Azure Compute CLI

Manage your Azure compute resources efficiently using the Azure Command-Line Interface.

Azure Compute CLI Reference

The Azure CLI is a powerful tool for managing Azure resources from your command line. This documentation provides a comprehensive reference for compute-related commands, enabling you to automate deployments, configure resources, and monitor your cloud infrastructure.

Prerequisites: Ensure you have the Azure CLI installed and are logged into your Azure account using az login.

Virtual Machines (VM) Management

Commands for creating, managing, and deleting Azure Virtual Machines.

Creating a VM

The following command creates a simple Ubuntu Linux VM in a new resource group.


az vm create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name MyVM \
  --image UbuntuLTS \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --generate-ssh-keys

Listing VMs


az vm list \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --output table

Starting/Stopping a VM


az vm start --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVM
az vm stop --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVM

Deleting a VM


az vm delete --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVM --yes

Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS) Management

Manage groups of identical VMs that can be automatically scaled.

Creating a VMSS


az vmss create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name MyVMSS \
  --image UbuntuLTS \
  --vm-sku Standard_DS1_v2 \
  --instance-count 3 \
  --upgrade-policy-mode automatic

Scaling a VMSS


az vmss scale \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name MyVMSS \
  --new-capacity 5

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Management

Deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters on Azure.

Creating an AKS cluster


az aks create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name MyAKSCluster \
  --node-count 1 \
  --enable-addons monitoring \
  --generate-ssh-keys

Getting AKS credentials


az aks get-credentials --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyAKSCluster

Managed Disks

Create, attach, and manage Azure Managed Disks.

Creating a Managed Disk


az disk create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name MyDisk \
  --size-gb 128 \
  --sku Standard_LRS

Attaching a Disk to a VM


az vm disk attach \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --vm-name MyVM \
  --name MyDisk

Snapshots

Create and manage disk snapshots for backup and disaster recovery.

Creating a Snapshot


az snapshot create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name MySnapshot \
  --source MyDisk

Listing Snapshots


az snapshot list \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --output table
Tip: Use the --output parameter with values like table, json, or yaml for different display formats.

Further Reading