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azlin context create

Create a new azlin context for multi-tenant Azure environments.

Synopsis

azlin context create NAME [OPTIONS]

Description

Creates a new context with the specified subscription and tenant IDs. Contexts enable seamless switching between different Azure subscriptions, making multi-tenant management simple.

Optionally associates an authentication profile for service principal auth.

Arguments

NAME - Context name (required)

Options

Option Description
--subscription, --subscription-id TEXT Azure subscription ID (UUID) (required)
--tenant, --tenant-id TEXT Azure tenant ID (UUID) (required)
--auth-profile TEXT Service principal auth profile name (optional)
--description TEXT Human-readable description (optional)
--set-current Set as current context after creation
--config TEXT Custom config file path
-h, --help Show help message

Examples

Basic Context

# Create basic context
azlin context create staging \
  --subscription xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --tenant yyyyyyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyyyyyyyyyy

With Auth Profile

# Create context with service principal
azlin context create prod \
  --subscription xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --tenant yyyyyyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyyyyyyyyyy \
  --auth-profile prod-sp

Automatically uses the specified auth profile when switching to this context.

With Description

# Add description
azlin context create dev \
  --subscription xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --tenant yyyyyyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyyyyyyyyyy \
  --description "Development environment" \
  --set-current

Set as Current

# Create and activate immediately
azlin context create test \
  --subscription xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --tenant yyyyyyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyyyyyyyyyy \
  --set-current

Use Cases

Multi-Tenant Management

# Client A
azlin context create client-a \
  --subscription aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa \
  --tenant tttt-tttt-tttt-tttt \
  --description "Client A Production"

# Client B
azlin context create client-b \
  --subscription bbbb-bbbb-bbbb-bbbb \
  --tenant uuuu-uuuu-uuuu-uuuu \
  --description "Client B Production"

# Switch between clients
azlin context use client-a
azlin list

azlin context use client-b
azlin list

Environment Segregation

# Development
azlin context create dev \
  --subscription dev-sub-id \
  --tenant company-tenant-id \
  --description "Development VMs"

# Staging
azlin context create staging \
  --subscription staging-sub-id \
  --tenant company-tenant-id \
  --description "Staging VMs"

# Production
azlin context create prod \
  --subscription prod-sub-id \
  --tenant company-tenant-id \
  --auth-profile prod-sp \
  --description "Production VMs"

Service Principal Integration

# 1. Set up auth profile
azlin auth setup prod-sp

# 2. Create context with auth
azlin context create prod \
  --subscription prod-sub-id \
  --tenant prod-tenant-id \
  --auth-profile prod-sp

# 3. Switch context (uses service principal automatically)
azlin context use prod
azlin list

Context Configuration

Storage Location

Contexts are stored in: 

~/.azlin/contexts.toml

Format

[contexts.prod]
subscription_id = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
tenant_id = "yyyyyyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyyyyyyyyyy"
auth_profile = "prod-sp"
description = "Production environment"

[contexts.dev]
subscription_id = "aaaaaaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaa"
tenant_id = "bbbbbbbb-bbbb-bbbb-bbbb-bbbbbbbbbbbb"
description = "Development environment"

Finding IDs

Subscription ID

# List subscriptions
az account list --output table

# Get current subscription
az account show --query id -o tsv

Tenant ID

# Get tenant ID
az account show --query tenantId -o tsv

# List all tenants
az account tenant list --output table

Troubleshooting

Invalid Subscription ID

# Verify subscription exists
az account list --output table

# Check access
az account set --subscription your-sub-id
az account show

Invalid Tenant ID

# List accessible tenants
az account tenant list

# Verify tenant access
az login --tenant your-tenant-id

Auth Profile Not Found

# List auth profiles
azlin auth list

# Create auth profile first
azlin auth setup my-profile

# Then create context
azlin context create my-context \
  --subscription sub-id \
  --tenant tenant-id \
  --auth-profile my-profile

Context Already Exists

# List existing contexts
azlin context list

# Use different name or delete existing
azlin context delete old-context
azlin context create new-context ...

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

# Environment-based
azlin context create dev
azlin context create staging
azlin context create prod

# Client-based
azlin context create acme-prod
azlin context create contoso-dev

# Purpose-based
azlin context create ci-builds
azlin context create ml-training

Use Descriptions

# Makes context list more readable
azlin context create prod \
  --subscription ... \
  --tenant ... \
  --description "Production - Client A - US East"

Service Principals for Production

# Production should use service principal
azlin auth setup prod-sp
azlin context create prod \
  --subscription prod-sub \
  --tenant prod-tenant \
  --auth-profile prod-sp

Set Current for Active Work

# Immediately activate for new environment
azlin context create dev --subscription ... --set-current

# Start working
azlin list
azlin new --name dev-vm

See Also