Azure CLI Global Options Guide

Azure CLI Global Options Guide | Generated by AI

Home 2026.02

Question: Provide a comprehensive introduction to Azure CLI command line options.

Answer:

The Azure CLI (az) is a cross-platform command-line tool for managing Azure resources. Almost every command supports a set of global arguments (also called global parameters or global options) that work across nearly all commands.

These global options are the most frequently used “command line options” when people talk about Azure CLI usage patterns.

Most Important Global Arguments (2026)

These arguments can be appended to almost any az command:

Argument	Short	Common values / Description	Typical use case
`--help`	`-h`	Show help for the command / group	Learn any command: `az vm create -h`
`--output`	`-o`	`json` (default), `jsonc`, `table`, `tsv`, `yaml`, `yamlc`, `none`	Human-readable: `--output table` Machine: `--output json`
`--query`		JMESPath expression	Filter output: `--query "[].{name:name, id:id}"`
`--subscription`		Subscription name or ID	Override default: `--subscription "Prod Sub"`
`--verbose`		Increase logging verbosity	See more details during execution
`--debug`		Show all debug logs + low-level REST API calls	Troubleshooting / deep debugging
`--only-show-errors`		Suppress warnings, show only errors	Clean CI/CD output

Quick examples:

# Human-friendly table output
az resource list --output table

# Filter to only names and locations
az vm list --query "[].{Name:name, Location:location}" --output table

# Run command in a specific subscription
az group list --subscription "My-Dev-Sub" -o table

# Debug a failing command
az storage account create ... --debug

Other Useful Global / Frequently Encountered Options

--resource-group / -g
Very common positional-style argument (not strictly global, but appears in hundreds of commands)
--name / -n
Resource name (very common)
--ids
Accepts one or more Azure Resource IDs instead of requiring --resource-group --name ...
--yes / -y
Auto-answer “yes” to confirmation prompts (great for automation)
--no-wait
Do not wait for long-running operations to complete (fire-and-forget)
--wait (some commands)
Wait until operation finishes and show final status

Configuration that Affects Command-line Behavior

Many behaviors can be set once (instead of repeating flags every time) using:

# Interactive wizard (recommended for beginners)
az init

# Or set individual values
az config set core.output=table
az config set core.default_subscription="My-Sub-Name"
az config set logging.enable_log_file=true

Common config keys that influence command-line feel:

core.output → default output format
core.only_show_errors → like permanent --only-show-errors
core.no_color → disable ANSI colors
core.collect_telemetry → opt out of telemetry
core.default_subscription / core.default_resource_group / core.default_location

Positional vs Named Arguments

Azure CLI uses two styles:

Named (most common): --resource-group myRg --name myVm
Positional (less common, but exists): some very old commands or extensions

Always prefer named arguments for clarity and script robustness.

Best Practices Summary (2026 style)

Use --output table interactively
Use --output json + --query in scripts / CI/CD
Prefer --ids when scripting with resource IDs
Chain --only-show-errors in pipelines
Use az config or az init to reduce typing
Always check help: az <group> <command> -h

The full list of global parameters is shown when you run az --help or any command with --help.

References:

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