Azure Quotas

# 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](./references/commands.md) | | **Azure Portal** | [My quotas](https://portal.azure.com/#blade/Microsoft_Azure_Capacity/QuotaMenuBlade/myQuotas) - 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](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/azure-subscription-service-limits) if CLI returns `BadRequest`. > > For complete CLI reference, see [commands.md](./references/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:

1. **List all quotas** for the resource provider: ```bash az quota list --scope /subscriptions/<id>/providers/<ProviderNamespace>/locations/<region> ```

2. **Match by `localizedValue`** (human-readable description) to find the relevant quota

3. **Use the `name` field** (not ARM resource type) in subsequent commands: ```bash 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](./references/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