1---
2name: azure-storage
3description: "Azure Storage Services including Blob Storage, File Shares, Queue Storage, Table Storage, and Data Lake. Answers questions about storage access tiers (hot, cool, cold, archive), when to use each tier, and tier comparison. Provides object storage, SMB file shares, async messaging, NoSQL key-value, and big data analytics. Includes lifecycle management. USE FOR: blob storage, file shares, queue storage, table storage, data lake, upload files, download blobs, storage accounts, access tiers, storage tiers, hot cool cold archive, storage tier comparison, when to use storage tiers, lifecycle management, Azure Storage concepts. DO NOT USE FOR: SQL databases, Cosmos DB (use azure-prepare), messaging with Event Hubs or Service Bus (use azure-messaging)."
4license: MIT
5metadata:
6  author: Microsoft
7  version: "1.1.2"
8---
9 
10# Azure Storage Services
11 
12## Services
13 
14| Service | Use When | MCP Tools | CLI |
15|---------|----------|-----------|-----|
16| Blob Storage | Objects, files, backups, static content | `azure__storage` | `az storage blob` |
17| File Shares | SMB file shares, lift-and-shift | - | `az storage file` |
18| Queue Storage | Async messaging, task queues | - | `az storage queue` |
19| Table Storage | NoSQL key-value (consider Cosmos DB) | - | `az storage table` |
20| Data Lake | Big data analytics, hierarchical namespace | - | `az storage fs` |
21 
22## MCP Server (Preferred)
23 
24When Azure MCP is enabled:
25 
26- `azure__storage` with command `storage_account_list` - List storage accounts
27- `azure__storage` with command `storage_container_list` - List containers in account
28- `azure__storage` with command `storage_blob_list` - List blobs in container
29- `azure__storage` with command `storage_blob_get` - Download blob content
30- `azure__storage` with command `storage_blob_put` - Upload blob content
31 
32**If Azure MCP is not enabled:** Run `/azure:setup` or enable via `/mcp`.
33 
34## CLI Fallback
35 
36```bash
37# List storage accounts
38az storage account list --output table
39 
40# List containers
41az storage container list --account-name ACCOUNT --output table
42 
43# List blobs
44az storage blob list --account-name ACCOUNT --container-name CONTAINER --output table
45 
46# Download blob
47az storage blob download --account-name ACCOUNT --container-name CONTAINER --name BLOB --file LOCAL_PATH
48 
49# Upload blob
50az storage blob upload --account-name ACCOUNT --container-name CONTAINER --name BLOB --file LOCAL_PATH
51```
52 
53## Storage Account Tiers
54 
55| Tier | Use Case | Performance |
56|------|----------|-------------|
57| Standard | General purpose, backup | Milliseconds |
58| Premium | Databases, high IOPS | Sub-millisecond |
59 
60## Blob Access Tiers
61 
62| Tier | Access Frequency | Cost |
63|------|-----------------|------|
64| Hot | Frequent | Higher storage, lower access |
65| Cool | Infrequent (30+ days) | Lower storage, higher access |
66| Cold | Rare (90+ days) | Lower still |
67| Archive | Rarely (180+ days) | Lowest storage, rehydration required |
68 
69## Redundancy Options
70 
71| Type | Durability | Use Case |
72|------|------------|----------|
73| LRS | 11 nines | Dev/test, recreatable data |
74| ZRS | 12 nines | Regional high availability |
75| GRS | 16 nines | Disaster recovery |
76| GZRS | 16 nines | Best durability |
77 
78## Service Details
79 
80For deep documentation on specific services:
81 
82- Blob storage patterns and lifecycle -> [Blob Storage documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blobs-overview)
83- File shares and Azure File Sync -> [Azure Files documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/storage/files/storage-files-introduction)
84- Queue patterns and poison handling -> [Queue Storage documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/storage/queues/storage-queues-introduction)
85 
86## SDK Quick References
87 
88For building applications with Azure Storage SDKs, see the condensed guides:
89 
90- **Blob Storage**: [Python](references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-py.md) | [TypeScript](references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-ts.md) | [Java](references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-java.md) | [Rust](references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-rust.md)
91- **Queue Storage**: [Python](references/sdk/azure-storage-queue-py.md) | [TypeScript](references/sdk/azure-storage-queue-ts.md)
92- **File Shares**: [Python](references/sdk/azure-storage-file-share-py.md) | [TypeScript](references/sdk/azure-storage-file-share-ts.md)
93- **Data Lake**: [Python](references/sdk/azure-storage-file-datalake-py.md)
94- **Tables**: [Python](references/sdk/azure-data-tables-py.md) | [Java](references/sdk/azure-data-tables-java.md)
95 
96For full package listing across all languages, see [SDK Usage Guide](references/sdk-usage.md).
97 
98## Azure SDKs
99 
100For building applications that interact with Azure Storage programmatically, Azure provides SDK packages in multiple languages (.NET, Java, JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust). See [SDK Usage Guide](references/sdk-usage.md) for package names, installation commands, and quick start examples.
101