Azure Storage Services including Blob Storage, File Shares, Queue Storage, Table Storage, and Data Lake. Provides object storage, SMB file shares, async messaging, NoSQL key-value, and big data analytics capabilities. Includes access tiers (hot, cool, archive) and lifecycle management. USE FOR: blob storage, file shares, queue storage, table storage, data lake, upload files, download blobs, storage accounts, access tiers, lifecycle management. DO NOT USE FOR: SQL databases, Cosmos DB (use azure-prepare), messaging with Event Hubs or Service Bus (use azure-messaging).
# 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
| 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 |
When Azure MCP is enabled:
azure__storage with command storage_account_list - List storage accountsazure__storage with command storage_container_list - List containers in accountazure__storage with command storage_blob_list - List blobs in containerazure__storage with command storage_blob_get - Download blob contentazure__storage with command storage_blob_put - Upload blob contentIf Azure MCP is not enabled: Run /azure:setup or enable via /mcp.
# 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
| Tier | Use Case | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | General purpose, backup | Milliseconds |
| Premium | Databases, high IOPS | Sub-millisecond |
| 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 |
| 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 |
For deep documentation on specific services:
For building applications with Azure Storage SDKs, see the condensed guides:
For full package listing across all languages, see SDK Usage Guide.
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.