carapace-sh Azure CLI (az) In-Depth Reference
Comprehensive reference for the Azure CLI (az) — the cross-platform command-line tool for managing Azure resources and services.
Data Flow
az command line
→ argument parsing (global parameters + command parameters)
→ configuration resolution (CLI params > env vars > config file)
→ credential lookup (user / service principal / managed identity / WAM)
→ subscription context resolution (--subscription or active subscription)
→ API request (Azure Resource Manager or data-plane)
→ response processing (--query JMESPath)
→ output formatting (--output)
→ stdout (results) / stderr (warnings, errors)
Sub-Resources
Load the reference that matches your task. When in doubt, load multiple references.
| Keywords | Reference |
|---|---|
| command structure, command pattern, command groups, dispatch, CLI architecture, knack, command loader, command table, argument registry, parser hierarchy, module system, interactive mode, az interactive | references/architecture.md |
| service groups, command groups, vm, network, storage, aks, sql, keyvault, acr, appservice, webapp, functionapp, cosmosdb, containerapp, monitor, policy, backup, redis, eventhubs, servicebus, postgres, mysql, cdn, signalr, search | references/command-groups.md |
| global parameters, --output, --query, --subscription, --debug, --verbose, --only-show-errors, -o, -h, parameter precedence | references/global-parameters.md |
| config, configuration, az config, az configure, az init, AZURE_CONFIG_DIR, environment variables, AZURE_, defaults, core.output, extension.use_dynamic_install, cloud.name, logging | references/config.md |
| auth, authentication, credentials, az login, az logout, service principal, managed identity, WAM, MSAL, az account, az account set, az account list, az account get-access-token, subscription context, multi-tenant, az ad, Entra ID, az role, RBAC | references/auth.md |
| resource hierarchy, tenant, management group, subscription, resource group, resource ID, az group, az account management-group, resource provider, az provider, ARM, az deployment, az stack | references/resource-hierarchy.md |
| output formatting, --output, --query, JMESPath, json, jsonc, table, tsv, yaml, yamlc, none, filter expressions, projections, multiselect, pipe expressions, JMESPath functions | references/output-formatting.md |
| extensions, az extension, az extension add, az extension list, dynamic install, azext_, wheel, extension index, extension compatibility, core vs extension, preview extensions | references/extensions.md |
| gotchas, edge cases, known issues, pitfalls, shell quoting, TSV ordering, MSAL token cache, extension auto-update, --no-wait, az rest, az vm list --show-details, telemetry, INI format, deprecated commands | references/gotchas.md |
Quick Guide
- How does the az command structure work? → references/architecture.md
- What service command groups are available? → references/command-groups.md
- What global parameters exist and how do they work? → references/global-parameters.md
- How do I configure az CLI? → references/config.md
- How do I authenticate with az CLI? → references/auth.md
- How does the Azure resource hierarchy work? → references/resource-hierarchy.md
- How do I format and query output? → references/output-formatting.md
- How do extensions work? → references/extensions.md
- What are common gotchas and pitfalls? → references/gotchas.md
- How do I use JMESPath queries? → references/output-formatting.md
- How do I authenticate with a service principal? → references/auth.md
- How do I manage subscriptions? → references/auth.md
- How do I install and manage extensions? → references/extensions.md
- How do I use az rest for API calls? → references/gotchas.md
Cross-Project References
- For shell completion integration with az (carapace-bridge, carapace-spec), see the carapace skill and carapace-dev skill.
- For cobra command structure patterns used by carapace-az, see the cobra skill.
- For YAML spec format used by carapace-spec-az, see the carapace skill → spec documentation.
- For JMESPath specification details, see https://jmespath.org/specification.html.