The Azure PowerShell cmdlets are referenced for automating tasks using the script and that is a natural experience for users on the Windows platform. However,for users who are not running Windows or prefer an experience other than Azure PowerShell, Microsoft Azure offers the Azure Cross-Platform Command-Line Interface tools (xplat-cli).
The xplat-cli tools can be downloaded for free from the same download page the Azure PowerShell cmdlets are available at, which is http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/. (Scroll down to the Command-line tools section to locate the download links.)
The xplat-cli tools are available for the following operating systems:
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux
To use the xplat-cli tools on Windows, open a command prompt and type Azure to list the version of the tools installed and the help for some of the commands, as shown in Figure
Much of what you can do with the management portal and Azure PowerShell cmdlets you can also do with the xplat-cli tools. The Azure platform, features, and tools evolve at a very rapid pace, so it is important to make sure you update your tools regularly.The xplat-cli tools are easy to use and offer help simply by typing the commands as shown in Figure.
Azure site
One of the commands available is the command to list the sites in your subscription. To do this, type the following command.
Azure site list
As part of the list command, you can specify the name parameter to list only the site indicated. For example, to list the contoso-web website, type the following command.
Azure site list contoso-web
You can also create and edit websites. For example, Figure shows how to create a new website in East US named contoso-web-01.
