Skills

Chapter 22 of 37

Azure Quotas

Check/manage Azure quotas and usage across providers. For deployment planning, capacity validation, region selection.

4 minutes · 822 words · 19 sections

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 (opens in a new tab)
Azure Portal	My quotas (opens in a new tab) - 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 quota commands; fall back to Azure service limits docs (opens in a new tab) if CLI returns BadRequest.

For complete CLI reference, see commands.md (opens in a new tab).

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:

az quota list --scope /subscriptions/<id>/providers/<ProviderNamespace>/locations/<region>

Match by localizedValue (human-readable description) to find the relevant quota

Use the name field (not ARM resource type) in subsequent commands:

az 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 (opens in a new tab)

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:

.\scripts\check-quota.ps1 -ResourceProvider <provider> -Region <region> -ResourceName <resource-name>

./scripts/check-quota.sh <provider> <region> <resource-name>

Example:

.\scripts\check-quota.ps1 -ResourceProvider Microsoft.Compute -Region eastus

Example Output:

Resource	Region	Limit	Usage	Available
cores	eastus	100	50	50
standardDSv3Family	eastus	350	50	300
virtualMachines	eastus	25000	5	24995
…	…	…	…	…

📖 See also: az quota show (opens in a new tab), az quota usage show (opens in a new tab)

Workflow 2: Compare Quotas Across Regions

Scenario: Find the best region for deployment based on available capacity

# Define candidate regions
REGIONS=("eastus" "eastus2" "westus2" "centralus")
VM_FAMILY="standardDSv3Family"
SUBSCRIPTION_ID="<subscription-id>"

# Check quota availability across regions
for region in "${REGIONS[@]}"; do
  echo "=== Checking $region ==="
  
  # Get limit
  LIMIT=$(az quota show \
    --resource-name $VM_FAMILY \
    --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/$region" \
    --query "properties.limit.value" -o tsv)
  
  # Get current usage
  USAGE=$(az quota usage show \
    --resource-name $VM_FAMILY \
    --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/$region" \
    --query "properties.usages.value" -o tsv)
  
  # Calculate available
  AVAILABLE=$((LIMIT - USAGE))
  
  echo "Region: $region | Limit: $LIMIT | Usage: $USAGE | Available: $AVAILABLE"
done

📖 See also: commands.md (opens in a new tab) for full scripted multi-region loop patterns

Workflow 3: Request Quota Increase

Scenario: Current quota is insufficient for deployment

# Request increase for VM quota
az quota update \
  --resource-name standardDSv3Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=500 \
  --resource-type dedicated

# Check request status
az quota request status list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

Approval Process:

Most adjustable quotas are auto-approved within minutes
Some requests require manual review (hours to days)
Non-adjustable quotas require Azure Support ticket

📖 See also: az quota update (opens in a new tab), az quota request status (opens in a new tab)

Workflow 4: List All Quotas for Planning

Scenario: Understand all quotas for a resource provider in a region

# List all compute quotas in East US (table format)
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --output table

# List all network quotas
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Network/locations/eastus \
  --output table

# List all Container Apps quotas
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.App/locations/eastus \
  --output table

📖 See also: az quota list (opens in a new tab)

Troubleshooting

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
REST API “No Limit”	Misleading — not unlimited	Use CLI instead; see warning in Quick Reference
`ExtensionNotFound`	Quota extension not installed	`az extension add --name quota`
`BadRequest`	Resource provider not supported by quota API	Check service limits docs (opens in a new tab)
`MissingRegistration`	Microsoft.Quota provider not registered	`az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Quota`
`QuotaExceeded`	Deployment would exceed quota	Request increase or choose different region
`InvalidScope`	Incorrect scope format	Use pattern: `/subscriptions/<id>/providers/<namespace>/locations/<region>`
CLI commands fail entirely	Auth, extension, or environment issue	Verify Azure CLI login (`az account show`), reinstall quota extension, check network. Do NOT use the `azure-quota` MCP server — it is unreliable.

Unsupported Resource Providers

Known unsupported providers:

❌ Microsoft.DocumentDB (Cosmos DB) - Use Portal or Cosmos DB limits docs (opens in a new tab)

Confirmed working providers:

✅ Microsoft.Compute (VMs, disks, cores)
✅ Microsoft.Network (VNets, IPs, load balancers)
✅ Microsoft.App (Container Apps)
✅ Microsoft.Storage (storage accounts)
✅ Microsoft.MachineLearningServices (ML compute)

📖 See also: Troubleshooting Guide (opens in a new tab)

Additional Resources

Resource	Link
CLI Commands Reference	commands.md (opens in a new tab) - Complete syntax, parameters, examples
Azure Quotas Overview	Microsoft Learn (opens in a new tab)
Service Limits Documentation	Azure subscription limits (opens in a new tab)
Azure Portal - My Quotas	Portal Link (opens in a new tab)
Request Quota Increases	How to request increases (opens in a new tab)

Best Practices

✅ Always check quotas before deployment - Prevent quota exceeded errors
✅ Run az quota list first - Discover correct quota resource names
✅ Compare regions - Find regions with available capacity
✅ Account for growth - Request 20% buffer above immediate needs
✅ Use table output for overview - --output table for quick scanning
✅ Monitor usage trends - Set up alerts at 80% threshold (via Portal)

Install this repository

$ npx skills add microsoft/azure-skills

» /plugin marketplace add microsoft/azure-skills

Skills install per repository, not per chapter — the CLI has no documented per-skill form, so we do not print one.

About this skill

Trigger

Check/manage Azure quotas and usage across providers. For deployment planning, capacity validation, region selection. WHEN: "check quotas", "service limits", "current usage", "request quota increase", "quota exceeded", "validate capacity", "regional availability", "provisioning limits", "vCPU limit", "how many vCPUs available in my subscription".

The verbatim description from this skill’s front matter — the string an agent matches on to decide whether to load it.

Licence: MIT
Also published for: GitHub — collapsed into this chapter because the copies are the same skill.
Source: skills/azure-quotas/SKILL.md

Colophon for this issue

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How this issue was made

Source

github.com/microsoft/azure-skills, branch main, last pushed 10 August 2026.

Licence

MIT — the text of every chapter is reproduced unmodified, frontmatter included, under the upstream licence.

Discovery

37 chapters found by walking the repository tree for SKILL.md, not by matching a directory convention. 6 distinct layouts observed: skills/*/SKILL.md, skills/azure-app-onboard/*/SKILL.md, skills/azure-kubernetes/*/SKILL.md, skills/microsoft-foundry/*/SKILL.md, skills/microsoft-foundry/models/deploy-model/*/SKILL.md, skills/microsoft-foundry/models/*/SKILL.md.

Duplicates collapsed

37 mirror copies folded into their canonical chapter — republished for GitHub. Copies match on content hash and on position once a leading per-agent prefix is stripped, because the same skill is routinely shipped under a dozen agent directories with a dozen different hashes.

Issue colours

Resolved from a curated brand profile — hue 251°, chroma 0.167. Two accent tones are generated per issue and each is proven against its own ground before it ships: a single accent that passes AA on both light and dark paper is arithmetically impossible.

Heading repairs

1 repair applied to this chapter so the document has one h1 and no skipped levels:

Shifted “19 headings” from h1 to h2 so the chapter title is the only h1.

Spec compliance

6 editorial notes across 3 of 37 chapters. They are printed in the margin of each chapter rather than as errors here.

Deploy — 2 notes
Prepare — 2 notes
Scaffold — 2 notes

Images

Images inside a chapter come from the upstream repository. Where the author gave no alternative text we mark the image decorative rather than inventing a description — a plausible caption we made up is worse than none for the reader who depends on it.

Marketplace

A plugin manifest is published at .claude-plugin/marketplace.json by Microsoft, declaring 1 plugin. It is read for editorial metadata only — never as the skill index, which is always the repository tree.

Signal

Install counts come from skills.sh. They measure downloads, not quality, and an unranked repository is not an unread one.

Agent surfaces

The whole issue is available as one markdown document at /microsoft/azure-skills.md, and each chapter at its own .md URL.

Publication

Set by Skills Docs from the source repository. Body text is Literata at the reader’s chosen size and measure; code is Geist Mono. Nothing on this page was written by us except this paragraph.

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 (opens in a new tab)
Azure Portal	My quotas (opens in a new tab) - 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 quota commands; fall back to Azure service limits docs (opens in a new tab) if CLI returns BadRequest.

For complete CLI reference, see commands.md (opens in a new tab).

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:

az quota list --scope /subscriptions/<id>/providers/<ProviderNamespace>/locations/<region>

Match by localizedValue (human-readable description) to find the relevant quota

Use the name field (not ARM resource type) in subsequent commands:

az 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 (opens in a new tab)

Scripts

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:

.\scripts\check-quota.ps1 -ResourceProvider <provider> -Region <region> -ResourceName <resource-name>

./scripts/check-quota.sh <provider> <region> <resource-name>

Example:

.\scripts\check-quota.ps1 -ResourceProvider Microsoft.Compute -Region eastus

Example Output:

Resource	Region	Limit	Usage	Available
cores	eastus	100	50	50
standardDSv3Family	eastus	350	50	300
virtualMachines	eastus	25000	5	24995
…	…	…	…	…

📖 See also: az quota show (opens in a new tab), az quota usage show (opens in a new tab)

Workflow 2: Compare Quotas Across Regions

Scenario: Find the best region for deployment based on available capacity

# Define candidate regions
REGIONS=("eastus" "eastus2" "westus2" "centralus")
VM_FAMILY="standardDSv3Family"
SUBSCRIPTION_ID="<subscription-id>"

# Check quota availability across regions
for region in "${REGIONS[@]}"; do
  echo "=== Checking $region ==="
  
  # Get limit
  LIMIT=$(az quota show \
    --resource-name $VM_FAMILY \
    --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/$region" \
    --query "properties.limit.value" -o tsv)
  
  # Get current usage
  USAGE=$(az quota usage show \
    --resource-name $VM_FAMILY \
    --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/$region" \
    --query "properties.usages.value" -o tsv)
  
  # Calculate available
  AVAILABLE=$((LIMIT - USAGE))
  
  echo "Region: $region | Limit: $LIMIT | Usage: $USAGE | Available: $AVAILABLE"
done

📖 See also: commands.md (opens in a new tab) for full scripted multi-region loop patterns

Workflow 3: Request Quota Increase

Scenario: Current quota is insufficient for deployment

# Request increase for VM quota
az quota update \
  --resource-name standardDSv3Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=500 \
  --resource-type dedicated

# Check request status
az quota request status list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

Approval Process:

Most adjustable quotas are auto-approved within minutes
Some requests require manual review (hours to days)
Non-adjustable quotas require Azure Support ticket

📖 See also: az quota update (opens in a new tab), az quota request status (opens in a new tab)

Workflow 4: List All Quotas for Planning

Scenario: Understand all quotas for a resource provider in a region

# List all compute quotas in East US (table format)
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --output table

# List all network quotas
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Network/locations/eastus \
  --output table

# List all Container Apps quotas
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.App/locations/eastus \
  --output table

📖 See also: az quota list (opens in a new tab)

Troubleshooting

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
REST API “No Limit”	Misleading — not unlimited	Use CLI instead; see warning in Quick Reference
`ExtensionNotFound`	Quota extension not installed	`az extension add --name quota`
`BadRequest`	Resource provider not supported by quota API	Check service limits docs (opens in a new tab)
`MissingRegistration`	Microsoft.Quota provider not registered	`az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Quota`
`QuotaExceeded`	Deployment would exceed quota	Request increase or choose different region
`InvalidScope`	Incorrect scope format	Use pattern: `/subscriptions/<id>/providers/<namespace>/locations/<region>`
CLI commands fail entirely	Auth, extension, or environment issue	Verify Azure CLI login (`az account show`), reinstall quota extension, check network. Do NOT use the `azure-quota` MCP server — it is unreliable.

Unsupported Resource Providers

Known unsupported providers:

❌ Microsoft.DocumentDB (Cosmos DB) - Use Portal or Cosmos DB limits docs (opens in a new tab)

Confirmed working providers:

✅ Microsoft.Compute (VMs, disks, cores)
✅ Microsoft.Network (VNets, IPs, load balancers)
✅ Microsoft.App (Container Apps)
✅ Microsoft.Storage (storage accounts)
✅ Microsoft.MachineLearningServices (ML compute)

📖 See also: Troubleshooting Guide (opens in a new tab)

Additional Resources

Resource	Link
CLI Commands Reference	commands.md (opens in a new tab) - Complete syntax, parameters, examples
Azure Quotas Overview	Microsoft Learn (opens in a new tab)
Service Limits Documentation	Azure subscription limits (opens in a new tab)
Azure Portal - My Quotas	Portal Link (opens in a new tab)
Request Quota Increases	How to request increases (opens in a new tab)

Best Practices

✅ Always check quotas before deployment - Prevent quota exceeded errors
✅ Run az quota list first - Discover correct quota resource names
✅ Compare regions - Find regions with available capacity
✅ Account for growth - Request 20% buffer above immediate needs
✅ Use table output for overview - --output table for quick scanning
✅ Monitor usage trends - Set up alerts at 80% threshold (via Portal)

About this skill

Trigger

Colophon

Appendix 22.1–22.4

ReferencesMarkdown · 2 files

Scripts2 files

About this skill

Trigger

Colophon

Appendix 22.1–22.4

ReferencesMarkdown · 2 files

Scripts2 files