Azure Storage Explorer is a free, standalone application that enables you to easily work with Azure Storage data. It offers a graphical interface, making it more user-friendly for those who prefer not to use command-line tools like AzCopy.
What Is Azure Storage Explorer?
Azure Storage Explorer lets you access and manage storage resources such as:
- Blob containers
- File shares
- Queues
- Tables
- Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 directories
This tool is cross-platform and available on:
- Windows 7 and newer
- macOS 10.12 and later
- Most major Linux distributions
You can download it directly from Microsoft’s website.
How Does It Work?
Storage Explorer uses AzCopy in the background to perform data transfers, but you don’t need to interact with it directly. Instead, you simply:
- Launch the app.
- Sign in or connect to a resource.
- Browse, upload, download, and manage your files through the interface.
This makes it a convenient tool for visualizing your data and performing actions such as copy, delete, or rename.
Authentication Options
There are two main ways to connect to your Azure resources:
- Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD): Use this to sign into full subscriptions and manage access-controlled storage services such as blobs and queues.
- SAS (Shared Access Signature) URL: Use this to connect directly to a specific blob, file share, or table with limited permissions and an expiration time.
You can sign in to:
- An entire Azure subscription, or
- A specific storage resource
Once connected, you can drill down into containers and view or modify individual data items.
Use Cases
Azure Storage Explorer is useful when:
- You need to view Azure Storage resources without writing scripts.
- You’re sharing access with team members using SAS tokens.
- You’re testing or exploring data before building apps or automations.
This tool works well alongside PowerShell and CLI tools (see #50) and supports learning how Azure resources are structured.
Conclusion
Azure Storage Explorer offers an intuitive way to manage Azure Storage. Whether you’re a developer, admin, or student learning Azure, it’s a helpful companion for navigating your data visually.
Ready to explore Azure Storage in action? Try our AZ-900 video course for real-world demonstrations and practice – or click here to go back to the Microsoft AZ-900 list of topics.
Please click here to find out more about Microsoft’s AZ-900 exam.
