Azure CLI

Auth Commands

Authenticate with Azure using interactive login, service principals, or managed identities. Configure subscriptions and manage account credentials.

8 commands

Pro Tips

Use 'az login --use-device-code' for headless environments like SSH sessions.

Service principals are preferred for CI/CD - use 'az ad sp create-for-rbac'.

Store credentials securely with 'az config set core.encrypt_credentials=true'.

Common Mistakes

Never commit service principal credentials to version control.

Use managed identities when running in Azure to avoid credential management.

Commands

List Subscriptions

$ az account list --output table

Show all Azure subscriptions for the logged-in account

Set Active Subscription

$ az account set --subscription <name-or-id>

Change the current active subscription

Show Current Account

$ az account show

Display details of the current subscription

Interactive Login

$ az login

Device Code Login

$ az login --use-device-code

Service Principal Login

$ az login --service-principal -u <app-id> -p <password> --tenant <tenant>

Authenticate using service principal credentials

Logout

$ az logout

Clear all cached Azure credentials

Create Service Principal

$ az ad sp create-for-rbac --name <name> --role Contributor --scopes /subscriptions/<sub-id>

Create a service principal with role assignment