{"id":13020,"date":"2026-10-01T08:21:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T15:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/?p=13020"},"modified":"2026-10-01T08:21:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T15:21:32","slug":"azure-cosmos-db-shell-is-now-available-in-the-azure-portal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/azure-cosmos-db-shell-is-now-available-in-the-azure-portal\/","title":{"rendered":"Azure Cosmos DB Shell is now available in the Azure portal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW59546831 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-IN\" xml:lang=\"EN-IN\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW59546831 BCX8\">You can now open <\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW59546831 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-IN\" xml:lang=\"EN-IN\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW59546831 BCX8\">Azure Cosmos DB Shell directly from Data Explorer in the Azure portal<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW59546831 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-IN\" xml:lang=\"EN-IN\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW59546831 BCX8\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The shell gives you a terminal-style way to work with Azure Cosmos DB. You can move through databases and containers as you would through folders, run NoSQL queries, inspect resources, and update data. When you launch it from Data Explorer, it is already connected to the account you are viewing.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jLW0UjJ2KLM\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Open a shell from Data Explorer<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:200}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Open an Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL account in the portal, go to <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Data Explorer<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, and select <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Open Cosmos DB Shell<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> from the toolbar.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/cosmos-db-shell-in-portal.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13021 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/cosmos-db-shell-in-portal.png\" alt=\"Azure Cosmos DB Shell in Portal\" width=\"1458\" height=\"762\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/cosmos-db-shell-in-portal.png 1458w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/cosmos-db-shell-in-portal-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/cosmos-db-shell-in-portal-1024x535.png 1024w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/cosmos-db-shell-in-portal-768x401.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1458px) 100vw, 1458px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<span data-contrast=\"auto\">The shell opens in a new tab and connects to the selected account. You do not need to copy an endpoint or connection string into another terminal. This makes it easy to browse a container, open the shell, and investigate the same data while keeping your place in the portal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/open-cosmos-db-shell.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13022 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/open-cosmos-db-shell.png\" alt=\"Open Azure Cosmos DB Shell\" width=\"1173\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/open-cosmos-db-shell.png 1173w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/open-cosmos-db-shell-300x73.png 300w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/open-cosmos-db-shell-1024x249.png 1024w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2026\/10\/open-cosmos-db-shell-768x187.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1173px) 100vw, 1173px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Azure Cosmos DB Shell is currently a preview. Commands, output, and behavior may change before general availability.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p aria-level=\"2\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Find your way around<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:200}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Navigation follows familiar command-line conventions. Use <\/span><strong>ls<\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to see what is available, <\/span><strong>cd<\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to enter a database or container, and <\/span><strong>pwd<\/strong><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to check your current location.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW134732094 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-IN\" xml:lang=\"EN-IN\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW134732094 BCX8\">After entering a container, you can run a NoSQL query directly:<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP Selected SCXW134732094 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Navigation and queries are only part of what the shell can do. You can also:<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:200}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:240,&quot;335559991&quot;:180,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Inspect account, database, and container configuration with <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">info<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:100}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:240,&quot;335559991&quot;:180,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Infer document fields and types from a bounded sample with <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">schema<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:100}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:240,&quot;335559991&quot;:180,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Check the current credential and safely probe access with <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">whoami<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">can-i<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:100}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:240,&quot;335559991&quot;:180,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Create, replace, patch, and delete items.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:100}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:240,&quot;335559991&quot;:180,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Inspect indexing policies and provisioned throughput.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:100}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:240,&quot;335559991&quot;:180,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"6\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Build repeatable workflows with variables, pipelines, loops, functions, and scripts.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:100}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:200}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Type <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">help<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> at any time to see the available commands, syntax, and topics.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p aria-level=\"2\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">When the portal shell is useful<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:200}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sometimes opening another tool and setting up a connection takes longer than the task itself. The portal shell is handy when you need to check a document, validate a query, inspect a container, or make a targeted change while you are already in Data Explorer.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The same commands also work in the standalone Azure Cosmos DB Shell. An investigation that begins in the portal can therefore become a repeatable script or an automated workflow later, without learning a separate command set.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Get started<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:200}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:200}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To try it, open your Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL account in the Azure portal, go to <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Data Explorer<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, and select <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Open Cosmos DB Shell<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For more detail, visit the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/Azure\/CosmosDBShell\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Azure Cosmos DB Shell repository<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, browse the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/azure\/cosmos-db\/shell\/command-reference\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">command reference<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, or read the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/azure\/cosmos-db\/shell\/install?context=\/azure\/cosmos-db\/context\/context\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">programming guide<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Azure Cosmos DB Shell is still in preview, so feedback is especially useful. Tell us what works, what gets in your way, or what you would like to see next in the <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">issue tracker.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">About Azure Cosmos DB<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Azure Cosmos DB is a fully managed and serverless NoSQL and vector database for modern app development, including AI applications. With its SLA-backed speed and availability as well as instant dynamic scalability, it is ideal for real-time NoSQL and MongoDB applications that require high performance and distributed computing over massive volumes of NoSQL and vector data.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To stay in the loop on Azure Cosmos DB updates, follow us on\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AzureCosmosDB\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">X<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/aka.ms\/AzureCosmosDBYouTube\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">YouTube<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, and\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/azure-cosmos-db\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can now open Azure Cosmos DB Shell directly from Data Explorer in the Azure portal. The shell gives you a terminal-style way to work with Azure Cosmos DB. You can move through databases and containers as you would through folders, run NoSQL queries, inspect resources, and update data. When you launch it from Data [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80443,"featured_media":13025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1610,1980,2038],"tags":[2040,1236,1864,2039,1872],"class_list":["post-13020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai","category-azure-cosmos-db","category-azure-cosmos-db-shell","tag-agentic","tag-ai","tag-azurecosmosdb","tag-cosmosdbshell","tag-nosql"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"<p>You can now open Azure Cosmos DB Shell directly from Data Explorer in the Azure portal. The shell gives you a terminal-style way to work with Azure Cosmos DB. You can move through databases and containers as you would through folders, run NoSQL queries, inspect resources, and update data. When you launch it from Data [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13020"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13027,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13020\/revisions\/13027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/cosmosdb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}