January 19, 2026
Paging Dr. Cloud: bill in critical condition
Show HN: AWS-doctor – A terminal-based AWS health check and cost optimizer in Go
A free ‘cloud doctor’ hunts zombie bills — some say the cure is ditching AWS
TLDR: A free tool scans your Amazon cloud for waste and weird costs, offering fast bill insights without pricey support. Commenters split between cheering a practical fix and quipping that the best savings tip is to avoid AWS entirely, spotlighting frustration with paywalled advice and surprise bills.
Meet aws-doctor, the terminal-side physician for your Amazon cloud bill, and the Hacker News crowd has thoughts. The creator, a Cloud Architect, says it’s a free alternative to AWS’s paywalled “Trusted Advisor,” scanning for zombie resources (think unused servers and idle databases) and showing 6‑month cost trends so teams can spot weird spending before it bites. Cue applause from builders: one commenter basically said, “I was about to make this—now I’ll just use it,” while others cheered the quick health check and no‑nonsense, command line vibe.
But the spiciest reply lit up the room: “My AWS cost optimiser is to use a hosting provider instead of AWS.” And just like that, the thread split. Team Builder loves the DIY cost detective; Team Burn-It-All-Down says the best way to save money is to skip the AWS hospital altogether. There’s also a side-eye at AWS for locking the best advice behind pricey support plans—cue memes about medical records for your cloud and jokes like, “Doctor, my bill is terminal.”
Under the jokes, the tool’s promise is simple: highlight waste like unused volumes, idle load balancers, and expired reservations, compare month-to-month spending, and give you context fast. Love AWS or leave it, the comments agree: everyone wants fewer surprises on the bill.
Key Points
- •aws-doctor is an open-source, terminal-based AWS health check and cost optimizer built in Golang.
- •It mimics AWS Trusted Advisor insights without requiring Business or Enterprise support plans.
- •Features include month-to-month cost comparison, six-month trend visualization, and waste detection for idle resources.
- •Installation uses go install; flags support profile, region, trend analysis, and waste checks.
- •Roadmap plans CSV/PDF export and distribution in Fedora, Ubuntu, and macOS repositories.