az

name	az
description	Use when working with the Azure CLI (az) — command structure, global parameters, configuration system, authentication, resource hierarchy, output formatting, extensions, and command groups. Triggers on: "az", "azure cli", "az cli", "az login", "az account", "az vm", "az network", "az storage", "az aks", "az sql", "az keyvault", "az group", "az resource", "az ad", "az role", "az acr", "az appservice", "az webapp", "az functionapp", "az cosmosdb", "az containerapp", "az deployment", "az config", "az extension", "--query", "JMESPath", "az rest", "az interactive", "service principal", "managed identity", "resource group", "subscription", "AZURE_CONFIG_DIR", "AZURE_", "knack", "az extension add".
user-invocable	true

Azure CLI (az) In-Depth Reference

Comprehensive reference for the Azure CLI (az) — the cross-platform command-line tool for managing Azure resources and services.

Data Flow

az command line
  → argument parsing (global parameters + command parameters)
    → configuration resolution (CLI params > env vars > config file)
      → credential lookup (user / service principal / managed identity / WAM)
        → subscription context resolution (--subscription or active subscription)
          → API request (Azure Resource Manager or data-plane)
            → response processing (--query JMESPath)
              → output formatting (--output)
                → stdout (results) / stderr (warnings, errors)

Sub-Resources

Load the reference that matches your task. When in doubt, load multiple references.

Keywords	Reference
command structure, command pattern, command groups, dispatch, CLI architecture, knack, command loader, command table, argument registry, parser hierarchy, module system, interactive mode, az interactive	references/architecture.md
service groups, command groups, vm, network, storage, aks, sql, keyvault, acr, appservice, webapp, functionapp, cosmosdb, containerapp, monitor, policy, backup, redis, eventhubs, servicebus, postgres, mysql, cdn, signalr, search	references/command-groups.md
global parameters, --output, --query, --subscription, --debug, --verbose, --only-show-errors, -o, -h, parameter precedence	references/global-parameters.md
config, configuration, az config, az configure, az init, AZURE_CONFIG_DIR, environment variables, AZURE_, defaults, core.output, extension.use_dynamic_install, cloud.name, logging	references/config.md
auth, authentication, credentials, az login, az logout, service principal, managed identity, WAM, MSAL, az account, az account set, az account list, az account get-access-token, subscription context, multi-tenant, az ad, Entra ID, az role, RBAC	references/auth.md
resource hierarchy, tenant, management group, subscription, resource group, resource ID, az group, az account management-group, resource provider, az provider, ARM, az deployment, az stack	references/resource-hierarchy.md
output formatting, --output, --query, JMESPath, json, jsonc, table, tsv, yaml, yamlc, none, filter expressions, projections, multiselect, pipe expressions, JMESPath functions	references/output-formatting.md
extensions, az extension, az extension add, az extension list, dynamic install, azext_, wheel, extension index, extension compatibility, core vs extension, preview extensions	references/extensions.md
gotchas, edge cases, known issues, pitfalls, shell quoting, TSV ordering, MSAL token cache, extension auto-update, --no-wait, az rest, az vm list --show-details, telemetry, INI format, deprecated commands	references/gotchas.md

Quick Guide

• How does the az command structure work? → references/architecture.md
• What service command groups are available? → references/command-groups.md
• What global parameters exist and how do they work? → references/global-parameters.md
• How do I configure az CLI? → references/config.md
• How do I authenticate with az CLI? → references/auth.md
• How does the Azure resource hierarchy work? → references/resource-hierarchy.md
• How do I format and query output? → references/output-formatting.md
• How do extensions work? → references/extensions.md
• What are common gotchas and pitfalls? → references/gotchas.md
• How do I use JMESPath queries? → references/output-formatting.md
• How do I authenticate with a service principal? → references/auth.md
• How do I manage subscriptions? → references/auth.md
• How do I install and manage extensions? → references/extensions.md
• How do I use az rest for API calls? → references/gotchas.md

Cross-Project References

• For shell completion integration with az (carapace-bridge, carapace-spec), see the carapace skill and carapace-dev skill.
• For cobra command structure patterns used by carapace-az, see the cobra skill.
• For YAML spec format used by carapace-spec-az, see the carapace skill → spec documentation.
• For JMESPath specification details, see https://jmespath.org/specification.html.