SKILL.md
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 commandstorageaccountlist- List storage accountsazure__storagewith commandstoragecontainerlist- List containers in accountazure__storagewith commandstoragebloblist- List blobs in containerazure__storagewith commandstorageblobget- Download blob contentazure__storagewith commandstorageblobput- Upload blob content
If Azure MCP is not enabled: Run /azure:setup or enable via /mcp.
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_PATHStorage 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](references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-py.md) | [TypeScript](references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-ts.md) | [Java](references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-java.md) | [Rust](references/sdk/azure-storage-blob-rust.md)
- Queue Storage: [Python](references/sdk/azure-storage-queue-py.md) | [TypeScript](references/sdk/azure-storage-queue-ts.md)
- File Shares: [Python](references/sdk/azure-storage-file-share-py.md) | [TypeScript](references/sdk/azure-storage-file-share-ts.md)
- Data Lake: [Python](references/sdk/azure-storage-file-datalake-py.md)
- Tables: [Python](references/sdk/azure-data-tables-py.md) | [Java](references/sdk/azure-data-tables-java.md)
For full package listing across all languages, see [SDK Usage Guide](references/sdk-usage.md).
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](references/sdk-usage.md) for package names, installation commands, and quick start examples.