Azure Cloud Shell frequently asked questions (FAQ)

This article answers common questions and explains how to troubleshoot Cloud Shell issues.

Browser support

Cloud Shell supports the latest versions of following browsers:

• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Apple Safari
  • Safari in private mode isn't supported.

Copy and paste

The keys used for copy and paste vary by operating system and browser. The following list contains the most common key combinations:

• Windows: Ctrl+c to copy and CTRL+Shift+v or Shift+Insert to paste.
  • FireFox might not support clipboard permissions properly.
• macOS: Cmd+c to copy and Cmd+v to paste.
• Linux: CTRL+c to copy and CTRL+Shift+v to paste.

Note

If no text is selected when you type Ctrl+C, Cloud Shell sends the Ctrl-c character to the shell. The shell can interpret Ctrl-c as a Break signal and terminate the currently running command.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a time limit for Cloud Shell sessions?

Cloud Shell is intended for interactive use cases. Cloud Shell sessions time out after 20 minutes without interactive activity. As a result, any long-running non-interactive sessions are ended without warning.

Cloud Shell is a free service for managing your Azure environment. It's not a general purpose computing platform. Excessive usage might be considered a breach of the Azure Terms of Service, which result in having your access to Cloud Shell blocked.

How many concurrent sessions can I have open?

Azure Cloud Shell has a limit of 20 concurrent users per tenant. Opening more than 20 simultaneous sessions produces a "Tenant User Over Quota" error. If you have a legitimate need to have more than 20 sessions open, such as for training sessions, contact Support to request a quota increase before your anticipated usage date.

I created some files in Cloud Shell, but they're gone. What happened?

The machine that provides your Cloud Shell session is temporary and is recycled after your session is inactive for 20 minutes. Cloud Shell uses an Azure fileshare mounted to the clouddrive folder in your session. The fileshare contains the image file that contains your $HOME directory. Only files that you upload or create in the clouddrive folder are persisted across sessions. Any files created outside your clouddrive directory aren't persisted.

Files stored in the clouddrive directory are visible in the Azure portal using Storage browser. However, any files created in the $HOME directory are stored in the image file and aren't visible in the portal.

I create a file in the Azure: drive, but I don't see it. What happened?

PowerShell users can use the Azure: drive to access Azure resources. The Azure: drive is created by a PowerShell provider that structures data as a file system drive. The Azure: drive is a virtual drive that doesn't allow you to create files.

Files that you create a new file using other tools, such as vim or nano while your current location is the Azure: drive, are saved to your $HOME directory.

I want to install a tool in Cloud Shell that requires sudo. Is that possible?

No. Your user account in Cloud Shell is an unprivileged account. You can't use sudo or run any command that requires elevated permissions.

Troubleshoot errors

Storage Dialog - Error: 403 RequestDisallowedByPolicy

• Details: When creating the Cloud Shell storage account for first-time users, it's unsuccessful due to an Azure Policy assignment placed by your admin. The error message includes:

  The resource action 'Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/write' is disallowed by one or more policies.

• Resolution: Contact your Azure administrator to remove or update the Azure Policy assignment denying storage creation.

Storage Dialog - Error: 400 DisallowedOperation

• Details: You can't create the Cloud Shell storage account when using a Microsoft Entra subscription.
• Resolution: Microsoft Entra ID subscriptions aren't able to create Azure resources. Use an Azure subscription capable of creating storage resources.

Terminal output - Error: Failed to connect terminal

• Details: Cloud Shell requires the ability to establish a websocket connection to Cloud Shell infrastructure.
• Resolution: Confirm that your network allows sending HTTPS and websocket requests to the following domains:
  • *.console.azure.com
  • *.servicebus.windows.net

Managing Cloud Shell

Manage personal data

Microsoft Azure takes your personal data seriously. The Azure Cloud Shell service stores information about your Cloud Shell storage and your terminal preferences. You can view this information using one of the following examples.

• Run the following commands from the bash command prompt:

  URL="https://management.azure.com/providers/Microsoft.Portal/usersettings/cloudconsole?api-version=2017-12-01-preview"
  az rest --method get --url $URL
  

• Run the following commands from the PowerShell command prompt:

  $invokeAzRestMethodSplat = @{
      Uri    = 'https://management.azure.com/providers/Microsoft.Portal/usersettings/cloudconsole?api-version=2017-12-01-preview'
      Method = 'GET'
  }
  $userdata = (Invoke-AzRestMethod @invokeAzRestMethodSplat).Content
  ($userdata | ConvertFrom-Json).properties | Format-List
  

You can delete this personal data by resetting your user settings. Resetting user settings terminates your current session and unmounts your linked storage account. The Azure fileshare used by Cloud Shell isn't deleted.

When reconnecting to Cloud Shell, you're prompted to attach a storage account. You can create a new storage account or reattach the existing storage account that you used previously.

Use the following steps to delete your user settings.

1. Launch Cloud Shell.
2. Select the Settings menu (gear icon) from the Cloud Shell toolbar.
3. Select Reset user settings from the menu.
4. Select the Reset button to confirm the action.

Block Cloud Shell in a locked down network environment

• Details: Administrators might wish to disable access to Cloud Shell for their users. Cloud Shell depends on access to the ux.console.azure.com domain, which can be denied, stopping any access to Cloud Shell's entry points including portal.azure.com, shell.azure.com, Visual Studio Code Azure Account extension, and learn.microsoft.com. In the US Government cloud, the entry point is ux.console.azure.us; there's no corresponding shell.azure.us.
• Resolution: Restrict access to ux.console.azure.com or ux.console.azure.us from your network. The Cloud Shell icon still exists in the Azure portal, but you can't connect to the service.