href="/docs/glossary#virtual-dimensions">virtual dimension</Tooltip>](/features/tagging/dimensions#virtual-dimensions). |
| **Date range** | Set the analysis period and aggregation granularity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Compare**    | Add a reference period so each result shows absolute and percentage change.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| **Where**      | Filter the query to a specific scope. Combine conditions with `AND` or `OR`, or use `Not` to exclude values.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |

<Tip>
  Use **Scopes** in the top toolbar to apply a saved team, environment, or business-unit filter without rebuilding the `Where` clause.
</Tip>

## What to do with the result

Explorer is often the starting point for a recurring workflow.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create a dashboard" icon="chart-pie" href="/features/dashboards">
    Turn a useful query into a persistent dashboard widget.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create an alert" icon="bell" href="/features/alerts">
    Monitor the same cost surface and notify owners when a condition is met.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Schedule a Cost Report" icon="paper-plane" href="/features/slack-reports">
    Send a recurring snapshot to Slack, Microsoft Teams, or email.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Continue in MCP" icon="sparkles" href="/features/mcp">
    Copy the query context into Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or Dust through the FinOps MCP.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Which cloud providers does Explorer support?">
    Explorer supports [AWS](/setup/billing/aws), [GCP](/setup/billing/gcp), and [Azure](/setup/billing/azure). Costory normalizes billing data so you can query providers together or filter to one provider for native tags and resource-level fields.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I save an Explorer query?">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I combine costs with business metrics?">
    Yes. Add [usage metrics](/setup/usage-metrics) and formulas in Explorer to calculate ratios such as cost per user or cost per transaction. See [Unit Economics](/features/unit-economics) for the full workflow.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How fresh is the data?">
    Costory processes cloud billing data daily, typically within 24 hours of your cloud provider publishing it. See [Data Refresh](/docs/data-refresh) for details.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related links

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Dashboards" icon="chart-pie" href="/features/dashboards">
    Build persistent views from Explorer queries.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Unit Economics" icon="calculator" href="/features/unit-economics">
    Add metrics and formulas to cost analysis.
  </Card>

  <Card title="FinOps MCP" icon="sparkles" href="/features/mcp">
    Query Costory data and create FinOps workflows from an AI assistant.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cost Reports" icon="paper-plane" href="/features/slack-reports">
    Deliver recurring cost snapshots to Slack, Teams, or email.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>