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What is azure-powershell?

azure/azure-powershell — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-26

4,716C#Audience · ops devopsComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

In one sentence

The official Microsoft PowerShell module for managing Azure cloud resources from the command line, create VMs, manage storage, set up networking, and automate deployments on Windows, macOS, or Linux.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((azure-powershell))
    What it does
      Manage Azure resources
      Script deployments
      Cross-platform CLI
    Platforms
      Windows PowerShell
      PowerShell 7
      Azure Cloud Shell
    Azure services covered
      VMs and networking
      Storage accounts
      App deployments
    Use cases
      DevOps automation
      Admin scripting
      CI pipelines
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Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Automate Azure resource provisioning by scripting VM creation, storage accounts, and networking with PowerShell cmdlets instead of clicking through the web portal.

USE CASE 2

Manage Azure subscriptions and switch between tenants from a terminal on macOS or Linux using PowerShell 7.

USE CASE 3

Write a CI/CD pipeline step that deploys Azure resources using Az module cmdlets without any browser interaction.

USE CASE 4

Query and bulk-manage resources across multiple Azure subscriptions from a single PowerShell script.

What is it built with?

C#PowerShell.NET

How does it compare?

azure/azure-powershellindiff/qttabbarmicrosoft/fluentui-blazor
Stars4,7164,7144,726
LanguageC#C#C#
Setup difficultymoderateeasyeasy
Complexity3/52/52/5
Audienceops devopsgeneraldeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires PowerShell 7 or Windows PowerShell 5.1 and an Azure account, initial login opens a browser OAuth window.

So what is it?

This is the official Microsoft repository for the Azure PowerShell module, also known as Az. It is a collection of commands (called cmdlets) that let developers and administrators manage Microsoft Azure resources from a command-line terminal or scripts, without needing to use the Azure web portal. Tasks like creating virtual machines, managing storage accounts, setting up networking, and deploying applications can all be scripted through this module. The Az module works on Windows, Linux, and macOS through PowerShell 7. It also runs on the older Windows PowerShell 5.1 with a compatible version of .NET. Azure Cloud Shell, which is Microsoft's browser-based terminal, comes with Az pre-installed. Installation on a local machine is a single command that downloads the module from the PowerShell Gallery. To get started, you run a login command that opens a browser window and prompts you to sign in with your Azure account. From there, you can query which subscriptions and tenants your account has access to, switch between them, and start running commands. Each command follows a consistent naming pattern (verb-noun, like Get-AzSubscription or New-AzResourceGroup), so the full list of available commands is discoverable through PowerShell's built-in help system. The module collects anonymous usage telemetry by default to help Microsoft identify common errors. This can be disabled with a single command if you prefer not to send that data. This is a large, actively maintained project with hundreds of sub-modules covering nearly every Azure service. The repository also includes a developer guide for contributors who want to add new cmdlets or fix existing ones.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Write an Azure PowerShell script that creates a new resource group, deploys a virtual machine, and outputs its public IP address.
Prompt 2
Show me how to use the Az module to list all storage accounts across all my Azure subscriptions and export the results to a CSV file.
Prompt 3
Write a PowerShell script using Az that creates a virtual network, subnet, and network security group, then attaches the NSG to the subnet.
Prompt 4
How do I authenticate to Azure silently in a CI pipeline using a service principal with the Az module?

Frequently asked questions

What is azure-powershell?

The official Microsoft PowerShell module for managing Azure cloud resources from the command line, create VMs, manage storage, set up networking, and automate deployments on Windows, macOS, or Linux.

What language is azure-powershell written in?

Mainly C#. The stack also includes C#, PowerShell, .NET.

How hard is azure-powershell to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is azure-powershell for?

Mainly ops devops.

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