Azure Quotas - Service Limits & Capacity Management
AUTHORITATIVE GUIDANCE — Follow these instructions exactly for quota management and capacity validation.
Overview
What are Azure Quotas?
Azure quotas (also called service limits) are the maximum number of resources you can deploy in a subscription. Quotas:
- Prevent accidental over-provisioning
- Ensure fair resource distribution across Azure
- Represent available capacity in each region
- Can be increased (adjustable quotas) or are fixed (non-adjustable)
Key Concept: Quotas = Resource Availability
If you don't have quota, you cannot deploy resources. Always check quotas when planning deployments or selecting regions.
When to Use This Skill
Invoke this skill when:
- Planning a new deployment - Validate capacity before deployment
- Selecting an Azure region - Compare quota availability across regions
- Troubleshooting quota exceeded errors - Check current usage vs limits
- Requesting quota increases - Submit increase requests via CLI or Portal
- Comparing regional capacity - Find regions with available quota
- Validating provisioning limits - Ensure deployment won't exceed quotas
Quick Reference
| Property | Details |
|---|---|
| Primary Tool | Azure CLI (az quota) - USE THIS FIRST, ALWAYS |
| Extension Required | az extension add --name quota (MUST install first) |
| Key Commands | az quota list, az quota show, az quota usage list, az quota usage show |
| Complete CLI Reference | commands.md |
| Azure Portal | My quotas - Use only as fallback |
| REST API | Microsoft.Quota provider - Unreliable, do NOT use first |
| MCP Server | azure-quota MCP server — NEVER use this. It is unreliable. Always use az quota CLI instead. |
| Required Permission | Reader (view) or Quota Request Operator (manage) |
⚠️ ALWAYS USE CLI FIRST
REST API and Portal can show misleading "No Limit" values — this does not mean unlimited capacity. It means the quota API doesn't support that resource type. Always start with
az quotacommands; fall back to Azure service limits docs if CLI returnsBadRequest.For complete CLI reference, see commands.md.
Quota Types
| Type | Adjustability | Approval | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjustable | Can increase via Portal/CLI/API | Usually auto-approved | VM vCPUs, Public IPs, Storage accounts |
| Non-adjustable | Fixed limits | Cannot be changed | Subscription-wide hard limits |
Important: Requesting quota increases is free. You only pay for resources you actually use, not for quota allocation.
Understanding Resource Name Mapping
⚠️ CRITICAL: There is NO 1:1 mapping between ARM resource types and quota resource names.
Example Mappings
| ARM Resource Type | Quota Resource Name |
|---|---|
Microsoft.App/managedEnvironments | ManagedEnvironmentCount |
Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines | standardDSv3Family, cores, virtualMachines |
Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses | PublicIPAddresses, IPv4StandardSkuPublicIpAddresses |
Discovery Workflow
Never assume the quota resource name from the ARM type. Always use this workflow:
List all quotas for the resource provider:
bashaz quota list --scope /subscriptions/<id>/providers/<ProviderNamespace>/locations/<region>Match by
localizedValue(human-readable description) to find the relevant quotaUse the
namefield (not ARM resource type) in subsequent commands:bashaz quota show --resource-name ManagedEnvironmentCount --scope ... az quota usage show --resource-name ManagedEnvironmentCount --scope ...
📖 Detailed mapping examples and workflow: See commands.md - Resource Name Mapping
Scripts
Pre-built scripts handle quota extension installation, usage queries, and capacity calculation. Use these instead of constructing commands manually. A single call returns limits, usage, and available capacity.
| Script | Purpose | Usage |
|---|---|---|
scripts/check-quota.ps1 | Returns limit, usage, and available capacity for all quotas (or a single quota when resource name is provided) | Primary script for quota checks |
scripts/check-quota.sh | Same as above (bash) | Primary script for quota checks |
Core Workflows
Workflow 1: Check Quota for a Specific Resource
Scenario: Verify quota limits and current usage before deployment
Run the script with the resource provider and region. It returns a table of all quotas with their limit, current usage, and available capacity in a single call:
.\scripts\check-quota.ps1 -ResourceProvider <provider> -Region <region>./scripts/check-quota.sh <provider> <region>To check a single resource, add the resource name: