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Gapstack tags every resource it provisions in your AWS account so you can tell which infrastructure it created. Cost views stay off until you turn them on. Leave them off unless you need spend data. Querying AWS for prices incurs extra charges.

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How Gapstack identifies resources

When Gapstack provisions resources in an environment, it applies gp: tags in your AWS account. Those keys identify the organization, the project that groups the environment, the environment, and the resource. AWS also adds CloudFormation tags such as aws:cloudformation:stack-name. You do not activate those as user-defined cost allocation tags.

Gapstack tags on a provisioned Lambda in your AWS account.

AWS does not use the gp: keys for billing until you activate them as cost allocation tags.
Only the management account in an AWS Organization, or a standalone account, can activate cost allocation tags. See Activating user-defined cost allocation tags.
1

Activate the tags in AWS Billing

After Gapstack has provisioned at least one tagged resource, activate the tag keys in AWS.
  1. Open the AWS Billing and Cost Management console.
  2. In the navigation pane, click Cost allocation tags.
  3. Select the Gapstack tag keys: gp:app, gp:tenant_id, gp:project_id, gp:environment_id, and gp:resource_id.
  4. Click Activate.
AWS can take up to 24 hours to show new tag keys on that page, and up to another 24 hours after you activate them. Cost Explorer only reports tagged spend after activation, and only for charges that occur after the tags are active.
2

Turn on cost analytics in Gapstack when you need it

Open Organization settings. In the sidebar, turn on Enable cost analytics.The product warns that this feature incurs additional costs when enabled. Gapstack reads spend through the AWS Cost Explorer API. AWS charges $0.01 per request against your primary billing view.Leave the toggle off when you are not reviewing costs. The AWS console Cost Explorer UI is free. The charge applies when Gapstack queries the API.

Enable cost analytics in the sidebar. Leave it off unless you need spend data.

Turn Enable cost analytics on only when you need Gapstack to show AWS spend. Each Cost Explorer API request is billed by AWS. Turn the toggle off when you are done.

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What you see after it is on

Gapstack can then attribute costs to environment resources, and group that spend by project. If a tag is not activated in AWS, those resources do not appear in tagged cost data. If you already turned on cost analytics and still see no spend, see Cost analytics shows no data. For the latest AWS pricing, see AWS Cost Explorer pricing.