Azure CLI Cheat Sheet 2026 — Quick Command Reference

Azure CLI Cheat Sheet is the complete quick-reference of Azure CLI commands grouped by function. Copy any command with one click and find what you need with Ctrl+F in under 3 seconds.

Command Sections

Pick a section — each is a focused, verified cheat sheet:

Azure AD & Identity (8 commands)
Virtual Machines (10 commands)
Azure Storage (12 commands)
AKS & Kubernetes (7 commands)
Networking (8 commands)
Azure Functions (4 commands)
Resource Groups (8 commands)
Cleanup & Prune (10 commands)

Cross-Cloud Equivalents (AWS · Azure · GCP)

Translate the same task between the three major clouds. Searchable with the filter above.

Action	AWS CLI	Azure CLI	gcloud
List compute instances	`aws ec2 describe-instances`	`az vm list`	`gcloud compute instances list`
Create storage bucket/container	`aws s3 mb s3://my-bucket`	`az storage container create --account-name myaccount --name mycontainer`	`gsutil mb gs://my-bucket`
List IAM users	`aws iam list-users`	`az ad user list`	`gcloud iam service-accounts list`
List IAM roles	`aws iam list-roles`	`az role definition list`	`gcloud iam roles list`
Get cluster credentials (K8s)	`aws eks update-kubeconfig --name my-cluster --region us-west-2`	`az aks get-credentials --resource-group myResourceGroup --name myAKSCluster`	`gcloud container clusters get-credentials my-cluster --zone us-central1-a`
View logs (list log groups/workspaces)	`aws logs describe-log-groups`	`az monitor log-analytics workspace list`	`gcloud logging logs list`
Delete a resource group/stack	`aws cloudformation delete-stack --stack-name my-stack`	`az group delete --name myResourceGroup --yes`	`gcloud projects delete my-project-id`
List storage buckets/containers	`aws s3 ls`	`az storage container list --account-name myaccount`	`gsutil ls`
Create compute instance (VM)	`aws ec2 run-instances --image-id ami-0abcdef1234567890 --count 1 --instance-type t2.micro --key-name MyKeyPair`	`az vm create --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVM --image UbuntuLTS --admin-username azureuser --generate-ssh-keys`	`gcloud compute instances create my-instance --zone us-central1-a --image-family ubuntu-2004-lts --image-project ubuntu-os-cloud`

⚠️ Dangerous / Destructive Commands

These commands are irreversible. Verify your environment (dev/staging vs prod) before running them.

Action	Command	Warning
⚠️ Network nic	`az network nic delete --resource-group <rg> --name <nic> --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Network public-ip	`az network public-ip delete --resource-group <rg> --name <pip> --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Acr repository	`az acr repository delete --name <acr> --repository <repo> --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Backup	`az backup item delete --vault-name <vault> --resource-group <rg> --container-name <container> --item-name <item> --backup-management-type AzureVM --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Storage account	`az storage account delete --name <account> --resource-group <rg> --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Network nsg	`az network nsg delete --resource-group <rg> --name <nsg> --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Network vnet	`az network vnet delete --resource-group <rg> --name <vnet> --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Role assignment	`az role assignment delete --assignee <user> --role <role> --scope <scope>`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Plan	`az appservice plan delete --resource-group <rg> --name <plan> --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Network dns	`az network dns zone delete --resource-group <rg> --name <zone> --yes`	Irreversible — verify the target before running

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Azure AD & Identity and Virtual Machines?

Each group in this Azure CLI cheat sheet covers a distinct area. Azure AD & Identity focuses on its specific scope, while Virtual Machines and the remaining groups cover networking, storage, security and diagnostics respectively.

How do I check the installed Azure CLI version?

Run the version command (usually azure version or azure --version). The output shows the client and, when applicable, the server version.

Why does Azure CLI return ‘permission denied’?

A ‘permission denied’ error in Azure CLI usually means the current user lacks sufficient privileges or credentials are not configured. Check: (1) assigned IAM/RBAC roles, (2) an active authentication context via the corresponding login command.

How do I filter Azure CLI output by status or name?

Use flags such as --filter, --selector or --query depending on the tool. You can also pipe into grep or jq to process JSON:

azure list | grep RUNNING

What is the fastest way to debug a Azure CLI error?

Add the verbose flag (--verbose, -v or --debug) to the failing command. This reveals the underlying HTTP/API calls and the full error response body.

Official sources & references

Commands cross-checked against vendor documentation and high-authority repositories: