Clear Thinking in Data, Cloud, and AI

✅ Windows Terminal (Recommended)

💡 Modern, powerful terminal app from Microsoft

Why it’s good
✔ Tabs (PowerShell, Azure CLI, bash, WSL)
✔ Split panes
✔ Custom themes and fonts
✔ Works well with Azure CLI + azcopy + Git

Install

1. Open Microsoft Store
2. Search Windows Terminal
3. Install

Then run:

az login
az --version

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🐧 WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

💡 A Linux environment inside Windows

Why it’s great
✔ True Linux shell
✔ Works well with scripts and tools (bash, curl, jq)
✔ Same experience as on cloud/dev servers

Install
In PowerShell:

wsl --install

Then inside WSL (Ubuntu):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install azure-cli azcopy

Now Azure CLI runs just like on a Linux VM.

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📦 Azure Cloud Shell

💡 Zero install — runs in browser or Visual Studio Code

Pros
✔ Always up to date
✔ Comes with Azure CLI + azcopy
✔ Accessible from any machine

Access:
➡ https://shell.azure.com/

OR inside Azure Portal (top-right > Cloud Shell)

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🐍 PowerShell with Azure CLI

Good if you like PowerShell scripting.

Just install Azure CLI and open PowerShell or Windows Terminal (PowerShell tab):

az login
az --version

Pro tip: Use the Azure PowerShell module too:

Install-Module -Name Az -Scope CurrentUser

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🧰 Which One Should You Use for BEST Experience?

Tool	CLI Experience	Ease of Install	Best For
Windows Terminal	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Daily dev work
WSL (Ubuntu)	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	Dev/scripting
Azure Cloud Shell	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Quick commands / no install
PowerShell + Azure CLI	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Windows scripting

👉 Best overall: Windows Terminal + Azure CLI

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📌 How to Install Azure CLI on Windows 11

Step 0 — Install Windows Terminal (optional but recommended)

1. Microsoft Store → Windows Terminal
2. Launch it

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Step 1 — Install Azure CLI

In Windows Terminal (PowerShell tab):

winget install Microsoft.AzureCLI

or download from:
🔗 https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/install-azure-cli-windows

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Step 2 — Verify Installation

az --version

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📌 Installing AzCopy Side-by-Side

AzCopy is separate from Azure CLI.

Recommended install (Windows)

1. Download from:

https://aka.ms/downloadazcopy-v10-windows

2. Extract to folder, e.g.

C:\azcopy

3. Add folder to PATH (so PowerShell can run azcopy)

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🧠 Tips for Smooth CLI Experience

📌 Auto-completion

In PowerShell with Azure CLI:

Install-Module -Name PSReadLine -Force

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📌 Log in once

az login

This will open the browser and authenticate your Azure account.

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📌 Use profiles in Windows Terminal

Create tabs:

• Azure CLI
• PowerShell
• WSL Ubuntu

Easily switch between contexts.

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🧪 Quick Test After Setup

In Windows Terminal:

az account show
az group list

If you see JSON output → CLI is working.

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⚡ Optional Workflow Boost

Combine tools:

• Windows Terminal
• WSL (Ubuntu)
• Cloud Shell for ephemeral tasks

This gives you the best CLI + script + automation experience on Windows 11.

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