Azure CLI and Cloud Shell

While the Azure Portal provides a rich graphical interface, many tasks are faster, more repeatable, and more scriptable when performed from the command line. Azure provides two primary command-line tools — the Azure CLI and Azure PowerShell — along with Azure Cloud Shell, a browser-based shell environment that comes pre-configured with both.

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What is the Azure CLI?

The Azure CLI (az) is a cross-platform command-line tool for managing Azure resources. It is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and can also be used directly in Azure Cloud Shell.

Key characteristics of the Azure CLI:

• Cross-platform — runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Consistent syntax — commands follow the pattern az <group> <subgroup> <action> --parameters
• Output formats — supports JSON (default), table, TSV, and YAML output
• Scriptable — designed for use in Bash and shell scripts
• Idempotent — many commands can be run repeatedly without unintended side effects

Installing the Azure CLI

You can install the Azure CLI on your local machine:

# macOS (using Homebrew)
brew install azure-cli

# Ubuntu / Debian
curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash