---
id: azdev
version: "0.2.13"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# azdev — Microsoft Azure CLI Developer Tools

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 220.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

azdev is Microsoft's official developer toolkit for contributing to Azure CLI and its extensions. It bundles commands for environment setup, code style checking, linting, testing, and building extensions into a single CLI interface. The tool is intended for developers working locally on Azure CLI modules and extensions, automating repetitive setup and validation tasks that would otherwise require manual coordination of multiple tools (pytest, flake8, pylint, sphinx, tox, and others).

The package includes commands to add or remove extensions, generate and verify command indices, build extension wheels, and run the full test and lint suite. It also provides utilities for managing breaking changes and extension versioning. Because it bundles so many dependencies—testing frameworks, linters, documentation tools, and Azure-specific libraries—it trades a larger footprint for convenience in a development-only context.

Use it for:

- Set up a local development environment for Azure CLI module contribution with a single command.
- Run style checks and linting across an Azure CLI module or extension before submitting a pull request.
- Execute the full test suite for an extension using pytest and tox with azdev's configuration.
- Build and package an Azure CLI extension as a wheel for distribution.
- Generate and verify Azure CLI command and help indices for packaged releases.
- Add or remove extensions from a local Azure CLI development environment and keep the command index in sync.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

azdev is a command-line tool that helps developers set up, test, lint, and build Azure CLI modules and extensions locally.

Yes, if you are actively developing Azure CLI modules or extensions. The tool is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and is designed specifically to streamline the Azure CLI contribution workflow. Install it only in a development environment or virtual machine—the package explicitly warns against using it with untrusted input or in production contexts. Not relevant for end users of Azure CLI.

## Install

pip install azdev
uv add azdev
poetry add azdev

## Installing azdev

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Active maintenance with a release 36 days ago; supports Python 3.10–3.14. Requires 23 runtime dependencies including testing (pytest, tox), linting (flake8, pylint), and Azure-specific tools, which is typical for a developer-facing CLI tool.

License in practice: MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions. Suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.

Quickstart:

pip install azdev
azdev setup
azdev test <module-or-extension>
azdev style <module-or-extension>

Requires Python 3.10 or later. Designed for local development only; the package documentation explicitly warns against using it with untrusted input or behind another application.

Verify before relying:

- Whether all 23 runtime dependencies are truly required at runtime or some are optional/development-only.
- Performance characteristics when working with large extension repositories.
- Compatibility with non-standard Azure CLI repository layouts or forks.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 220.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

azure cli development tools, azure cli extension build, azure cli testing and linting, azure cli module setup, azure development environment, cli extension development, azure command module tools, azure-cli, development-tools, cli-extension

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/azdev) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/azdev/)