Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General Questions

What is OpsCurb?

OpsCurb is an AWS cost optimization platform that automatically scans your AWS infrastructure to identify wasteful resources and provides actionable recommendations to reduce your cloud spending.

How does it work?

You grant us read-only access to your AWS account via an IAM role
We scan your infrastructure daily (or on your schedule)
We identify wasteful resources (unattached volumes, idle instances, etc.)
We provide recommendations and AI-powered fix instructions
You implement the recommendations and save money

How much can I save?

Most customers save 15-30% on their AWS bill in the first month. Some customers save even more. Actual savings depend on:

Size of your infrastructure
How optimized your current setup is
Which recommendations you implement

Is there a free trial?

Yes! We offer:

Free Plan: Forever free with basic features
14-day trial: For Starter and Pro plans (no credit card required)

Security & Privacy

Is OpsCurb safe?

Yes! Security is our top priority:

✅ Read-only access: We cannot modify your AWS resources
✅ No data access: We cannot read S3 objects or database contents
✅ Encryption: All data encrypted at rest and in transit
✅ External ID: Protection against confused deputy attacks
✅ Compliance: GDPR and CCPA compliant

See SECURITY.md for detailed security information.

What AWS permissions do you need?

We only need read-only permissions for:

EC2 (instances, volumes, snapshots, AMIs)
RDS (instances, snapshots)
S3 (bucket metadata only, not object contents)
CloudWatch (metrics and logs)
Cost Explorer (billing data)
ELB, ECR, VPC (metadata)

See the complete IAM policy in terraform/main.tf.

Can you modify my AWS resources?

No. We have zero write permissions. We can only read metadata and provide recommendations. You maintain full control over implementing changes.

Can you access my data?

No. We cannot access:

❌ S3 object contents
❌ RDS/database data
❌ EC2 instance data
❌ Application logs
❌ Secrets or credentials

We only read metadata like resource IDs, sizes, and configurations.

Where is my data stored?

Database: Supabase (PostgreSQL) in US-East
Backups: AWS S3 with encryption
Retention: 90 days (Free), 1 year (Paid)
Enterprise: Custom data residency available

Do you sell my data?

Never. We will never sell, rent, or trade your data to third parties. See our Privacy Policy.

Setup & Configuration

How long does setup take?

5-10 minutes for most users:

Create account (2 min)
Deploy IAM role (5 min)
Run first scan (1 min)

See our Onboarding Guide for step-by-step instructions.

What if I have multiple AWS accounts?

You can connect unlimited AWS accounts. Each account needs its own IAM role with a unique External ID.

Can I scan specific regions only?

Yes! You can configure which AWS regions to scan in your settings. This can reduce scan time and focus on regions you care about.

How often are scans run?

Free Plan: Daily at 6 AM UTC
Starter/Pro: Configurable (hourly, daily, weekly)
Enterprise: Custom schedule
Manual: Run scans anytime from the dashboard

Can I run scans manually?

Yes! Click "Run Scan Now" in the dashboard to trigger an immediate scan.

Features & Functionality

What resources do you scan?

We scan 14 categories of AWS resources:

Storage:

Unattached EBS volumes
Aged EBS snapshots
Aged RDS snapshots
S3 buckets without lifecycle policies
ECR repositories with old images
Unused AMIs and snapshots

Compute:

Stopped EC2 instances
Zombie RDS instances (no connections)
Over-provisioned Lambda functions (coming soon)

Network:

Unassociated Elastic IPs
Idle load balancers
Idle NAT gateways
Missing VPC endpoints
Cross-region data transfer

Monitoring:

CloudWatch logs without retention
Unused CloudWatch metrics
High GetMetricData API usage

What's the difference between plans?

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro	Enterprise
AWS Accounts	1	3	10	Unlimited
Scans/Day	1	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Data Retention	90 days	1 year	1 year	Custom
AI Explanations	❌	50/month	500/month	Unlimited
AI Model Choice	❌	❌	✅	✅
Slack/Discord	❌	✅	✅	✅
API Access	❌	✅	✅	✅
Support	Email	Email	Priority	Dedicated

See PRICING.md for full comparison.

What are AI-powered explanations?

For each finding, our AI generates:

Detailed explanation: Why this is wasteful
Step-by-step instructions: How to fix it
AWS CLI commands: Copy-paste commands
Console steps: Click-by-click guide
Risk warnings: What to watch out for

Available on Starter plan and above.

Can I choose which AI model to use?

Yes, on Pro and Enterprise plans you can choose from:

GPT-4o Mini (fast, cost-effective)
GPT-4o (balanced)
Claude 3.5 Sonnet (advanced reasoning)

Do you support other cloud providers?

Currently, we only support AWS. Support for Azure and GCP is planned for 2026.

Billing & Pricing

How does billing work?

Monthly subscription: Billed on the same day each month
Annual option: Save 20% with annual billing
Automatic renewal: Cancel anytime
Prorated: Upgrades are prorated

What payment methods do you accept?

Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex)
Debit cards
ACH (Enterprise only)
Wire transfer (Enterprise only)

All payments processed securely via Stripe.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes! Cancel anytime from your account settings. You'll retain access until the end of your billing period.

Do you offer refunds?

We offer refunds on a case-by-case basis within 30 days of purchase. Contact support@opscurb.com.

Is there a discount for nonprofits?

Yes! We offer 50% off for registered nonprofits and educational institutions. Contact sales@opscurb.com.

What happens if I exceed my plan limits?

AWS Accounts: You'll be prompted to upgrade
AI Explanations: Soft limit - you can purchase add-ons
API Calls: Rate limited, upgrade for higher limits

Technical Questions

What regions do you support?

We support all AWS commercial regions:

US East (N. Virginia, Ohio)
US West (Oregon, N. California)
Europe (Ireland, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Stockholm, Milan)
Asia Pacific (Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Mumbai, Hong Kong)
Canada (Central)
South America (São Paulo)
Middle East (Bahrain)
Africa (Cape Town)

GovCloud and China regions are not currently supported.

How accurate are the cost estimates?

Our cost estimates are based on:

AWS public pricing (updated monthly)
Resource metadata (size, type, region)
Historical usage patterns

Estimates are typically ±10% accurate. Actual costs may vary based on your specific AWS pricing agreements.

Can I integrate with my existing tools?

Yes! We offer:

REST API: Programmatic access to all data
Webhooks: Real-time notifications (coming soon)
Slack/Discord: Native integrations
CSV/JSON Export: For custom integrations

See API_DOCUMENTATION.md and INTEGRATIONS.md.

Do you support Infrastructure as Code?

Yes! Our AI can generate:

Terraform code for fixes
CloudFormation templates
AWS CLI commands

We also plan to add GitHub Action integration for PR cost analysis.

What's your uptime SLA?

Free: No SLA
Starter: 99% uptime
Pro: 99.5% uptime
Enterprise: 99.9% uptime with credits

See SLA.md for details.

Troubleshooting

My scan failed. What should I do?

Common causes:

IAM role issues: Verify the role exists and has correct permissions
External ID mismatch: Ensure External ID matches
Region restrictions: Check if you've restricted regions
AWS service issues: Check AWS status page

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for detailed solutions.

I'm not seeing any findings. Why?

Possible reasons:

Your infrastructure is already optimized! 🎉
Scan is still running: Wait for completion
Filters applied: Check your filter settings
Permissions issue: Verify IAM permissions

How do I rotate my External ID?

Generate a new External ID
Update the IAM role trust policy
Update the External ID in OpsCurb settings
Test the connection

Can I delete my account?

Yes. Go to Settings → Account → Delete Account. All your data will be permanently deleted within 30 days.

Support

How do I get help?

Documentation: docs.opscurb.com
Email: support@opscurb.com
Live Chat: Available in dashboard (Pro+)
Community: community.opscurb.com

What's your support response time?

Free: 48 hours (email only)
Starter: 24 hours (email)
Pro: 4 hours (email + chat)
Enterprise: 1 hour (dedicated support)

Do you offer onboarding assistance?

Free/Starter: Self-service onboarding
Pro: Email onboarding support
Enterprise: Dedicated onboarding specialist

Still have questions?

Last Updated: 2026-02-24
Version: 1.0