Copy files to Azure Storage with AzCopy v10

What you need before step 1

Applies to: AzCopy v10 on Windows, macOS and Linux with Azure Blob storage and Azure Files (as documented by Microsoft)

9 steps

1. 1

   Download and extract AzCopy

   Where: Your PC or server, in a web browser, then File Explorer or Finder

   Download the file for your system from the links above (for Windows 64-bit, https://aka.ms/downloadazcopy-v10-windows). Extract the archive and move azcopy.exe (Windows) or azcopy (macOS/Linux) to a folder such as C:\Tools\AzCopy or /usr/local/bin. On Windows, the commands below do the same in PowerShell.

   Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://aka.ms/downloadazcopy-v10-windows -OutFile .\azcopy.zip
   Expand-Archive .\azcopy.zip -DestinationPath .\azcopy
   New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force C:\Tools\AzCopy
   Get-ChildItem .\azcopy -Recurse -Filter azcopy.exe | Copy-Item -Destination C:\Tools\AzCopy

   You should see: azcopy.exe (or azcopy) is in the folder you chose.
2. 2

   Add AzCopy to your PATH

   Where: Windows: Start > search "Edit the system environment variables" > Environment Variables. macOS/Linux: Terminal

   Microsoft suggests adding the AzCopy folder to your path so you can type azcopy from any directory. On Windows, select Path under User variables, Edit, New, enter C:\Tools\AzCopy and select OK. On macOS or Linux, copying the binary to /usr/local/bin is enough. If you skip this step, change to the AzCopy folder and run .\azcopy instead. Open a new terminal and check it works.

   azcopy -h

   You should see: AzCopy prints its list of commands (copy, sync, login, jobs, make and others).
3. 3

   Choose how to authorise

   Where: Azure portal > Storage accounts > your account > Access control (IAM), or > Shared access signature

   Option A, Microsoft Entra ID: assign yourself the role listed under Before you start (Access control (IAM) > Add > Add role assignment). Microsoft says role assignments can take up to five minutes to propagate. Option B, SAS token: generate a SAS for the container or share and append it to each URL in your AzCopy commands. Commands that target only an Azure file share or the whole account still need a SAS.

   You should see: You have either a role assignment on the account or a SAS token string beginning with ?sv=.
4. 4

   Sign in with azcopy login (Entra ID only)

   Where: PowerShell, Command Prompt or Terminal on the machine running AzCopy

   Run azcopy login. AzCopy returns a code and a website URL. Open the website, enter the code, select Next and sign in. If you get an error, add your tenant ID. Microsoft notes the command stores the token in the system secret store, so it fails on Linux systems with no keyring; in that case use a SAS or the AZCOPY_AUTO_LOGIN_TYPE variables described on the Microsoft page.

   azcopy login
   azcopy login --tenant-id=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000

   You should see: After signing in in the browser you can close it and the terminal reports the login succeeded.
5. 5

   Create the container if needed

   Where: The same terminal

   Skip this if the container already exists.

   azcopy make 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer'

   You should see: AzCopy confirms the container was created.
6. 6

   Copy a folder to Blob storage

   Where: The same terminal

   Copy the local folder and all subfolders with --recursive. The first line uses Entra ID. To use a SAS instead, append the token to the container URL (second line).

   azcopy copy 'C:\myDirectory' 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer' --recursive
   azcopy copy 'C:\myDirectory' 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer?<SAS-token>' --recursive

   You should see: AzCopy shows a job ID, progress, then a summary of completed, failed and skipped transfers.
7. 7

   Or copy a folder to an Azure file share

   Where: The same terminal

   Use the file.core.windows.net endpoint. --preserve-permissions=true copies the ACLs and --preserve-info=true copies SMB property information.

   azcopy copy 'C:\myDirectory' 'https://mystorageaccount.file.core.windows.net/myfileshare?<SAS-token>' --recursive --preserve-permissions=true --preserve-info=true

   You should see: A myDirectory folder appears in the file share with the same contents.
8. 8

   Keep the destination up to date with sync

   Where: The same terminal

   azcopy sync is one-way and by default compares file names and last modified times, so the machine needs an accurate clock (or add --compare-hash). --delete-destination=true deletes files that no longer exist at the source without prompting; use prompt to be asked, and turn on soft delete first. Microsoft says sync is supported but not fully recommended for Azure Files.

   azcopy sync 'C:\myDirectory' 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer' --recursive
   azcopy sync 'C:\myDirectory' 'https://mystorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/mycontainer' --recursive --delete-destination=prompt

   You should see: Only new or changed files are transferred and the summary shows the number copied.
9. 9

   Check and resume jobs

   Where: The same terminal

   Each run is a job with log and plan files. List jobs, show the details of one, and resume it if it stopped part way.

   azcopy jobs list
   azcopy jobs show <job-id>
   azcopy jobs resume <job-id>

   You should see: jobs list shows each job ID with its status; jobs resume continues the transfer from where it stopped.

Expert tips

How to confirm it worked

• In the Azure portal open Storage accounts > your account > Containers (or File shares) > your container and check the folders and file count match the source.

• Run azcopy jobs show <job-id> and check there are no failed transfers.

How to reverse it

Errors you might see

Questions

Official sources

Vendors change menus and requirements. Confirm on the source before you rely on a detail. Last checked 4 Nov 2026.