# l4 estimate > Estimate the monthly cost of Terraform and CloudFormation before resources are created. Source: https://docs.levelfour.ai/cli/commands/estimate `l4 estimate` prices the Terraform and CloudFormation in your workspace and estimates the monthly cost of the resources they define. It needs no `terraform plan` and no deployed stack. Point it at directories, individual files, or a mix. It reads a directory recursively. ```bash l4 estimate l4 estimate ./infra/ l4 estimate main.tf variables.tf l4 estimate template.yaml --parameter Env=prod ``` Each Terraform root module is priced once, with the modules it calls. Each CloudFormation template is priced with the nested stack templates, `AWS::Include` snippets and `samconfig` files it uses. [CloudFormation](#cloudformation) covers what leaves your machine. ## Flags | Flag | Description | | -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--region ` | AWS region for pricing. Order: `--region`, then `region_override` in `.levelfour/config.yml`, then the template's `samconfig` (for Terraform, its provider block), then `us-east-1` | | `--gcp-region ` | GCP region (default: auto-detect or `us-central1`) | | `--azure-region ` | Azure region (default: auto-detect or `eastus`) | | `--var ` | Terraform variable (repeatable) | | `--var-file ` | Terraform variable file (repeatable) | | `--download-modules` | Download remote modules for accurate estimates (default `true`) | | `--parameter ` | CloudFormation parameter value, given to every root template that declares `Key` (repeatable). A nested stack gets the parameters its parent passes | | `--parameters-file ` | CloudFormation parameters file for the root templates, in the AWS CLI JSON format or the CodePipeline format | | `--config-env ` | The `samconfig` environment whose parameters and region apply (default `default`) | | `--out-file ` | Save the Terraform resource snapshot for later use with `l4 diff` | | `--fail-above ` | Exit code `2` if monthly cost exceeds this threshold | | `--format` | `table`, `json`, or `github-comment` (default `table`) | > **Warning** > > Pricing is regional. When no flag, config, provider block or `samconfig` names a region, every AWS resource is priced in `us-east-1`, which returns a plausible total that is wrong for any other region. Global flags apply, including `--quiet` and `--token`. See [CLI overview](/cli#global-flags). ## CloudFormation `l4 estimate` reads YAML, JSON and SAM templates. It tells a template apart from other YAML and JSON by its content, so a Kubernetes manifest or a `package.json` in the same directory is left alone. The CLI parses Terraform on your machine and sends only the resources to the API. **CloudFormation templates are uploaded to the LevelFour API**, which evaluates their parameters, conditions, intrinsic functions and nested stacks, then prices them. The upload holds: * the templates the CLI found * the nested stack templates and `AWS::Include` snippets they reference * the `samconfig` beside each template * the `--parameters-file` Nothing outside the git repository goes up. Outside a repository, nothing outside the directory you point at goes up. A file a template references is uploaded only when git tracks it and it is not hidden, vendored or a package manifest, so an ignored `credentials.json` or a `.env.json` stays on your machine. The CLI never follows a symlink to a file it uploads. Before the request goes out, it lists every file it uploads on stderr. A parameter of a root template takes the first value it finds: `--parameter`, then `--parameters-file`, then the `samconfig` environment `--config-env` names, then the template's `Default`. A nested stack takes the parameters its parent passes down, and its own `Default` for the rest. When the estimate rests on an assumption, such as a parameter priced at its default or a condition LevelFour could not settle, the output lists it under **Assumptions**. ### AWS CDK The CLI does not run `cdk synth`. Run it yourself, then name each synthesized template: ```bash cdk synth l4 estimate cdk.out/MyStack.template.json ``` A directory walk skips `cdk.out`, so name the templates as files. [Pull request bot](/integrations/pull-request-bot#how-it-prices-a-cloudformation-template) lists the rest of what LevelFour cannot price in a template. ## CI guardrail pattern Fail the build when the estimated monthly cost is above $500: ```bash l4 estimate --fail-above 500 -q ./infra/ ``` > **Success** > > A wired gate exits `2` once the estimate goes over the threshold. That is the guardrail firing rather than the command breaking, and the two carry different codes, so a job can branch on the difference. [Exit codes](/cli#exit-codes) has the full set. `--fail-above` gates on the total here, so a workspace that sits above the line fails every build, whether or not the change moved it. [`l4 diff`](/cli/commands/diff) gates on the delta instead. ## Saving a snapshot for later comparison Outside a git repo, save the current Terraform estimate as a baseline you can diff against later: ```bash l4 estimate --out-file baseline.json ./infra/ # ... make changes ... l4 diff baseline.json ./infra/ ``` In a git repo you need no snapshot at all. See [`l4 diff`](/cli/commands/diff) for the default baseline. ## Posting to a pull request The `github-comment` format is what the LevelFour GitHub Action uses. Post it by hand with: ```bash l4 estimate --format github-comment ./infra/ \ | gh pr comment "$PR_NUMBER" --body-file - ``` ## Related * [`l4 diff`](/cli/commands/diff) compares an estimate against a branch or a saved baseline * [CI/CD integration](/guides/ci-cd) has the GitHub Actions and GitLab CI jobs that run this command * [Output formats](/cli/output-formats) covers the global `--json`, `--jq`, `--template` and `--quiet` flags