# Official sources

Use this reference only when grounding Contabo pricing, contract terms, instance tiers, or billing behavior.

## Contabo documentation

Use these as starting points, not as proof of the user's live billing state or current pricing:

- https://api.contabo.com/ — Contabo OpenAPI reference (instance, addon, and Object Storage endpoints)
- https://docs.contabo.com/ — Contabo user documentation (plans, pricing pages, contract terms, billing FAQ)
- https://github.com/contabo/cntb — cntb CLI tool (instance list and addon queries for live cost inventory)
- https://api.contabo.com/#tag/Instances — Instance operations API (product IDs, regions, addons)
- https://api.contabo.com/#tag/Object-Storages — Object Storage API (storage instance inventory and sizing)

## Grounding rule

Official Contabo documentation describes available product tiers, published pricing, and contract terms at the time of publication. It does not prove the user's current instance costs, active addon subscriptions, contract renewal dates, or applied discounts. Published pricing may differ from the user's account pricing due to promotional rates or legacy contracts. Label all pricing claims as `documentation-based` and direct the user to their Contabo customer portal for authoritative billing data. Never present documentation-based pricing as confirmed cost figures.

# Safety checklist

Use this reference before making recommendations that commit a new contract period, cancel an instance, change instance sizing, or modify addon subscriptions on live Contabo accounts.

## Non-negotiables

- Never ask users to paste OAuth2 tokens, client secrets, API passwords, or billing credentials into chat.
- Do not invent pricing, contract period terms, renewal dates, or billing impact figures. Label all pricing claims as `documentation-based` and note that published prices may change.
- Require explicit user acknowledgment of the financial obligation before recommending any action that creates or extends a contract period (1, 3, 6, or 12 months).
- Do not recommend instance cancellation without surfacing the remaining period, any early-termination terms, and the data/service impact of cancellation.
- Treat a contract period change as irreversible once committed — do not present it as easily undoable.
- Surface addon removal impact (e.g., losing Private Networking connectivity, releasing Additional IPs) before recommending addon cancellation.
- If the user's billing state is unknown or described only in general terms, request evidence before making specific cost-saving claims.

## Stress checks

- Does this recommendation lock in a new contract period? → Explicit acknowledgment required before routing to any lifecycle action.
- Does this addon cancellation remove network connectivity or IP addresses that active instances depend on? → Surface blast radius before recommending.
- Is this rightsizing recommendation based on actual utilization data or is it an inference from stated workload? → Label and request evidence if inference.
- Does a period downgrade save money but expose a renewal gap or service interruption risk? → State that explicitly.
- What upcoming renewals will create new obligations if not acted on before the billing cycle closes?

## Evidence labels

Use `live evidence`, `user-provided sanitized evidence`, `documentation-based`, or `inference`. Cost claims made on inference alone must be flagged as estimates, not confirmed savings.

# Workflow and output contract

Use this reference only when performing a full cost review, billing impact assessment, contract period analysis, or rightsizing recommendation for a Contabo environment.

## Review domains

Check these areas before giving a verdict:

- Contract period obligations: active periods (1/3/6/12 months), renewal dates, early-termination implications
- Instance sizing: VPS tier vs. VDS dedicated, CPU/RAM/storage fit for the declared workload
- Storage VPS vs. Object Storage: cost and capability tradeoffs for storage-heavy workloads
- Addon utilization: Private Networking, Additional IPs, Extra Storage, Custom Images — used vs. provisioned
- Billing event horizon: upcoming renewals, period changes, or instance operations that will create new obligations
- Spending anomalies: unexpected charges, orphaned addons, redundant instances

## Safe workflow

1. **Frame scope**
   - Account or instance(s) under review:
   - Business context (workload type, team, budget owner):
   - Optimization goal (reduce cost, right-size, consolidate, forecast):
   - Current contract periods and renewal exposure:
   - Explicit non-goals:
2. **Collect evidence**
   - Prefer user-provided billing summaries, instance lists, or addon inventories.
   - Use read-only Contabo API calls for instance and addon state if live access is available.
   - Ground pricing claims in official Contabo documentation; label pricing as `documentation-based` since published prices may change.
   - Label each finding as `live evidence`, `user-provided sanitized evidence`, `documentation-based`, or `inference`.
3. **Stress-test risk**
   - What contract period change creates an irreversible billing obligation?
   - What addon is provisioned but unused or underutilized?
   - What instance is oversized relative to observed or stated utilization?
   - What renewal is approaching that requires a decision within the next billing cycle?
   - What evidence is missing that would change the cost assessment?
4. **Recommend the smallest safe action**
   - Prefer changes that reduce cost without creating new contractual lock-in.
   - State the financial impact and obligation of each recommendation explicitly.
   - If the safest action is to wait for a renewal window before changing periods, say that plainly.

## Output contract

Return this structure:

```markdown
# Contabo Cost Optimization Review: <scope>
## Executive verdict
- Status: OPTIMIZED / OPTIMIZED WITH GAPS / COST RISK / NEEDS EVIDENCE
- Biggest cost risk:
- Evidence level:
## Scope and assumptions
- Confirmed:
- Unknown:
- Out of scope:
## Findings
| Priority | Finding | Evidence | Financial impact | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
## Recommended actions
1. <action> — billing impact: <impact>, contract risk: <risk>, validation: <check>
## Billing event horizon
- Upcoming renewals or decisions:
## Residual risk
- <risk or explicit none>
```