Get started with Azure CLI

Azure CLI is a cross-platform tool that simplifies managing Azure resources from the command line. Optimized for automation and ease of use, it supports interactive sessions and scripting with straightforward commands that integrate seamlessly with the Azure Resource Manager model. You can start using it in your browser with Azure Cloud Shell or install it locally to use from your preferred terminal.

The easiest way to try Azure CLI is through Azure Cloud Shell, a browser-based shell with no installation required. Cloud Shell supports Bash and PowerShell and comes with the latest version of Azure CLI preinstalled.

To install Azure CLI locally, see How to install Azure CLI.

To check your version, run:

az version

To start using Azure CLI with a local install, sign in:

1. Run the az login command.

   az login
   

   If Azure CLI can open your default browser, it initiates authorization code flow and opens the default browser to load an Azure sign-in page.

   Otherwise, it initiates the device code flow and instructs you to open a browser page at https://aka.ms/devicelogin. Then, enter the code displayed in your terminal.

   If no web browser is available or the web browser fails to open, you can force device code flow with az login --use-device-code.

2. Sign in with your account credentials in the browser.

After you sign in, a list of your subscriptions appears. The one marked isDefault: true is currently active. To change to a different subscription, run:

az account set --subscription "<subscription-id>"

For more information about subscription selection, see Manage Azure subscriptions. For advanced sign-in options, see Sign in with Azure CLI.

Azure CLI commands are organized as command groups. Each group represents an area of an Azure service. There are two options to find command groups:

• Use the az find command. For example, to search for command names containing vm, use the following example:

  az find vm
  

• Use the --help argument to get a complete list of subgroups within a reference group. The following example returns all subgroups for virtual machines:

  az vm --help
  

  The following example shows the relevant portion of the output.

  Subgroups:
    application            : Manage applications for VM.
    availability-set       : Group resources into availability sets.
    boot-diagnostics       : Troubleshoot the startup of an Azure Virtual Machine.
    ...
  

  The help output includes subgroups, parameters, authentication options, and examples.

  Here's another example that finds the Azure CLI commands for grouping virtual machines into availability sets, a subgroup of az vm:

  az vm availability-set --help
  

  You can also use --help to get parameter lists and command examples for a reference command.

  az vm create --help
  

  Here is the relevant section of the example output:

  Arguments
      --name  [Required] : Name of the virtual machine.
      ...
  Authentication Arguments
      --admin-password   : Password for the VM if authentication type is 'Password'.
      --admin-username   : Username for the VM...
      ...
  Managed Service Identity Arguments
      ...
  Examples
      Create a VM from a custom managed image.
        az vm create -g MyResourceGroup -n MyVm --image MyImage
      ...
  

• Use the reference index that lists all command groups alphabetically.

For usage examples, see:

• The Samples index for Azure CLI examples by subject, reference group, or GitHub repo.

• The Article index to find in-depth guides. Use your keyboard find shortcut keys, like Ctrl + F, to quickly find the reference command group in which you're interested. For example, the article index for az vm looks like the following table:

  Expand table

  Reference subgroup	Azure CLI article showing reference use
  az vm	Output formats for Azure CLI commands
  	How to use variables in Azure CLI commands
  	Get VM information with queries
  	{More articles listed here.}
  az vm aem	New Version of Azure VM extension for SAP solutions
  	Standard Version of Azure VM extension for SAP solutions
  az vm application	{...}

Azure CLI supports tab completion in Bash. To enable it in PowerShell, see Enable tab completion in PowerShell.

Common arguments available to most commands include:

For more information, see Output formats and Query results.

Run interactive mode with:

az interactive

Interactive mode launches an enhanced Azure CLI experience with inline help and command suggestions. For more, see Interactive Mode.

An optional VS Code extension provides similar features with autocomplete and hover tips.

Get hands-on with Azure CLI basics using the onboarding tutorial. You learn how to:

• Manage your default subscription
• Create resources with randomized names
• Use environment variables
• Debug commands and parse JSON files
• Delete resources efficiently

We welcome your feedback. Submit issues on GitHub or run:

az feedback

• Onboarding cheat sheet
• Azure CLI tutorial
• Use Azure CLI in Bash
• PowerShell considerations