azurecli

name	azurecli
description	Azure CLI command-line interface. Use for Azure automation.

Azure CLI (az)

The Azure CLI is the standard tool for managing Azure resources. 2025 brings deeper integration with Bicep (Azure's IaC language) and AI assistance.

When to Use

• Management: Quickly creating Resource Groups or AKS clusters.
• Automation: CI/CD pipelines targeting Azure.
• Querying: Using JMESPath to find resources.

Quick Start

# Login
az login

# Set Subscription
az account set --subscription "My Subscription"

# Create AKS Cluster
az aks create --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster --node-count 1 --generate-ssh-keys

Core Concepts

Command Groups

Hierarchical structure: az group, az vm, az network.

Interactive Mode

az interactive. Provides auto-completion, examples, and descriptions in the terminal.

Extensions

The CLI is extensible. az extension add --name aks-preview

Best Practices (2025)

Do:

• Use az upgrade: Keep the CLI and extensions auto-updated.
• Use Managed Identity: When running on Azure VMs/Functions, use az login --identity to avoid credentials.
• Use --no-wait: For long operations (creating VMs), fire and forget.

Don't:

• Don't hardcode Service Principals: Use Workload Identity Federation (OIDC) in GitHub Actions instead of secrets.

References

• Azure CLI Documentation