Install Azure PowerShell
In this scenario, your administrators prefer executing scripts locally on their computers rather than using Azure Cloud Shell. Since your team uses a mixture of Windows, Linux, and macOS, your task is to ensure Azure PowerShell works across all these devices. This empowers your administrators to manage and automate the Azure infrastructure for your organization from their preferred operating system on their local computers.
What must be installed?
We'll review detailed installation instructions for some common platforms in the next unit, but first, let's look at the two key components required for Azure PowerShell:
- The PowerShell language: The PowerShell language is available in two variants:
- PowerShell version 7: This version can be installed on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- Windows PowerShell 5.1: This version is preinstalled and only runs on Windows.
- The Az PowerShell module: This module must be installed to add the Azure-specific commands to PowerShell.
Tip
The latest stable version of PowerShell 7 is recommended for use with the Az PowerShell module on all platforms.
After installing the appropriate version of PowerShell, you can then install the Az PowerShell module to start managing Azure resources.
How to install PowerShell
To install PowerShell on all platforms, use a package manager. The recommended package manager varies by operating system and distribution.
Windows
On Windows, use the Windows Package Manager (winget) to install the latest stable version of
PowerShell 7.
winget install --id Microsoft.Powershell --source winget
Linux
The package manager on Linux differs based on the distribution. PowerShell is available in the Microsoft repository, which you must add to your package manager.
| Distribution | Package manager |
|---|---|
| Debian, Ubuntu | apt-get |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) | dnf or yum depending on your RHEL version |
To install PowerShell on supported versions of Ubuntu Linux, use the Advanced Packaging Tool (apt)
and the Bash command line.
macOS
On macOS, use Homebrew to install PowerShell.
The Az PowerShell module
Azure PowerShell is the product name for the official Microsoft PowerShell module containing commands for managing Azure resources.
The current version of the Azure PowerShell module for managing Azure resources is named Az. It's the recommended PowerShell module for managing Azure resources with PowerShell. It includes thousands of commands that control almost every aspect of Azure. The Az PowerShell module is cross-platform.
You might find examples on the internet that use the AzureRM PowerShell module, which is the
previous generation of Azure PowerShell. It's deprecated, no longer maintained or supported, and not
recommended. Commands in the AzureRM PowerShell module use the *-AzureRM* format.
You might also encounter an Azure PowerShell module named Azure, which is for managing legacy Azure resources that use Azure Service Manager (ASM) APIs. The Azure PowerShell module isn't recommended when creating new resources since ASM is scheduled to retire soon.