Streamline configuring Azure CLI with az init

Hello everyone and Happy New Year from the Azure CLI Team! A new year seems like a good time to share something new and we’re happy to announce az init!

az init is a new extension that gives you an easy, in-tool configuration setup option. It's intended to quickly set up global configurations suitable for your current environment. It also reduces typical onboarding friction and helps users understand some common configuration options.

az init adjusts the same configuration file as az config and is meant to help simplify the configuration process whereas az config allows you to go a bit deeper. 

Getting Started

To install the extension, simply run az extension add --name init. To start configuring, run az init. You can use preset bundles or customize your setup with a walk through to easily adjust things like syntax highlighting, output types, error output, and more!

Configuration Options

Currently, there are two preset bundles. One configures the CLI for human interaction focusing on usability and another for automation focusing on performance.

The interaction configuration sets the following:

1. Table output formatting for readability.
2. Verbose error output for all triggered events including warnings.
3. Error remediation recommendations.
4. Syntax highlighting for readability in terminal.
5. Turns on the progress bar for long running commands.

The automation configuration sets the CLI to the opposite of the human interaction configuration:

1. JSON output formatting for programmatic use.
2. Error only output.
3. Error recommendations are turned off.
4. Syntax highlighting is turned off.
5. Progress bar for long running commands is turned off.

If you would like a different configuration, you can aslo choose to complete a walkthrough and customize your experience. We hope you enjoy az init and would love to hear your feedback in the comments or on Twitter!