AzCopy

What it is

AzCopy is a command-line utility for copying data to/from Azure Storage — blobs, files, and tables. It’s the primary tool for migrating/copying data at scale into and between storage accounts.

azcopy copy \\path\\file.txt https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net/<container>/ --sas-token=<...>

Why it exists

The portal and Storage Explorer are fine interactively, but migrations, ETL, and synchronization need a scriptable, high-throughput, resumable CLI — AzCopy is exactly that.

Key ideas

• Copy in any direction: on-prem ↔ storage, blob ↔ blob (same or different account), across tiers/containers, file shares.
• Auth options: SAS tokens, connection strings/keys, or Microsoft Entra ID (managed identity/--login). Best practice = Entra/Azure AD.
• azcopy copy (copy) vs azcopy sync (one-way mirror / incremental) — sync copies only differences (compare by name + last-modified/hash).
• Features: resumable/large-file parallel transfer, recursive --recursive, --include-pattern/--exclude, snapshot support, server-side copy vs local streaming.
• Runs on Windows, Linux, macOS; also available as AzCopy in the Storage browser and in azcopy container/Docker.
• Used heavily with SAS and paired with Storage Explorer for GUI operations.

How it fits (diagram)

destination (blob/file/table) with SAS or Entra auth —>

Exam notes

• azcopy sync = mirror (incremental, only diffs); azcopy copy = overwrite copy. Choose sync for ongoing one-way sync.
• Auth with SAS or Azure AD (Entra); keys/SAS in URI.
• For data migration into one storage account, AzCopy is the exam’s headline tool (with azcopy sync/copy), and Storage Explorer is the GUI companion.

Related

blob-storage · azure-files · storage-access-keys · sas-token · storage-browser

📘 Source: Microsoft Learn — Azcopy