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azlin context list

List all available Azure contexts

Description

The azlin context list command displays all configured contexts with their subscription and tenant IDs. The current active context is marked with an asterisk (*), making it easy to see which context your azlin commands will use.

This command helps you understand what Azure environments you have configured and quickly identify your current working context.

Usage

azlin context list [OPTIONS]

Options

Option Type Description
--config TEXT Path Custom config file path (default: ~/.azlin/config.toml)
-h, --help Flag Show command help and exit

Examples

Basic Usage

# List all contexts
azlin context list

# Example output:
# * production    (subscription: xxxxxxxx..., tenant: yyyyyyyy...)
#   dev           (subscription: aaaaaaaa..., tenant: bbbbbbbb...)
#   staging       (subscription: cccccccc..., tenant: dddddddd...)

Using Custom Config

# List contexts from custom config file
azlin context list --config ~/custom-config.toml

# List contexts from team config
azlin context list --config ~/.azlin/team-config.toml

Common Workflows

# Check available contexts before switching
azlin context list

# See current context (marked with *)
azlin context list

# After creating new context, verify it exists
azlin context create newcontext --subscription xxx --tenant yyy
azlin context list

# Check contexts across multiple config files
azlin context list --config ~/.azlin/config-a.toml
azlin context list --config ~/.azlin/config-b.toml

Output Format

The command displays contexts in the following format:

[*] NAME    (subscription: SUBSCRIPTION_ID, tenant: TENANT_ID[, profile: AUTH_PROFILE])

Where: - * - Indicates the current active context - NAME - Context name - SUBSCRIPTION_ID - Azure subscription ID (first 8 characters shown) - TENANT_ID - Azure tenant ID (first 8 characters shown) - AUTH_PROFILE - (Optional) Associated service principal authentication profile

Example output:

* production    (subscription: xxxxxxxx-xxxx-..., tenant: yyyyyyyy-yyyy-..., profile: prod-sp)
  dev           (subscription: aaaaaaaa-aaaa-..., tenant: bbbbbbbb-bbbb-...)
  staging       (subscription: cccccccc-cccc-..., tenant: dddddddd-dddd-...)
  test          (subscription: eeeeeeee-eeee-..., tenant: ffffffff-ffff-...)

Understanding Context Information

Subscription ID

The subscription ID determines which Azure subscription azlin will use for: - Creating VMs and resources - Listing VMs - Managing storage accounts - All Azure resource operations

Tenant ID

The tenant ID determines which Azure Active Directory (AAD) tenant to authenticate against. Important for: - Multi-tenant organizations - Guest access scenarios - Service principal authentication

Auth Profile

(Optional) The name of a service principal authentication profile to use. If specified: - azlin will use this profile's credentials - No interactive Azure CLI login needed - Useful for CI/CD and automation

Troubleshooting

No Contexts Listed

Symptoms: Command shows empty list or "No contexts found"

Solutions: 

# Create your first context
azlin context create default \
  --subscription $(az account show --query id -o tsv) \
  --tenant $(az account show --query tenantId -o tsv)

# Verify it was created
azlin context list

# Or migrate from legacy config
azlin context migrate

Current Context Not Marked

Symptoms: No asterisk (*) shown, or wrong context marked

Solutions: 

# Show current context explicitly
azlin context current

# Set a context as current
azlin context use CONTEXT-NAME

# Verify
azlin context list

Config File Not Found

Symptoms: Error reading config file

Solutions: 

# Check if config file exists
ls -la ~/.azlin/config.toml

# Create config directory if needed
mkdir -p ~/.azlin

# Initialize with a context
azlin context create default \
  --subscription YOUR-SUB-ID \
  --tenant YOUR-TENANT-ID

Truncated IDs Hard to Distinguish

Symptoms: Multiple contexts with similar looking IDs

Solutions: 

# Show full details for specific context
azlin context current

# Or check config file directly
cat ~/.azlin/config.toml

# Use descriptive context names
azlin context rename xxxxxxxx production
azlin context rename yyyyyyyy development

Best Practices

Regular Context Checks

# Before major operations, verify your context
azlin context list
azlin new --name important-vm  # Safe - you know which subscription

# Make it a habit before destructive operations
azlin context list
azlin destroy my-vm  # Safe - confirmed correct context

Naming Contexts

Use clear, descriptive names that indicate purpose:

# Good examples
production-us-east
dev-team-a
staging-europe
test-ephemeral

# Less clear
context1
temp
my-context

Context Documentation

# Document your contexts in team wiki or README
azlin context list > contexts.txt

# Share context setup with team
cat ~/.azlin/config.toml | grep -A 3 "\[contexts\."

Integration Examples

Scripting

#!/bin/bash
# Check available contexts before operation
echo "Available contexts:"
azlin context list

# Parse current context (example)
CURRENT=$(azlin context list | grep "^\*" | awk '{print $2}')
echo "Operating in context: $CURRENT"

# Proceed with operations
azlin new --name script-vm

Pre-flight Checks

# Add to your workflow
check_context() {
  echo "Current contexts:"
  azlin context list
  read -p "Proceed with current context? (y/n) " -n 1 -r
  echo
  if [[ ! $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
    exit 1
  fi
}

check_context
azlin new --name safe-vm

Source Code

See Also