Introduction to Azure CLI

What is Azure CLI?

Azure CLI (Command-Line Interface) is a cross-platform tool that allows you to create, manage, and configure Azure resources directly from your command line or terminal.

Instead of clicking around in the Azure Portal, you use simple text commands like:

az vm create --name myVM --resource-group myRG --image UbuntuLTS

Key Features:

Feature
Details

Cross-platform

Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Scriptable

Automate tasks and deployments

Consistent Experience

Same commands across environments

Supports JSON/YAML Output

Useful for parsing and automation

Extendable

Can install additional modules ("extensions")

Why Use Azure CLI?

Here’s why people love using Azure CLI:

Portal (GUI)
Azure CLI (Command Line)

Manual and click-based

Fast, repeatable, and scriptable

Harder to automate

Easy to integrate into scripts and pipelines

Better for one-off simple tasks

Better for repetitive or complex tasks

User-friendly for beginners

Powerful for professionals and DevOps teams

You use the Portal when you want visual simplicity, You use the CLI when you want speed, automation, and control.

How Azure CLI Fits into the Azure Ecosystem

In Azure, you can interact with your resources in four main ways:

Method
Description
Example Tool

Portal

Web-based user interface (click around)

portal.azure.com

Azure CLI

Text-based, command-line interface

az vm create

PowerShell

Scripting environment for system administration

New-AzVM (PowerShell Cmdlet)

SDKs/APIs

Programmatic access using code

Python SDK, REST API

Azure CLI sits in the middle — perfect for engineers, sysadmins, developers, and cloud pros who need power and speed without having to write full applications.

Azure CLI vs PowerShell vs Portal

Feature
Portal
Azure CLI
Azure PowerShell

User Interface

Graphical

Command-line (bash-like)

Command-line (PowerShell)

OS Support

Browser-based

Windows, Mac, Linux

Primarily Windows (cross-platform with PowerShell Core)

Learning Curve

Easy

Easy to moderate

Moderate

Scripting

No

Yes

Yes (more system admin tasks)

Best For

Beginners, quick tasks

Automation, DevOps

Deep administration and complex scripting

Common Use Cases for Azure CLI

You’ll use Azure CLI often for tasks like:

  • Deploying VMs, Storage, Databases

  • Managing Resource Groups

  • Setting up Networking (VNets, NSGs, Subnets)

  • Automating DevOps pipelines

  • Troubleshooting and monitoring

  • Scripting Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Example: Deploying a Linux VM in seconds:

az vm create --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myVM --image UbuntuLTS

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