This chapter covers Azure Storage Explorer, a graphical tool for managing Azure storage. AZ-900 tests this under objective 2.4, alongside AzCopy as another common storage-management tool.
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A simple way to picture Azure Storage Explorer
A file manager on your computer lets you visually browse, drag, and organize files without typing commands. Azure Storage Explorer does the same for Azure storage — a standalone graphical application for browsing and managing blobs, files, queues, and tables without needing the Azure portal or command-line tools.
What Storage Explorer is
Azure Storage Explorer is a free, standalone graphical application (available across major desktop operating systems) for browsing and managing content across Azure storage services — Blob Storage, Azure Files, Queue Storage, and Table Storage — through a familiar file-manager-style interface.
Why use a graphical tool
For quick, visual tasks — browsing what's in a container, checking a specific file, uploading a handful of items — a graphical interface is often more approachable than command-line tools, especially for those less comfortable with scripting.
How it compares to AzCopy
Storage Explorer and AzCopy both help manage data in Azure storage, but suit different situations: Storage Explorer is a graphical tool good for browsing, quick checks, and manual small-scale transfers; AzCopy is a command-line tool built for efficient, scriptable, large-scale transfers. Many people use both, depending on the task.
Install Storage Explorer
The standalone application is installed on a desktop machine.
Connect to a storage account
Storage Explorer connects to an Azure storage account using appropriate credentials.
Browse and manage content
Blobs, files, queues, and tables can be browsed, uploaded, downloaded, or managed visually.
An administrator uses Storage Explorer to quickly check the contents of a storage container and download a specific file, without needing to write a script or navigate the full Azure portal for a simple one-off task.
Objective 2.4 expects recognition of Azure Storage Explorer as a graphical tool for managing Azure storage, distinct from the command-line AzCopy.
A common wrong answer is confusing Storage Explorer with AzCopy — Storage Explorer is graphical and suited to visual, manual tasks; AzCopy is command-line and suited to scripted, large-scale transfers.
Stable terms: Azure Storage Explorer. Memory trick: Storage Explorer = graphical file-manager-style tool for Azure storage; AzCopy = command-line tool for the same general purpose.
Azure Storage Explorer is a free, standalone graphical application for browsing and managing Azure storage.
It supports Blob Storage, Azure Files, Queue Storage, and Table Storage.
It complements AzCopy — graphical for manual tasks, AzCopy for scripted, large-scale transfers.
These come up on the exam all the time. Here's how to tell them apart.
Azure Storage Explorer
Graphical, file-manager-style interface
Good for browsing and manual, small-scale tasks
AzCopy
Command-line tool
Good for scripted, large-scale, automated transfers
Mistake
Azure Storage Explorer and AzCopy are the same tool with different names.
Correct
They're separate tools suited to different situations — Storage Explorer is graphical and manual-task-friendly; AzCopy is command-line and built for scripted, large-scale transfers.
It's a free, standalone graphical application for browsing and managing content in Azure storage services — Blob Storage, Azure Files, Queue Storage, and Table Storage — through a familiar file-manager-style interface.
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