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Azure PowerShell (Az) Reference Guide

This guide provides documentation on using Azure PowerShell (Az module) in your Home Lab. It includes installation, common commands, authentication, and uninstallation procedures.

1️⃣ Installation

The Az module can be installed using an Ansible playbook:

ansible-playbook -i inventory/ansible/inventory.ini -k playbooks/azure/deploy_azure_ps.yml

Notes:

  • The playbook installs PowerShell first, then the Az module.
  • Installation is user-specific: each user gets their own PowerShell environment.
  • After installation, launch PowerShell using:
pwsh

2️⃣ Authentication

Interactive login is not supported. Device authentication must be used:

Connect-AzAccount -UseDeviceAuthentication

Instructions:

  1. You will receive an authentication code in PowerShell.
  2. Open https://microsoft.com/devicelogin in a browser.
  3. Enter the provided code.
  4. After successful login, Azure will display your Subscription Name and Tenant.

3️⃣ Common Azure PowerShell Commands

Task Command Notes
List all resource groups Get-AzResourceGroup Useful to see your existing resource groups
List all virtual machines Get-AzVM Can be filtered by resource group
Create a Key Vault New-AzKeyVault -Name "<unique-name>" -ResourceGroupName "myResourceGroup" -Location "EastUS" Replace <unique-name> with a globally unique name
Find VM-related cmdlets Get-Command -Verb Get -Noun AzVM* -Module Az.Compute Helps discover compute-related commands
Help for any cmdlet Get-Help <cmdlet> Displays usage examples and parameters

⚡ Tip: Most Az cmdlets follow the Verb-AzNoun pattern (e.g., Get-AzVM, Remove-AzStorageAccount).

4️⃣ Uninstallation

To remove the Az module and all dependencies:

  1. Enumerate installed Az modules:
($AzVersions |
  ForEach-Object {
    Import-Clixml -Path (Join-Path -Path $_.InstalledLocation -ChildPath PSGetModuleInfo.xml)
  }).Dependencies.Name | Sort-Object -Descending -Unique -OutVariable AzModules
  1. Uninstall all modules:
$AzModules |
  ForEach-Object {
    Remove-Module -Name $_ -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Write-Output "Attempting to uninstall module: $_"
    Uninstall-Module -Name $_ -AllVersions
  }
  1. Remove the Az module itself:
Remove-Module -Name Az -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Uninstall-Module -Name Az -AllVersions

⚡ Caution: Only uninstall if no scripts rely on Az modules.

5️⃣ References