[!TIP] Stop AWS bill surprises from happening.

Most infrastructure changes look harmless until you see next month's AWS bill. CloudBurn prevents this by analyzing the cost impact of your AWS CDK changes directly in GitHub pull requests, catching expensive mistakes during code review when fixes are quick, not weeks later when they're costly and risky.

1. First install the free CDK Diff PR Commenter GitHub Action in your repository where you build your AWS CDK infrastructure
2. Then install the CloudBurn GitHub App on the same repository

What happens now:

Whenever you open a PR with infrastructure changes, the GitHub Action comments with your CDK diff analysis. CloudBurn reads that diff and automatically adds a separate comment with a detailed cost report showing:

• Monthly cost impact – Will this change increase or decrease your AWS bill? By how much?
• Per-resource breakdown – See exactly which resources are driving costs (old vs. new monthly costs)
• Region-aware pricing – We pick the right AWS pricing based on the region where your infrastructure is deployed

Your team can now validate cost impact alongside infrastructure changes during code review. Essentially, this shifts FinOps left where you optimize costs as you code, not weeks later when context is lost and production adjustments require more time and carry added risk.

CloudBurn will be free during beta. After launch, a free Community plan (1 repository with unlimited users) will always be available.

Quick Start

This project requires at least Node.js version 22.

To get started, follow these steps:

1. Click the green "Use this template" button to create a new repository based on this starter kit.

2. Install the project dependencies using: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile

3. Customize the AWS Region and Account IDs in the .projenrc.ts file to match your AWS setup.

4. Run npx projen to generate the GitHub Actions workflow files.

   The generated dependency upgrade workflow's "Create Pull Request" step uses PROJEN_GITHUB_TOKEN, so add that repository secret if you want scheduled projen dependency update PRs.

5. Ensure you're logged into an AWS Account via the AWS CLI.

6. Deploy the CDK toolkit stack with cdk bootstrap if it's not already set up.

7. Deploy the GitHub OIDC Stack to enable GitHub Actions workflow permissions for AWS deployments.

8. Commit and push your changes to the main branch to trigger the CDK deploy pipeline in GitHub.

Congratulations! You've successfully set up your project.

📚 Full Documentation

For detailed setup instructions, architecture explanations, and advanced usage guides, visit the → official documentation.

Acknowledgements

A heartfelt thank you to the creators of projen. This starter kit stands on the shoulders of giants, made possible by their pioneering work in simplifying cloud infrastructure projects!

Author

Danny Steenman