Azure Storage
Published by microsoft in azure-skills
What this skill does
Explains Azure storage options and helps list, upload, and download blobs through Azure MCP or CLI. It gives basic tier and redundancy comparisons plus SDK references for building storage integrations. Best for Developers building apps or workflows that store files and data in Azure.
Add Azure Storage to your agent
Review the source and files first. When you are ready, copy the prompt instruction or use the CLI command supported by your environment.
Install with a prompt
Paste this into a compatible coding agent:
add this skill "azure-storage" from https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skillsInstall with the CLI
Run this command in a controlled environment after reviewing the repository:
npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/azure-skills --skill azure-storageSkill instructions
Azure Storage Services
Services
| Service | Use When | MCP Tools | CLI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blob Storage | Objects, files, backups, static content | azure__storage | az storage blob |
| File Shares | SMB file shares, lift-and-shift | - | az storage file |
| Queue Storage | Async messaging, task queues | - | az storage queue |
| Table Storage | NoSQL key-value (consider Cosmos DB) | - | az storage table |
| Data Lake | Big data analytics, hierarchical namespace | - | az storage fs |
MCP Server (Preferred)
When Azure MCP is enabled:
azure__storagewith commandstorage_account_list- List storage accountsazure__storagewith commandstorage_container_list- List containers in accountazure__storagewith commandstorage_blob_list- List blobs in containerazure__storagewith commandstorage_blob_get- Download blob contentazure__storagewith commandstorage_blob_put- Upload blob content
If Azure MCP is not enabled: In Copilot CLI or Claude Code, ask the user to run /mcp and enable Azure MCP; in other hosts, ask the user to enable Azure MCP through the host's MCP configuration.
CLI Fallback
# List storage accounts
az storage account list --output table
# List containers
az storage container list --account-name ACCOUNT --output table
# List blobs
az storage blob list --account-name ACCOUNT --container-name CONTAINER --output table
# Download blob
az storage blob download --account-name ACCOUNT --container-name CONTAINER --name BLOB --file LOCAL_PATH
# Upload blob
az storage blob upload --account-name ACCOUNT --container-name CONTAINER --name BLOB --file LOCAL_PATH
Storage Account Tiers
| Tier | Use Case | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | General purpose, backup | Milliseconds |
| Premium | Databases, high IOPS | Sub-millisecond |
Blob Access Tiers
| Tier | Access Frequency | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Hot | Frequent | Higher storage, lower access |
| Cool | Infrequent (30+ days) | Lower storage, higher access |
| Cold | Rare (90+ days) | Lower still |
| Archive | Rarely (180+ days) | Lowest storage, rehydration required |
Redundancy Options
| Type | Durability | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| LRS | 11 nines | Dev/test, recreatable data |
| ZRS | 12 nines | Regional high availability |
| GRS | 16 nines | Disaster recovery |
| GZRS | 16 nines | Best durability |
Service Details
For deep documentation on specific services:
- Blob storage patterns and lifecycle -> Blob Storage documentation
- File shares and Azure File Sync -> Azure Files documentation
- Queue patterns and poison handling -> Queue Storage documentation
SDK Quick References
For building applications with Azure Storage SDKs, see the condensed guides:
- Blob Storage: Python | TypeScript | Java | Rust
- Queue Storage: Python | TypeScript
- File Shares: Python | TypeScript
- Data Lake: Python
- Tables: Python | Java
For full package listing across all languages, see SDK Usage Guide.
Azure SDKs
For 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 for package names, installation commands, and quick start examples.
Files included
- references/auth-best-practices.md
- references/sdk-usage.md
- references/sdk/azure-data-tables-java.md
- references/sdk/azure-data-tables-py.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-java.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-py.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-rust.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-ts.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-file-datalake-py.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-file-share-py.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-file-share-ts.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-queue-py.md
- references/sdk/azure-storage-queue-ts.md
- SKILL.md

