Idle Memorystore (GCP)
CostLens flags Memorystore Redis instances with almost no connected clients — likely unused and billing their provisioned memory continuously.
CostLens flags idle Memorystore Redis instances — instances with almost no connected clients. A Memorystore instance bills its provisioned memory around the clock, so one with no client activity is pure waste.
Confirm before deleting
Deleting a Memorystore instance destroys its cached data. Confirm nothing depends on it (and export if needed) before removing.
How it works
Instances are enumerated
CostLens lists Memorystore Redis instances via the Redis API and reads each instance's provisioned memory.
Activity is measured
Average connected clients comes from Cloud Monitoring; instances below ~1 average client are flagged.
Savings are estimated
Priced from the provisioned memory × the Memorystore capacity rate.
What to do
- Confirm no application connects to the instance (check the connected-clients trend over a longer window).
- Delete the instance, or downsize it if it's lightly used.
Severity levels
| Severity | Estimated monthly savings |
|---|---|
| critical | >$500 |
| high | $100–$500 |
| medium | $20–$100 |
| low | <$20 |
Required permissions
- Detect: Redis read + Monitoring Viewer — see GCP Accounts. Without these the check produces nothing and never blocks analysis.
Limitations
- Connected-clients alone can miss instances used by short-lived batch jobs — review the trend before deleting.
- The rate is a nominal capacity price; the exact bill depends on tier and region.