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--- title: Quickstart - Create a Linux VM in the Azure portal description: In this quickstart, you learn how to use the Azure portal to create a Linux virtual machine. author: iamwilliew ms.service: azure-virtual-machines ms.collection: linux ms.topic: quickstart ms.date: 02/06/2026 ms.author: wwilliams ms.reviewer: jushiman ms.custom: mvc, mode-ui, linux-related-content, accuracy # Customer intent: "As a cloud user, I want to create a Linux virtual machine through a web portal, so that I can quickly deploy and test applications in a cloud environment." --- # Quickstart: Create a Linux virtual machine in the Azure portal **Applies to:** :heavy_check_mark: Linux VMs Azure virtual machines (VMs) can be created through the Azure portal. The Azure portal is a browser-based user interface to create Azure resources. This quickstart shows you how to use the Azure portal to deploy a Linux virtual machine (VM) running Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS. To see your VM in action, you also SSH to the VM and install the NGINX web server. If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a [free account](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/purchase-options/azure-account?cid=msft_learn) before you begin. ## Sign in to Azure Sign in to the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com). ## Create virtual machine 1. Enter *virtual machines* in the search. 1. Under **Services**, select **Virtual machines**. 1. In the **Virtual machines** page, select **Create** and then **Virtual machine**. The **Create a virtual machine** page opens. 1. In the **Basics** tab, under **Project details**, make sure the correct subscription is selected and then choose to **Create new** resource group. Enter *myResourceGroup* for the name.*.  1. Under **Instance details**, enter *myVM* for the **Virtual machine name**. Under **Availability options**, select *No infrastructure redundancy required*. Under **Security type**, select *Standard*. Choose *Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS - Gen2* for your **Image**. Leave the other defaults. The default size and pricing is only shown as an example. Size availability and pricing are dependent on your region and subscription. :::image type="content" source="~/reusable-content/ce-skilling/azure/media/virtual-machines/instance-details.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Instance details section where you provide a name for the virtual machine and select its region, image, and size."::: > [!NOTE] > Some users will now see the option to create VMs in multiple zones. To learn more about this new capability, see [Create virtual machines in an availability zone](../create-portal-availability-zone.md). > :::image type="content" source="../media/create-portal-availability-zone/preview.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing that you have the option to create virtual machines in multiple availability zones."::: 1. Under **Administrator account**, for **Authentication type**, select **SSH public key**. 1. In **Username** enter *azureuser*. 1. For **SSH public key source**, leave the default of **Generate new key pair**, and then enter *myKey* for the **Key pair name**.  1. Under **Inbound port rules** > **Public inbound ports**, choose **Allow selected ports** and then select **SSH (22)** and **HTTP (80)** from the drop-down.  1. Leave the remaining defaults and then select the **Review + create** button at the bottom of the page. A final validation runs. 1. On the **Create a virtual machine** page, review the details about the VM you're about to create. When you're ready, select **Create**. 1. When the **Generate new key pair** window opens, select **Download private key and create resource**. Your key file will be download as **myKey.pem**. Make sure you know where the `.pem` file was downloaded; you'll need the path to it in the next step. 1. When the deployment is finished, select **Go to resource**. 1. On the page for your new VM, select the public IP address and copy it to your clipboard.  ## Connect to virtual machine Create an [SSH connection](/azure/virtual-machines/linux-vm-connect) with the VM. 1. If you're on a Windows machine, open a PowerShell prompt. If you're on a Mac or Linux machine, open a Bash prompt and set read-only permission on the .pem file using `chmod 400 ~/Downloads/myKey.pem`. 1. At your prompt, open an SSH connection to your virtual machine. Replace the IP address with the one from your VM, and replace the path to the `.pem` with the path to where the key file was downloaded. ```console ssh -i ~/Downloads/myKey.pem azureuser@10.111.12.123 ``` > [!TIP] > The SSH key you created can be used the next time your create a VM in Azure. Just select the **Use a key stored in Azure** for **SSH public key source** the next time you create a VM. You already have the private key on your computer, so you won't need to download anything. ## Install web server To see your VM in action, install the NGINX web server. From your SSH session, update your package sources and then install the latest NGINX package. # [Ubuntu](#tab/ubuntu) ```bash sudo apt-get -y update sudo apt-get -y install nginx ``` # [SUSE Linux (SLES)](#tab/SLES) ```bash sudo zypper --non-interactive update sudo zypper --non-interactive install nginx ``` # [Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)](#tab/rhel) ```bash sudo dnf update sudo dnf install nginx ``` --- When done, type `exit` to leave the SSH session. ## View the web server in action Use a web browser of your choice to view the default NGINX welcome page. Type the public IP address of the VM as the web address. The public IP address can be found on the VM overview page or as part of the SSH connection string you used earlier.  ## Clean up resources ### Delete resources When no longer needed, you can delete the resource group, virtual machine, and all related resources. 1. On the Overview page for the VM, under **Essentials**, select the link to the resource group you created for this Quickstart. 1. At the top of the page for the resource group, select **Delete resource group**. 1. A page will open warning you that you are about to delete resources. Type the name of the resource group, select **Delete**, and confirm deletion to finish deleting the resources and the resource group. ### Auto-shutdown If the VM is still needed, Azure provides an Auto-shutdown feature for virtual machines to help manage costs and ensure you aren't billed for unused resources. 1. On the **Operations** section for the VM, select the **Auto-shutdown** option. 1. A page will open where you can configure the auto-shutdown time. Select the **On** option to enable and then set a time that works for you. 1. Once you have set the time, select **Save** at the top to enable your Auto-shutdown configuration. > [!NOTE] > Remember to configure the time zone correctly to match your requirements, as (UTC) Coordinated Universal Time is the default setting in the Time zone dropdown. For more information see [Auto-shutdown](/azure/virtual-machines/auto-shutdown-vm). ## Next step In this quickstart, you deployed a Linux virtual machine and installed a basic web server. To learn more about Azure virtual machines, continue to the tutorial for Linux VMs. > [!div class="nextstepaction"] > [Azure Linux virtual machine tutorial](./tutorial-manage-vm.md)