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Automatically Start or Stop Azure VMs by Tag

This article is a how-to guide. If you’re looking for theoretical background or architectural context, check out the reference article on Azure Automation Runbooks.

Goal

Learn how to automate starting or stopping Azure virtual machines using Python and Azure Automation, based on VM tags such as availability: bizhours.

Prerequisites

  • Azure subscription
  • At least one VM with a tag like availability: bizhours
  • Azure Automation Account
  • Managed Identity (System-Assigned or User-Assigned)
  • Contributor or scoped permissions to control VMs and read the Networks (this runbook identifies VMs by tag, but verifies IPs for report)

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create or Use an Automation Account

Go to the Azure portal:

  • Navigate to Automation Accounts
  • Create a new account or select an existing one
  • Assign a Managed Identity in the “Identity” section
  • Assign RBAC roles to that identity for VM management (e.g. “Virtual Machine Contributor”)

2. Import Required Modules

In the Modules gallery of the Automation Account, ensure these python modules are present and updated:

  • Az.Accounts
  • Az.Compute
  • Az.Resources

You can search and import them on https://pypi.org/project/azure/ if not already present. Note: Only module files with “.whl” extension can be uploaded to Azure.

3. Create the Python 3 Runbook

  • Go to Runbooks → Create a runbook
  • Name: start-stop-vms-by-tag
  • Runtime: Python 3
  • Paste the script from this GitHub repo

4. Test and Publish

  • Use the “Test pane” to try it with parameters like:
    • --tag_name=availability
    • --tag_value=bizhours
    • --shutdown=True
    • --email_list=emai2@addres.com;email1@addres.com
  • Review the logs
  • Publish the runbook

5. Schedule the Runbook

Create two schedules:

  • Morning schedule (e.g., 08:00): startVMs
  • Evening schedule (e.g., 18:00): stopVMs

Both shchedules must provide parameters:

  • --tag_name=availability
  • --tag_value=bizhours
  • --shutdown=False for morning startup schedule and
  • --shutdown=True for evening stopping schedule which will trigger VM shutdown -> Stopped(Deallocated) state.

Optionally, add email address(es) for shutdown/startup report:

  • --email_list=emai2@addres.com;email1@addres.com

Link parameters to the runbook via the Parameters and Run Settings. Once attached, schedule parameters can not be changed. To change those detach schedule and add it again with desired parameters.

Next Steps

  • Add more tags for different teams or resource groups
  • Explore error handling and notification via Log Analytics or email
  • You can also convert this to PowerShell or extend it to other Azure resources

Learn More

See the reference article for theory and deeper understanding.