How to Stop a VM in Azure: Simple Commands and Steps

To stop a VM in Azure, use the az vm stop command in Azure CLI or the Stop-AzVM cmdlet in PowerShell. You can also stop the VM from the Azure Portal by selecting the VM and clicking the Stop button.

Syntax

Here are the main ways to stop a VM in Azure:

• Azure CLI: az vm stop --resource-group <group-name> --name <vm-name>
• PowerShell: Stop-AzVM -ResourceGroupName <group-name> -Name <vm-name>
• Azure Portal: Navigate to your VM and click the Stop button.

Replace <group-name> and <vm-name> with your actual resource group and VM names.

bash

az vm stop --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVm

Stop-AzVM -ResourceGroupName MyResourceGroup -Name MyVm

Example

This example shows how to stop a VM named MyVm in the resource group MyResourceGroup using Azure CLI.

bash

az vm stop --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVm

Output

Operation completed successfully.

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when stopping a VM include:

• Using the wrong resource group or VM name, causing the command to fail.
• Confusing az vm stop with az vm deallocate. stop stops the VM but still reserves resources, while deallocate releases resources and stops billing.
• Not having the right permissions to stop the VM.

bash

Wrong command (does not deallocate VM):
az vm stop --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVm

Correct command to deallocate VM:
az vm deallocate --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyVm

Quick Reference

Action	Command	Description
Stop VM	az vm stop --resource-group --name	Stops the VM but keeps resources allocated
Deallocate VM	az vm deallocate --resource-group --name	Stops VM and releases resources, stopping billing
PowerShell Stop	Stop-AzVM -ResourceGroupName -Name	Stops the VM using PowerShell
Azure Portal	Click Stop button on VM page	Stops the VM via Azure Portal UI

Key Takeaways

Use az vm stop to stop a VM while keeping resources allocated.

Use az vm deallocate to stop and release resources to save costs.

Always specify the correct resource group and VM name.

Stopping a VM requires proper permissions in Azure.

You can also stop VMs easily from the Azure Portal UI.