What Is Azure CLI

In this article, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Azure Command-Line Interface ( Azure CLI), which provides you with a new way to interact with Azure resources.

The Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI) is a cross-platform command-line tool designed to create and manage Azure resources. Unlike the point-and-click nature of the Azure Portal, Azure CLI allows you to script and automate virtually any Azure operation through text-based commands.

Before diving into specific usage scenarios, let’s explore what makes Azure CLI such a powerful tool:

Cross-platform compatibility: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
Consistent command structure: Follows a predictable “az + resource + operation” pattern
Output formatting options: Results can be formatted as JSON, table, or TSV
Automation capabilities: Easily incorporated into scripts and CI/CD pipelines
Query support: Filter and manipulate command outputs
Multiple authentication methods: Support for service principals, managed identities, and interactive login

Installing Azure CLI

Getting started with Azure CLI is straightforward, regardless of your operating system. Here’s how you can typically set it up:

Windows Installation

# Using PowerShell (Run as Administrator)
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://aka.ms/installazurecliwindows -OutFile .\AzureCLI.msi
Start-Process msiexec.exe -Wait -ArgumentList '/I AzureCLI.msi /quiet'

Check out Install Azure CLI on Windows Without Admin Rights for more information.

macOS Installation

# Using brew
brew update && brew install azure-cli

Check out How to install Azure CLI on Mac for more information.

Linux Installation (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Add Microsoft signing key and repository
curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install azure-cli

Check out Install Azure CLI on Linux for more clarity.

After installation, I always verify the setup with:

az --version

This displays the installed version and dependent libraries, confirming a successful installation.

Check out how to update Azure CLI

Getting Started with Azure CLI

Authentication Methods

Before you can use Azure CLI to manage resources, you need to authenticate. You can typically use one of these methods:

Interactive Login

For personal use or initial setup:

az login

This opens a browser window where you can enter your Azure credentials.

Service Principal Authentication

For automated scripts and CI/CD pipelines:

az login --service-principal --username APP_ID --password PASSWORD --tenant TENANT_ID

Managed Identity Authentication

When running from an Azure VM or service with a managed identity:

az login --identity

Setting the Right Context

One practice I always emphasize to my teams is to verify your working context before executing commands:

# List subscriptions
az account list --output table

# Set the active subscription
az account set --subscription "My Subscription"

Core Azure CLI Concepts

Understanding Azure CLI’s structure will help you become proficient quickly. All commands follow a consistent pattern:

az <resource-group> <resource-type> <command> [parameters]

For example:

az vm create --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVM --image UbuntuLTS

Command Groups and Subgroups

Azure CLI organizes commands into groups and subgroups representing Azure services and operations. Some common groups include:

az group – Resource group management
az vm – Virtual machine operations
az storage – Storage account management
az network – Networking resources
az webapp – App Service applications

To explore available commands within a group, use:

az vm --help

Practical Azure CLI Examples

Let’s dive into some real-world examples I use regularly in my Azure projects:

Resource Group Management

# Create a new resource group
az group create --name MyProjectResources --location eastus

After executing the above command, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

# List all resource groups
az group list --output table

After executing the above command, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

Working with Azure Storage

# Create a storage account
az storage account create --name azurelessonstrgeact --resource-group MyProjectResources --location eastus --sku Standard_LRS

After executing the above command, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

# Create a blob container
az storage container create --name mycontainer --account-name azurelessonstrgeact

After executing the above comman