Authenticate with Azure PowerShell

Learn how to sign in to Azure using PowerShell so you can manage resources, automate deployments, and integrate with CI/CD pipelines.

Prerequisites

PowerShell 7.0+ (or Windows PowerShell 5.1)
Azure PowerShell module (Az) installed
An Azure account or service principal with appropriate permissions

Login Methods

Interactive login (Device code)

Best for developers working locally.

Connect-AzAccount -UseDeviceAuthentication

Service Principal with Secret

Ideal for automation scripts.

$tenantId   = "YOUR_TENANT_ID"
$appId      = "YOUR_APP_ID"
$secret     = "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"
Connect-AzAccount -ServicePrincipal -Tenant $tenantId -ApplicationId $appId -Credential (New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($appId,(ConvertTo-SecureString $secret -AsPlainText -Force)))

Managed Identity (Azure VM, App Service)

Used when the script runs in an Azure resource with a managed identity enabled.

Connect-AzAccount -Identity

Verification

After logging in, confirm the context:

Get-AzContext

Common Issues

Issue	Resolution
Invalid credentials	Verify client secret or certificate details.
Insufficient permissions	Assign appropriate role (e.g., Contributor) to the service principal or managed identity.
Module not found	Install with `Install-Module -Name Az -Scope CurrentUser -Repository PSGallery -Force`.