Azure CLI — Command Line Interface for Microsoft Azure

Introduction

The Azure CLI (az) is Microsoft's official command-line tool for managing Azure cloud resources. Written in Python, it covers every Azure service through a consistent command structure and supports automation via scripts, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code workflows.

What Azure CLI Does

• Manages all Azure services through a hierarchical command structure (az <group> <subgroup> <action>)
• Supports JSON, table, TSV, and YAML output formats for scripting and human consumption
• Provides interactive mode with auto-completion and inline documentation
• Handles authentication via browser login, service principals, managed identities, or device code flow
• Includes az bicep commands for compiling and deploying Bicep infrastructure templates

Architecture Overview

The Azure CLI is a Python application built on the knack framework. It communicates with Azure Resource Manager (ARM) REST APIs, handling authentication tokens, API versioning, and request retries. Extensions add commands for services not yet in the core CLI. The tool stores session state and credentials in ~/.azure/ and supports multiple subscription contexts.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install via apt, yum, brew, MSI installer, or the mcr.microsoft.com/azure-cli Docker image
• Configure defaults with az configure for default output format, resource group, and location
• Use service principals (az ad sp create-for-rbac) for non-interactive CI/CD authentication
• Enable tab completion for bash, zsh, or PowerShell with az completion
• Install extensions with az extension add --name <name> for preview or specialized services

Key Features

• Interactive mode (az interactive) with IntelliSense-style completion and scoping
• JMESPath query support (--query) for filtering and transforming output
• Bicep integration for deploying Azure infrastructure with a domain-specific language
• What-if deployment previews show resource changes before applying ARM templates
• Azure Cloud Shell provides a browser-based, pre-authenticated CLI environment

Comparison with Similar Tools

• AWS CLI — equivalent tool for Amazon Web Services
• gcloud CLI — Google Cloud's command-line interface
• Azure PowerShell — PowerShell module for Azure; more verbose but integrates with PowerShell scripting
• Terraform — declarative IaC supporting Azure via the AzureRM provider
• Pulumi — IaC in general-purpose languages with Azure support

FAQ

Q: How do I switch between Azure subscriptions? A: Use az account set --subscription <name-or-id> to change the active subscription context.

Q: Can I use the Azure CLI in CI/CD pipelines? A: Yes. Authenticate with a service principal using az login --service-principal and environment variables for credentials.

Q: What is the difference between Azure CLI and Azure PowerShell? A: Both manage Azure resources. Azure CLI uses a az command syntax designed for bash scripting. Azure PowerShell uses cmdlets following PowerShell conventions.

Q: Does the Azure CLI support all Azure services? A: Core services are built in. Newer or preview services may require installing CLI extensions via az extension add.

Sources

• https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/