> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cloudthinker.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Resources
> Infrastructure resources overview for CloudThinker operations.
Track every cloud asset, run targeted discovery, and act on cost/security/performance findings in one place. Screenshots use AWS as an example, but flows apply to any supported cloud.
***
## The Problem
Cloud infrastructure grows faster than it's tracked. Resources get provisioned for a project, the project ends, and the resources keep running. Tags are inconsistent. Nobody has a definitive answer to "how many EC2 instances do we have and what are they all doing?"
Traditional approaches:
* AWS Console: must click through each service and region manually
* `aws ec2 describe-instances` + spreadsheets: scripts break, output needs manual processing
* AWS Config: powerful but complex to query, no built-in recommendations
* Third-party CMDB tools: expensive, require agent installation, go stale quickly
The result: untracked resources are invisible to cost, security, and performance analysis. You can't optimize what you can't see.
***
## How Existing Tools Compare
| Tool | What It Does | What's Missing |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **AWS Console** | Browse resources by service | No cross-service inventory, no optimization actions |
| **AWS Config** | Configuration tracking and compliance rules | Complex query language, no AI recommendations, no multi-cloud |
| **AWS Resource Explorer** | Cross-region resource search | Search only, no cost/security analysis, no actions |
| **ServiceNow CMDB** | Enterprise configuration database | Requires agent installation, expensive, goes stale without active maintenance |
| **Terraform state** | IaC-managed resource inventory | Only covers IaC-managed resources; manual/console-created resources invisible |
CloudThinker Resources gives you live discovery, cross-cloud inventory, and direct optimization actions — all in one view, without writing scripts or maintaining agents.
***
## What Makes This Different
* **On-demand and continuous discovery**: scan on demand or let [CloudKeepers](/guide/infrastructure/cloudkeepers) continuously monitor — no agents to install
* **Tag-based scoping**: focus discovery on specific environments (production, staging) without noise
* **Inline optimization**: hover over any resource to immediately run cost optimization, security scan, or performance check
* **Cloud-agnostic**: same workflow for AWS, GCP, and Azure — not separate tools for each provider
***
## What you get
* Complete inventory across accounts with resource type filters and tags
* On-demand and continuous discovery across AWS services
* Inline actions to optimize cost, scan security, and check performance
***
## Prerequisites
* At least one cloud account connected (images show AWS, but any supported cloud works)
* Tags you want to use for scoping (e.g., `ENV=dev`, `Environment=production`)
***
## Quick Start
Go to **Infrastructure → Resources** to start discovery.
Choose the account, pick service types to scan, and scope with tags.
See discovered assets, savings potential, and run actions per resource.
***
## How access and automation work
* Agents can operate on any resources your cloud permissions allow, not just the ones you discovered. Discovery makes it easier to manage those resources inside CloudThinker.
* **[CloudKeepers](/guide/infrastructure/cloudkeepers)** runs across all permitted resources in your cloud; it is not limited by resource discovery scope.
* **[Assessment](/guide/infrastructure/assessment)** requires discovered resources first and only evaluates the resources that have been discovered.
***
## Step-by-step guide
Click **Connect** for your cloud (AWS shown here) and start **Resource Discovery**.
The banner shows the flow: connect, run first scan (\~30s), then automate.
Choose the services you want to include (names vary by cloud; AWS shown in the screenshot). Use **Select All** or search to narrow, then save when it matches your discovery scope.
* **No selected tags** → scan all tags/resources.
* **Selecting tags** → only resources matching those tags are scanned.
Add environment tags (e.g., `ENV=dev`, `Environment=production`) or **Add Custom Tag** for teams/projects/cost centers to focus the crawl.
* See totals, potential savings, and per-resource entries.
* Filter by resource name, service, or category (e.g., Compute).
* Hover **Actions** to run **Optimize Cost**, **Scan Security**, or **Check Performance** on a resource.
Use this to triage new findings and trigger targeted actions quickly.
***
## Tips
* Start broad, then narrow with tags to avoid missing critical resources.
* Keep discovery configurations versioned (note which services/tags you scan).
* After each scan, action high-value recommendations first (cost/security).
***
## What's Next
Set up continuous monitoring so new resources are automatically evaluated
Run a Well-Architected assessment on your discovered resources
Manage and track recommendations from resource optimization actions
Visualize discovered resources and their dependencies
