az-resource

TLDR

List all resources in the subscription

$ az resource list

List resources in a resource group

$ az resource list --resource-group [rg_name]

Show a resource by ID

$ az resource show --ids [/subscriptions/.../resourceGroups/.../providers/.../name]

Show a resource by name and type

$ az resource show --resource-group [rg_name] --resource-type [Microsoft.Web/sites] --name [resource_name]

Delete a resource

$ az resource delete --ids [resource_id]

Move resources to another resource group

$ az resource move --destination-group [dest_rg] --ids [resource_id1] [resource_id2]

Tag a resource

$ az resource tag --tags [env=prod] [team=backend] --ids [resource_id]

Update a resource property

$ az resource update --ids [resource_id] --set properties.someProperty=value

SYNOPSIS

az resource subcommand [options]

az resource is a subcommand of the Azure CLI that manages Azure resources generically across all resource types. It provides a unified interface for operations that apply to any resource, regardless of the specific service.
Resources in Azure are identifiable entities like virtual machines, storage accounts, or databases. Each has a unique resource ID following the pattern /subscriptions/{sub}/resourceGroups/{rg}/providers/{provider}/{type}/{name}.
This command is useful for scripting cross-resource operations, bulk management, and working with resource types that may not have dedicated CLI command groups.

PARAMETERS

list

List resources with optional filters.

show

Display resource details.

create

Create a resource from properties.

delete

Remove a resource.

update

Modify resource properties.

move

Move resources between groups or subscriptions.

tag

Manage resource tags.

invoke-action

Invoke an action on a resource.

--ids ids

One or more resource IDs.

--resource-group rg

Resource group name.

--resource-type type

Resource type (e.g., Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines).

--name name

Resource name.

--namespace namespace

Provider namespace.

--api-version version

API version for the resource type.

--set property=value

Update a property using JMESPath.

--tags tags

Space-separated tags (key=value).

--query-string query

Filter resources with OData query.

CAVEATS

Some resources cannot be moved between resource groups or subscriptions. Deleting a resource may leave orphaned dependent resources. API version compatibility varies by resource type. Generic commands may lack service-specific validations available in dedicated command groups. Resource moves may take extended time and have service-specific limitations.

HISTORY

The generic resource commands have been part of the Azure CLI since Azure CLI 2.0 launched in 2017. They provide ARM (Azure Resource Manager) API access for any resource type. As Azure has grown, dedicated command groups for services have expanded, but the generic resource commands remain valuable for automation, bulk operations, and accessing new resource types before dedicated commands exist.