Azure CLI

Compute Commands

Create and manage Azure Virtual Machines, scale sets, and availability sets. Configure VM sizes, disks, and networking.

8 commands

Pro Tips

Use 'az vm list-sizes' to find available VM sizes in your region.

Enable auto-shutdown to save costs on dev/test VMs.

Use spot instances for fault-tolerant workloads to save up to 90%.

Common Mistakes

Stopping a VM (deallocate) stops billing; stopped (not deallocated) still incurs charges.

Resizing VMs may require a restart and temporary downtime.

Commands

Create Virtual Machine

$ az vm create --resource-group <rg> --name <vm-name> --image Ubuntu2204 --admin-username azureuser --generate-ssh-keys

Create a new Linux VM with SSH keys

Delete VM

$ az vm delete --resource-group <rg> --name <vm-name> --yes

Delete a virtual machine

List Virtual Machines

$ az vm list --output table

List all VMs in the subscription

Resize VM

$ az vm resize --resource-group <rg> --name <vm-name> --size Standard_DS2_v2

Change the size of an existing VM

List VM Sizes

$ az vm list-sizes --location <region> --output table

Show available VM sizes in a region

SSH to VM

$ az ssh vm --resource-group <rg> --name <vm-name>

Connect to VM via SSH using Azure CLI

Start VM

$ az vm start --resource-group <rg> --name <vm-name>

Start a stopped virtual machine

Stop and Deallocate VM

$ az vm deallocate --resource-group <rg> --name <vm-name>

Stop VM and release compute resources (stops billing)