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Install the Azure classic CLI

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Important

This topic describes how to install the Azure classic CLI. The classic CLI is deprecated and should only be used with the classic deployment model. For all other deployments, use the Azure CLI.

Quickly install the Azure classic CLI to use a set of open-source shell-based commands for creating and managing resources in Microsoft Azure. You have several options to install these cross-platform tools on your computer:

  • npm package - Run npm (the package manager for JavaScript) to install the Azure classic CLI package on your Linux distribution or OS. Requires node.js and npm.
  • Installer - Download an installer for easy installation on macOS or Windows.
  • Docker container - Start using the classic CLI in a ready-to-run Docker container. Requires a Docker host.

For more options and background, see the project repository on GitHub.

Once the Azure classic CLI is installed, connect with azure login and run the azure commands from your command-line interface (Bash, Terminal, Command prompt, and so on) to work with your Azure resources.

Option 1: Install an npm package

To install the classic CLI from an npm package, make sure you have downloaded and installed the latest Node.js and npm. Then, run npm install to install the azure-cli package:

npm install -g azure-cli

On Linux distributions, you might need to use sudo to successfully run the npm command, as follows:

sudo npm install -g azure-cli

Note

If you need to install or update Node.js and npm on your OS, we recommend that you install Node.js LTS version 4.x or later. If you use an older version, you might get installation errors.

If you prefer, you may also download a tar file from the GitHub releases. Then, install the downloaded npm package as follows (on Linux distributions you might need to use sudo):

npm install -g <path to downloaded tar file>

Option 2: Use an installer

If you use a Mac or Windows computer, DMG and MSI installers are available from GitHub releases.

Tip

On Windows, you can also download the Web Platform Installer to install the classic CLI. This installer gives you the option to install additional Azure SDK and command-line tools.

Option 3: Use a Docker container

If you have set up your computer as a Docker host, you can run the Azure classic CLI in a Docker container. Run the following command (on Linux distributions you might need to use sudo):

docker run -it mcr.microsoft.com/azure-cli:0.10.14

Run Azure classic CLI commands

After the classic CLI is installed, run the azure command from your command-line user interface (Bash, Terminal, Command prompt, and so on). For example, to run the help command, type the following:

azure help

Note

On some Linux distributions, you may receive an error similar to /usr/bin/env: ‘node’: No such file or directory. This error comes from recent installations of Node.js being installed at /usr/bin/nodejs. To fix it, create a symbolic link to /usr/bin/node by running this command:

sudo ln -s /usr/bin/nodejs /usr/bin/node

To see the version of the Azure classic CLI installed, type the following:

azure --version

Note

When you first use Azure classic CLI, you see a message asking if you want to allow Microsoft to collect usage information. Participation is voluntary. If you choose to participate, you can stop at any time by running azure telemetry --disable. To enable participation at any time, run azure telemetry --enable.

Update the classic CLI

Microsoft may release updated versions of the Azure classic CLI. Reinstall the classic CLI using the installer for your operating system, or run the latest Docker container. Or, if you have the latest Node.js and npm installed, update by typing the following (on Linux distributions you might need to use sudo).

npm update -g azure-cli

Enable tab completion

Tab completion of classic CLI commands is supported for Mac and Linux.

To enable it in zsh, run:

echo '. <(azure --completion)' >> .zshrc

To enable it in bash, run:

azure --completion >> ~/azure.completion.sh
echo 'source ~/azure.completion.sh' >> ~/.bash_profile

Next steps