get_pricing

// WHEN AI AGENTS USE THIS TOOL

AI agents call get_pricing to retrieve information from AWS Pricing MCP Server without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.

// WHY ENFORCE A POLICY ON GET_PRICING

Even though get_pricing only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.

// RECOMMENDED POLICY

Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.

aws-pricing-mcp-server.yaml

tools:
  get_pricing:
    rules:
      - action: allow

See the full AWS Pricing MCP Server policy for all 9 tools.

// DETAILS

Tool Name get_pricing

Category Read

MCP Server AWS Pricing MCP Server MCP Server

Risk Level Low

// MORE AWS PRICING MCP SERVER TOOLS

Write generate_cost_report Read analyze_cdk_project Read analyze_terraform_project Read get_bedrock_patterns Read get_price_list_urls Read get_pricing_attribute_values Read get_pricing_service_attributes Read get_pricing_service_codes

View all 9 tools →

// WHAT CAN GO WRONG

Agents calling read-class tools like get_pricing have been implicated in these attack patterns. Read the full case and prevention policy for each:

Browse the full MCP Attack Database →

// OTHER READ TOOLS ACROSS MCP SERVERS

Other tools in the Read risk category across the catalogue. The same policy patterns (rate-limit, allow) apply to each.

Firecrawl Web Scraping Server firecrawl_check_crawl_status Firecrawl Web Scraping Server firecrawl_crawl Firecrawl Web Scraping Server firecrawl_deep_research Firecrawl Web Scraping Server firecrawl_extract Firecrawl Web Scraping Server firecrawl_map Firecrawl Web Scraping Server firecrawl_scrape

// RELATED READING

// FAQ

What does the get_pricing tool do? +

Get detailed pricing information from AWS Price List API with optional filters. **PARAMETERS:** - service_code (required): AWS service code (e.g., 'AmazonEC2', 'AmazonS3', 'AmazonES') - region (optional): AWS region string (e.g., 'us-east-1') OR list for multi-region comparison (e.g., ['us-east-1', 'eu-west-1']). Omit for global services like DataTransfer or CloudFront that don't have region-specific pricing. - filters (optional): List of filter dictionaries in format {'Field': str, 'Type': str, 'Value': str} - max_allowed_characters (optional): Response size limit in characters (default: 100,000, use -1 for unlimited) - output_options (optional): OutputOptions object for response transformation and size reduction - max_results (optional): Maximum number of results to return per page (default: 100, min: 1, max: 100) - next_token (optional): Pagination token from previous response to get next page of results **MANDATORY WORKFLOW - ALWAYS FOLLOW:** **Step 1: Discover Available Options** ```python service_codes = get_pricing_service_codes() # Find correct service (skip if known) attributes = get_pricing_service_attributes('AmazonEC2') # Discover filterable dimensions attribute_values = get_pricing_attribute_values('AmazonEC2', 'memory') # Get valid values for filtering ``` **Step 2: Build Precise Filters** ```python # Use ONLY values discovered in Step 1 filters = [ {"Field": "memory", "Value": ["8 GiB", "16 GiB", "32 GiB"], "Type": "ANY_OF"}, # Multiple options {"Field": "instanceType", "Value": "m5", "Type": "CONTAINS"}, # Pattern matching {"Field": "instanceType", "Value": ["t2", "m4"], "Type": "NONE_OF"} # Exclude older ] ``` **Step 3: Execute Query** ```python pricing = get_pricing('AmazonEC2', 'us-east-1', filters) ``` **FILTER TYPES:** - **EQUALS**: Exact match (default) - `{"Field": "instanceType", "Value": "m5.large"}` - **ANY_OF**: Multiple options - `{"Field": "memory", "Value": ["8 GiB", "16 GiB"], "Type": "ANY_OF"}` - **CONTAINS**: Pattern match - `{"Field": "instanceType", "Value": "m5", "Type": "CONTAINS"}` - **NONE_OF**: Exclusion - `{"Field": "instanceType", "Value": ["t2", "m4"], "Type": "NONE_OF"}` **CRITICAL: ANY_OF FILTER VALUE LIMITS:** - **1024 CHARACTER LIMIT**: Total length of all values in ANY_OF arrays cannot exceed 1024 characters - **PROGRESSIVE FILTERING**: Start with minimal qualifying options, expand if needed - **EXAMPLE VIOLATION**: `["8 GiB", "16 GiB", "32 GiB", "64 GiB", "96 GiB", "128 GiB", ...]` (TOO LONG) - **CORRECT APPROACH**: `["8 GiB", "16 GiB", "32 GiB", "36 GiB", "48 GiB"]` (TARGETED LIST) **COMMON USE CASES:** **COST OPTIMIZATION - EXHAUSTIVE MINIMUM-FIRST APPROACH:** When users ask for "lowest price", "cheapest", or cost optimization - **LOWER = CHEAPER ASSUMPTION**: For cost optimization, assume lower capabilities cost less than higher ones * 32 GB storage is cheaper than 300 GB storage * 8 GiB RAM is cheaper than 64 GiB RAM - **CRITICAL FOR COST QUERIES**: Start IMMEDIATELY above minimum requirement and test ALL options incrementally - **EXHAUSTIVE ENUMERATION REQUIRED**: Each storage/memory tier is MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE - must list each one explicitly - **STOP AT REASONABLE UPPER BOUND**: For cost optimization, limit upper bound to 2-3x minimum requirement to avoid expensive options - **exclude_free_products**: ESSENTIAL for cost analysis - removes $0.00 reservation placeholders, SQL licensing variants, and special pricing entries that obscure actual billable instances when finding cheapest options - Use ANY_OF for efficient multi-option comparison in single API call - Multi-attribute capability filtering for minimum requirements - Combine CONTAINS + NONE_OF for refined discovery **OUTPUT OPTIONS (Response Size & Performance Control):** - **PURPOSE**: Transform and optimize API responses for ALL services, especially critical for large services (EC2, RDS) - **IMMEDIATE COMBINED APPROACH**: `{"pricing_terms": ["OnDemand", "FlatRate"], "product_attributes": ["instanceType", "location", "memory"]}` - **ATTRIBUTE DISCOVERY**: Use get_pricing_service_attributes() - same names for filters and output_options - **SIZE REDUCTION**: 80%+ reduction with combined pricing_terms + product_attributes - **exclude_free_products**: Remove products with $0.00 OnDemand pricing (useful when you know service has paid tiers) - **WHEN TO USE**: Always for large services, recommended for all services to improve performance **CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS:** - **NEVER GUESS VALUES**: Always use get_pricing_attribute_values() to discover valid options - **EXHAUSTIVE ENUMERATION**: For cost optimization, list ALL qualifying tiers individually - they are mutually exclusive - **USE SPECIFIC FILTERS**: Large services (EC2, RDS) require 2-3 filters minimum - **NEVER USE MULTIPLE CALLS**: When ANY_OF can handle it in one call - **VERIFY EXISTENCE**: Ensure all filter values exist in the service before querying - **FOR "CHEAPEST" QUERIES**: Focus on lower-end options that meet minimum requirements, test incrementally - **EXPLORE ALTERNATIVES**: When response includes "alternatives" field, MUST fetch their pricing if applicable to the use case before answering **CONSTRAINTS:** - **CURRENT PRICING ONLY**: Use get_price_list_urls for historical data - **NO SPOT/SAVINGS PLANS**: Only OnDemand, FlatRate, and Reserved Instance pricing available (ANY combination possible) - **CHARACTER LIMIT**: 100,000 characters default response limit (use output_options to reduce) - **REGION AUTO-FILTER**: Region parameter automatically creates regionCode filter **ANTI-PATTERNS:** - DO NOT make multiple API calls that could be combined with ANY_OF - DO NOT build cross-products manually when API can handle combinations - DO NOT call get_pricing_service_codes() when service code is already known (e.g., "AmazonEC2") - DO NOT use EQUALS without first checking get_pricing_attribute_values() - DO NOT skip discovery workflow for any use case - DO NOT use broad queries without specific filters on large services - DO NOT assume attribute values exist across different services/regions - DO NOT skip intermediate tiers: Missing 50GB, 59GB options when testing 32GB → 75GB jump - DO NOT set upper bounds too high: Including 500GB+ storage when user needs ≥30GB (wastes character limit) - DO NOT ignore alternatives field or use only ["OnDemand"] in output_options **EXAMPLE USE CASES:** **1. Cost-Optimized Multi-Attribute Filtering (CORRECT APPROACH):** ```python # Find cheapest EC2 instances meeting minimum requirements (>= 8 GiB memory, >= 30 GB storage) # EXHAUSTIVE ENUMERATION of qualifying tiers - each is mutually exclusive filters = [ {"Field": "memory", "Value": ["8 GiB", "16 GiB", "32 GiB"], "Type": "ANY_OF"}, # All tiers ≥8GB up to reasonable limit {"Field": "storage", "Value": ["1 x 32 SSD", "1 x 60 SSD", "1 x 75 NVMe SSD"], "Type": "ANY_OF"}, # All tiers ≥30GB up to reasonable limit {"Field": "instanceType", "Value": ["t2", "m4"], "Type": "NONE_OF"}, # Exclude older generations {"Field": "tenancy", "Value": "Shared", "Type": "EQUALS"} # Exclude more expensive dedicated ] pricing = get_pricing('AmazonEC2', 'us-east-1', filters) ``` **2. Efficient Multi-Region Comparison:** ```python # Compare same configuration across regions - use region parameter for multi-region filters = [{"Field": "instanceType", "Value": "m5.large", "Type": "EQUALS"}] pricing = get_pricing('AmazonEC2', ['us-east-1', 'us-west-2', 'eu-west-1'], filters) ``` **3. Large service with output optimization (recommended approach):** ```python output_options = {"pricing_terms": ["OnDemand", "FlatRate"], "product_attributes": ["instanceType", "location"], "exclude_free_products": true} pricing = get_pricing('AmazonEC2', 'us-east-1', filters, output_options=output_options) ``` **4. Pattern-Based Discovery:** ```python # Find all Standard storage tiers except expensive ones filters = [ {"Field": "storageClass", "Value": "Standard", "Type": "CONTAINS"}, {"Field": "storageClass", "Value": ["Standard-IA"], "Type": "NONE_OF"} ] ``` **FILTERING STRATEGY:** - **Large Services (EC2, RDS)**: ALWAYS use 2-3 specific filters to prevent 200+ record responses - **Small Services**: May work with single filter or no filters - **Multi-Option Analysis**: Use ANY_OF instead of multiple API calls - **Pattern Discovery**: Use CONTAINS for finding families or tiers - **Smart Exclusion**: Use NONE_OF for compliance or cost filtering **SUCCESS CRITERIA:** - Used discovery workflow (skip get_pricing_service_codes() if service known) - Applied appropriate filters for the service size - Used exact values from get_pricing_attribute_values() - Used ANY_OF for multi-option scenarios instead of multiple calls - For cost optimization: tested ALL qualifying tiers exhaustively (in a reasonable range) - Included ["OnDemand", "FlatRate"] in output_options and explored all alternatives. It is categorised as a Read tool in the AWS Pricing MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on get_pricing? +

Add a rule in your Intercept YAML policy under the tools section for get_pricing. You can allow, deny, rate-limit, or validate arguments. Then run Intercept as a proxy in front of the AWS Pricing MCP Server MCP server.

What risk level is get_pricing? +

get_pricing is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit get_pricing? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the get_pricing rule in your Intercept policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block get_pricing completely? +

Set action: deny in the Intercept policy for get_pricing. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides get_pricing? +

get_pricing is provided by the AWS Pricing MCP Server MCP server (awslabs.aws-pricing-mcp-server). Intercept sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Let agents act without letting them run wild.