az-image

List the custom images under a resource group

$ az image list [[-g|--resource-group]] [resource_group]

$ az image create [[-g|--resource-group]] [resource_group] [[-n|--name]] [name] --os-type [windows|linux] --source [os_disk_source]

$ az image delete [[-n|--name]] [name] [[-g|--resource-group]] [resource_group]

$ az image show [[-n|--name]] [name] [[-g|--resource-group]] [resource_group]

$ az image update [[-n|--name]] [name] [[-g|--resource-group]] [resource_group] --set [property=value]

az image { create | delete | list | show | update } [options]

--resource-group, -g
    Name of the resource group.

--name, -n
    Name of the image.

--source
    Source VM, storage blob, managed image, or snapshot for creation.

--os-type
    linux or windows OS type (create only).

--hyper-v-generation
    Gen1 or Gen2 (create only).

--location, -l
    Azure region for the image.

--tags
    Space-separated tags in 'key=value' format.

--output, -o
    Output format (json, table, tsv, etc.).

--query
    JMESPath query string for output filtering.

--no-wait
    Do not wait for completion.

az image is a command group in the Azure Command-Line Interface (CLI), a cross-platform tool for managing Azure resources from the Linux terminal. It enables creation, listing, viewing, updating, and deletion of custom virtual machine (VM) images.

Azure VM images serve as templates for deploying consistent VMs with pre-configured OS and software. Use az image create to generalize a VM snapshot into a reusable image, ideal for scaling deployments. az image list retrieves images in a resource group or subscription, supporting filtering by tags or location.

Key use cases include custom OS images for enterprise environments, disaster recovery, or CI/CD pipelines. Images can be managed across regions for high availability. Requires Azure authentication via az login and appropriate RBAC permissions like Contributor on the resource group.

Integrates with Shared Image Gallery (SIG) via az sig image for versioned, replicated images. Outputs JSON by default, customizable with --query and --output. Efficient for automation in scripts or DevOps workflows, reducing VM provisioning time.

Requires Azure CLI ≥2.0, az login, and permissions. Images must be generalized before creation. Cannot update source after creation. Regional replication handled via SIG, not basic images.
Limits: 1000 images per subscription per region.

az image create: From VM/snapshot.
az image list: [--all|--gallery-image-definition].
az image show: Details by name/group.
az image delete: Permanent removal.

az image create --resource-group myGroup --name myImage --source myVM

Introduced in Azure CLI 2.0 (2017). Enhanced in 2.10+ for SIG support, better query options. Evolved with Azure features like confidential VMs (2021+).

az vm(1), az snapshot(1), az sig image(1), az disk(1)