Vercel Doctor is an open source CLI that scans Next.js codebases for patterns known to inflate Vercel invoices, then outputs actionable diagnostics you can hand to a coding agent or fix by hand. It targets the specific line items that spike bills, long function durations, uncached routes, unoptimized images, expensive cron jobs, oversized static assets that belong on an external CDN, and the Next.js Link prefetch default that quietly multiplies invocations.
You run it at your project root with a single npx command, or install it as a skill for Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Amp, OpenCode, and Antigravity so the agent applies the same rules while editing. Under the hood it runs two passes in parallel, a billing lint that flags cost patterns (including version aware guidance for Next.js 15 and 16, image optimization settings, edge function hot paths, and Fluid Compute) and a dead code pass that surfaces unused files, exports, and duplicates that drag on cold starts. Output can be piped to JSON, markdown, or an AI prompts file for automated fixes.
The project is built by Aniket Pawar (alaymanguy on X), a frontend engineer whose other open source work includes agentcn and heroicons-animated. The launch lands as founders keep posting screenshots of blown Vercel limits at @rauchg, making a codebase level auditor with an agent skill a timely alternative to waiting for a surprise invoice.
Comments (15)
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P
Priya KothariSep 6, 2026
ok wait, a linter for your cloud bill is genuinely the most 2025 product idea I've seen this week. Curious if it catches unoptimized images or just flags them.
B
Bao NguyenSep 6, 2026
pace of infra-adjacent launches this month is unreal, this is the third bill-optimizer I've seen. The CLI-as-agent-skill angle is what makes it stick though.
T
Tomás BergSep 6, 2026
the triangle in the tagline doing heavy lifting. Rauchg is either going to bless this or subtweet it into oblivion.
N
Nadir El-AminSep 6, 2026
finally, a doctor that doesn't ask if I've been drinking water. Just tells me my prefetch is killing me.
K
Kenji WatanabeSep 6, 2026
launch tweet is clean but you buried the lede. The screenshots-tagging-rauchg opener is the whole hook, should've been the video cold open.
L
Lindiwe MokoenaSep 6, 2026
hot take: the real Vercel Doctor is moving to Cloudflare. But I'll take a CLI in the meantime.
M
Marcus V.P.Sep 6, 2026
how big was the team on this? Feels like a weekend project that's about to eat someone's Series A pipeline.
E
Evren YıldızSep 6, 2026
interesting positioning but what's the wedge past the first scan? Feels like a one-shot tool unless there's continuous monitoring.
N
Noor RahmaniSep 6, 2026
does the CLI expose a JSON output for CI pipelines? Would love to fail a PR if it introduces a 40MB hero video.
H
Halvor S.Sep 6, 2026
how does it handle monorepos with multiple next apps? Also please tell me the demo wasn't recorded on a repo you already pre-cleaned.
Y
yukiSep 6, 2026
onboarding question: is it npx and go, or do I need to auth into my Vercel account first? Asking because the first 10 seconds decide if I actually run it.
O
Oskar LindqvistSep 6, 2026
3 weeks out from launching something similar for Netlify. Guess I'm pivoting to being a fan of yours instead.
D
deepaSep 6, 2026
reply guys tagging rauchg in bandwidth screenshots is a legitimate market segment now. Incredible times.
C
Chidi OkonkwoSep 6, 2026
one more thing for the roadmap: a Slack bot that yells at the dev who committed the 200MB font file. Accountability layer.
S
Sana IqbalSep 6, 2026
quick one, are you open sourcing the rule set too or just the CLI shell? Would make for a great story on how the community extends it.
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Vercel Doctor is an open source CLI that scans Next.js codebases for patterns known to inflate Vercel invoices, then outputs actionable diagnostics you can hand to a coding agent or fix by hand. It targets the specific line items that spike bills, long function durations, uncached routes, unoptimized images, expensive cron jobs, oversized static assets that belong on an external CDN, and the Next.js Link prefetch default that quietly multiplies invocations. You run it at your project root with a single npx command, or install it as a skill for Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Amp, OpenCode, and Antigravity so the agent applies the same rules while editing. Under the hood it runs two passes in parallel, a billing lint that flags cost patterns (including version aware guidance for Next.js 15 and 16, image optimization settings, edge function hot paths, and Fluid Compute) and a dead code pass that surfaces unused files, exports, and duplicates that drag on cold starts. Output can be piped to JSON, markdown, or an AI prompts file for automated fixes. The project is built by Aniket Pawar (alaymanguy on X), a frontend engineer whose other open source work includes agentcn and heroicons-animated. The launch lands as founders keep posting screenshots of blown Vercel limits at @rauchg, making a codebase level auditor with an agent skill a timely alternative to waiting for a surprise invoice.
Comments (15)
ok wait, a linter for your cloud bill is genuinely the most 2025 product idea I've seen this week. Curious if it catches unoptimized images or just flags them.
pace of infra-adjacent launches this month is unreal, this is the third bill-optimizer I've seen. The CLI-as-agent-skill angle is what makes it stick though.
the triangle in the tagline doing heavy lifting. Rauchg is either going to bless this or subtweet it into oblivion.
finally, a doctor that doesn't ask if I've been drinking water. Just tells me my prefetch is killing me.
launch tweet is clean but you buried the lede. The screenshots-tagging-rauchg opener is the whole hook, should've been the video cold open.
hot take: the real Vercel Doctor is moving to Cloudflare. But I'll take a CLI in the meantime.
how big was the team on this? Feels like a weekend project that's about to eat someone's Series A pipeline.
interesting positioning but what's the wedge past the first scan? Feels like a one-shot tool unless there's continuous monitoring.
does the CLI expose a JSON output for CI pipelines? Would love to fail a PR if it introduces a 40MB hero video.
how does it handle monorepos with multiple next apps? Also please tell me the demo wasn't recorded on a repo you already pre-cleaned.
onboarding question: is it npx and go, or do I need to auth into my Vercel account first? Asking because the first 10 seconds decide if I actually run it.
3 weeks out from launching something similar for Netlify. Guess I'm pivoting to being a fan of yours instead.
reply guys tagging rauchg in bandwidth screenshots is a legitimate market segment now. Incredible times.
one more thing for the roadmap: a Slack bot that yells at the dev who committed the 200MB font file. Accountability layer.
quick one, are you open sourcing the rule set too or just the CLI shell? Would make for a great story on how the community extends it.