/azure-quotas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This DOES NOT mean unlimited capacity!

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

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)