Forecast API Examples

Common forecast patterns with request bodies. Use the SKILL.md workflow to construct and execute the az rest command.

1. Forecast Rest of Current Month (Daily)

{
  "type": "ActualCost",
  "timeframe": "Custom",
  "timePeriod": {
    "from": "<first-of-month>",
    "to": "<last-of-month>"
  },
  "dataset": {
    "granularity": "Daily",
    "aggregation": {
      "totalCost": { "name": "Cost", "function": "Sum" }
    },
    "sorting": [
      { "direction": "Ascending", "name": "UsageDate" }
    ]
  },
  "includeActualCost": true,
  "includeFreshPartialCost": true
}

💡 Tip: Set from to the first of the month — the response contains Actual rows up to today and Forecast rows for remaining days.

2. Forecast Next 3 Months (Monthly)

{
  "type": "ActualCost",
  "timeframe": "Custom",
  "timePeriod": {
    "from": "<first-of-month>",
    "to": "<3-months-out>"
  },
  "dataset": {
    "granularity": "Monthly",
    "aggregation": {
      "totalCost": { "name": "Cost", "function": "Sum" }
    },
    "sorting": [
      { "direction": "Ascending", "name": "BillingMonth" }
    ]
  },
  "includeActualCost": true,
  "includeFreshPartialCost": true
}

💡 Tip: Monthly granularity uses the BillingMonth column in the response.

3. Forecast for Resource Group Scope

{
  "type": "ActualCost",
  "timeframe": "Custom",
  "timePeriod": {
    "from": "<start-date>",
    "to": "<end-date>"
  },
  "dataset": {
    "granularity": "Daily",
    "aggregation": {
      "totalCost": { "name": "Cost", "function": "Sum" }
    },
    "sorting": [
      { "direction": "Ascending", "name": "UsageDate" }
    ]
  },
  "includeActualCost": true,
  "includeFreshPartialCost": true
}

💡 Tip: Scope is set at the URL level. Use the resource group scope URL to limit the forecast.

4. Forecast for Billing Account Scope

{
  "type": "ActualCost",
  "timeframe": "Custom",
  "timePeriod": {
    "from": "<start-date>",
    "to": "<end-date>"
  },
  "dataset": {
    "granularity": "Monthly",
    "aggregation": {
      "totalCost": { "name": "Cost", "function": "Sum" }
    },
    "sorting": [
      { "direction": "Ascending", "name": "BillingMonth" }
    ]
  },
  "includeActualCost": true,
  "includeFreshPartialCost": true
}

💡 Tip: Use URL pattern /providers/Microsoft.Billing/billingAccounts/<id>/.... Monthly granularity recommended for billing account forecasts.

Scope URL Reference

💡 Tip: These are path-only patterns — not complete URLs. Append ?api-version=2023-11-01 when constructing the full request URL.