Azure Quota CLI Commands Reference

Comprehensive reference for Azure CLI quota commands.

Prerequisites

Install quota extension (required):

az extension add --name quota

⚠️ CRITICAL: ALWAYS USE CLI FIRST

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Azure CLI is the ONLY reliable method for quota checks. Use az quota commands FIRST, always.

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DO NOT use REST API or Azure Portal as your first approach. They are unreliable.

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Required workflow:

1. FIRST: Try az quota list / az quota show / az quota usage show
2. If CLI returns BadRequest: Resource provider doesn't support quota API → use Azure service limits docs
3. Never start with REST API or Portal - only use as fallback

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Why REST API/Portal are unreliable:

• REST API returns "No Limit" or "Unlimited" values that are MISLEADING
• "No Limit" DOES NOT mean unlimited capacity - usually means resource doesn't support quota API
• Service-specific limits still apply even when REST API shows "No Limit"
• Portal may show incomplete or cached quota data
• REST API lacks proper error handling for unsupported providers

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If you see "No Limit" in REST API/Portal:

• ❌ This is NOT unlimited capacity
• ✅ It means quota API doesn't support that resource type
• ✅ Check Azure service limits docs for actual limits
• ✅ Regional capacity constraints may still exist

Resource Name Mapping

⚠️ CRITICAL: No 1:1 mapping exists between ARM resource types and quota names. Always discover via az quota list.

Discovery workflow:

1. List all quotas: az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/{Provider}/locations/{region}
2. Match properties.name.localizedValue to your resource type
3. Use exact name value in subsequent commands

Example mappings:

Command Summary

See advanced-commands.md for request status and operation commands.

az quota list

List all quota limits for a scope. Use this first to discover quota resource names.

Syntax:

az quota list --scope SCOPE [--max-items N] [--next-token TOKEN]

Required:

• --scope - Azure resource URI: /subscriptions/{id}/providers/{Provider}/locations/{region}

Examples:

# List compute quotas
az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

# List network quotas
az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Network/locations/eastus

# Table format
az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus --output table

Key output fields:

• name - Quota resource name (use in other commands)
• properties.name.localizedValue - Human-readable description
• properties.limit.value - Quota limit

az quota show

Show quota limit for a specific resource.

Syntax:

az quota show --resource-name NAME --scope SCOPE

Required:

• --resource-name - Quota resource name (from az quota list)
• --scope - Azure resource URI

Example:

# Get DSv3 family vCPU limit
az quota show \
  --resource-name standardDSv3Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

Key output fields:

• properties.limit.value - Quota limit
• properties.name.localizedValue - Human-readable description
• properties.quotaPeriod - Reset period (e.g., P1M = 1 month)

az quota update

Request quota increase for a resource.

Syntax:

az quota update --resource-name NAME --scope SCOPE --limit-object value=N [--resource-type TYPE] [--no-wait]

Required:

• --resource-name - Quota resource name
• --scope - Azure resource URI
• --limit-object - New limit value (format: value=N)

Optional:

• --resource-type - Resource type (e.g., dedicated, lowPriority)
• --no-wait - Don't wait for completion (true/false)

Examples:

# Increase FSv2 family vCPUs to 100
az quota update \
  --resource-name standardFSv2Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=100 \
  --resource-type dedicated

# Non-blocking request
az quota update \
  --resource-name standardFSv2Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=100 \
  --no-wait true

az quota usage list

List current usage for all resources in a scope.

Syntax:

az quota usage list --scope SCOPE [--max-items N] [--next-token TOKEN]

Required:

• --scope - Azure resource URI

Examples:

# List compute usage
az quota usage list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

# Table format
az quota usage list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus --output table

Key output:

• properties.usages.value - Current usage count
• Use with az quota show to calculate available capacity

az quota usage show

Show current usage for a specific resource.

Syntax:

az quota usage show --resource-name NAME --scope SCOPE

Required:

• --resource-name - Quota resource name
• --scope - Azure resource URI

Example:

az quota usage show \
  --resource-name standardDSv3Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

Calculate available capacity:

1. Get limit: az quota show --resource-name {name} --scope {scope} → limit value
2. Get usage: az quota usage show --resource-name {name} --scope {scope} → current usage
3. Available = Limit - Usage

Example calculation:

• Limit (from az quota show): 350 vCPUs
• Usage (from az quota usage show): 12 vCPUs
• Available: 338 vCPUs

az quota create

Create quota limit for a resource. Rarely used - typically use az quota update instead.

Syntax:

az quota create --resource-name NAME --scope SCOPE --limit-object value=N [--resource-type TYPE]

Required:

• --resource-name - Quota resource name
• --scope - Azure resource URI
• --limit-object - Quota limit value

Examples:

# Create network quota
az quota create \
  --resource-name MinPublicIpInterNetworkPrefixLength \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Network/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=10 \
  --resource-type MinPublicIpInterNetworkPrefixLength

# Create ML quota
az quota create \
  --resource-name TotalLowPriorityCores \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.MachineLearningServices/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=10 \
  --resource-type lowPriority

Troubleshooting

Unsupported Resource Types

Not all Azure resource providers support the quota API. If you receive a BadRequest error when running az quota list, the provider likely doesn't support quota commands.

Example - Microsoft.DocumentDB (Cosmos DB):

az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.DocumentDB/locations/eastus
# Error: (BadRequest) Bad request

Workarounds:

• Check Azure subscription limits documentation
• Use Azure Portal for quota management
• Check service-specific documentation

Testing provider support:

# Try listing quotas
az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/{Provider}/locations/{region}

# BadRequest error → not supported
# List of quotas → supported

REST API "No Limit" Warning

⚠️ CRITICAL WARNING: REST API "No Limit" is MISLEADING

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If you see "No Limit", "Unlimited", or similar values in REST API or Azure Portal responses:

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This DOES NOT mean unlimited capacity!

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It most likely means:

• The resource provider doesn't support the quota API
• Quota information isn't available through this API
• The quota is managed at a different scope

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DO NOT assume unlimited capacity. Always:

1. Use az quota CLI commands first (preferred method)
2. If CLI returns BadRequest, check Azure service limits documentation
3. Consult service-specific documentation for actual limits
4. Consider regional capacity constraints even without quota enforcement

Common Error Codes

Known Support Status

Unsupported:

• ❌ Microsoft.DocumentDB (Cosmos DB)

Supported:

• ✅ Microsoft.Compute (VMs, disks, cores)
• ✅ Microsoft.Network (VNets, IPs, load balancers)
• ✅ Microsoft.App (Container Apps)
• ✅ Microsoft.Storage (storage accounts)
• ✅ Microsoft.MachineLearningServices
• ✅ Microsoft.ContainerService (AKS)