Azure Storage File Share SDK for Python

Manage SMB file shares for cloud-native and lift-and-shift scenarios.

Installation

pip install azure-storage-file-share

Environment Variables

AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING=DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=...;AccountKey=...
# Or
AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_URL=https://<account>.file.core.windows.net

Authentication

Connection String

from azure.storage.fileshare import ShareServiceClient

service = ShareServiceClient.from_connection_string(
    os.environ["AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING"]
)

Entra ID

from azure.storage.fileshare import ShareServiceClient
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential

service = ShareServiceClient(
    account_url=os.environ["AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_URL"],
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
)

Share Operations

Create Share

share = service.create_share("my-share")

List Shares

for share in service.list_shares():
    print(f"{share.name}: {share.quota} GB")

Get Share Client

share_client = service.get_share_client("my-share")

Delete Share

service.delete_share("my-share")

Directory Operations

Create Directory

share_client = service.get_share_client("my-share")
share_client.create_directory("my-directory")

# Nested directory
share_client.create_directory("my-directory/sub-directory")

List Directories and Files

directory_client = share_client.get_directory_client("my-directory")

for item in directory_client.list_directories_and_files():
    if item["is_directory"]:
        print(f"[DIR] {item['name']}")
    else:
        print(f"[FILE] {item['name']} ({item['size']} bytes)")

Delete Directory

share_client.delete_directory("my-directory")

File Operations

Upload File

file_client = share_client.get_file_client("my-directory/file.txt")

# From string
file_client.upload_file("Hello, World!")

# From file
with open("local-file.txt", "rb") as f:
    file_client.upload_file(f)

# From bytes
file_client.upload_file(b"Binary content")

Download File

file_client = share_client.get_file_client("my-directory/file.txt")

# To bytes
data = file_client.download_file().readall()

# To file
with open("downloaded.txt", "wb") as f:
    data = file_client.download_file()
    data.readinto(f)

# Stream chunks
download = file_client.download_file()
for chunk in download.chunks():
    process(chunk)

Get File Properties

properties = file_client.get_file_properties()
print(f"Size: {properties.size}")
print(f"Content type: {properties.content_settings.content_type}")
print(f"Last modified: {properties.last_modified}")

Delete File

file_client.delete_file()

Copy File

source_url = "https://account.file.core.windows.net/share/source.txt"
dest_client = share_client.get_file_client("destination.txt")
dest_client.start_copy_from_url(source_url)

Range Operations

Upload Range

# Upload to specific range
file_client.upload_range(data=b"content", offset=0, length=7)

Download Range

# Download specific range
download = file_client.download_file(offset=0, length=100)
data = download.readall()

Snapshot Operations

Create Snapshot

snapshot = share_client.create_snapshot()
print(f"Snapshot: {snapshot['snapshot']}")

Access Snapshot

snapshot_client = service.get_share_client(
    "my-share",
    snapshot=snapshot["snapshot"]
)

Async Client

from azure.storage.fileshare.aio import ShareServiceClient
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential

async def upload_file():
    credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
    service = ShareServiceClient(account_url, credential=credential)
    
    share = service.get_share_client("my-share")
    file_client = share.get_file_client("test.txt")
    
    await file_client.upload_file("Hello!")
    
    await service.close()
    await credential.close()

Client Types

Client	Purpose
ShareServiceClient	Account-level operations
ShareClient	Share operations
ShareDirectoryClient	Directory operations
ShareFileClient	File operations

Best Practices

1. Use connection string for simplest setup
2. Use Entra ID for production with RBAC
3. Stream large files using chunks() to avoid memory issues
4. Create snapshots before major changes
5. Set quotas to prevent unexpected storage costs
6. Use ranges for partial file updates
7. Close async clients explicitly