Azure CLI review

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Azure CLI is a command-line tool for creating, managing, and querying Azure resources. It suits developers, administrators, and teams who want to work with Azure services from a terminal or automate operations with scripts. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is open source. Its scope is specifically Azure resource management, so it is a fit for people working in that environment rather than those seeking a general-purpose command-line toolkit.

The published product details describe commands for Azure services, output querying and formatting, and script-based automation. Those capabilities make it useful both for direct terminal tasks and repeatable workflows. An interactive terminal experience is available through the Azure CLI Interactive extension, rather than as the default experience described for the core CLI. Teams that prefer an interactive workflow can consider that extension; those who want to keep the toolchain limited to the core CLI should expect to work with commands and scripts.

Azure CLI is distributed without a paid plan, and its code is open source. That does not make Azure usage itself free: managing resources with the CLI may incur charges for the underlying Azure services. It can be installed on Linux, macOS, or Windows, and the product is described as self-hosted. Choose Azure CLI if your work involves creating, querying, or automating Azure resources across those desktop platforms. If you need a tool centered on resources outside Azure, its focused scope makes it a less suitable choice.

Azure CLI pros and cons

• Where it wins
  • Create and manage Azure resources with commands and scripts.
  • Query and format command output.
  • Runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows; includes an interactive extension.
• Where it doesn't
  • Focused on Azure resource operations rather than general-purpose CLI work.
  • The interactive terminal experience requires a separate extension.
  • Using it to manage Azure resources may incur Azure service charges.

Azure CLI fact sheet, pricing and score →

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Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update