Azure Quick Review (azqr) 3.0: Breaking Changes and Migration Guide

Azure Quick Review (azqr) version 3.0.0 is here with a major architectural refactoring. While the core functionality remains the same, the CLI has been redesigned to provide better flexibility and control over scan stages.

If you have scripts or automation using azqr, this post will help you migrate to the new version.

TL;DR

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The main changes in v3.0.0:

• Individual boolean flags (--defender, --advisor, --costs, etc.) replaced with unified --stages flag
• Cost analysis, Defender recommendations and Arc scans are now disabled by default
• New --stage-param flag for stage-specific options

CLI Flag Changes

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Removed Flags

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The following boolean flags have been removed and replaced with the unified --stages flag:

New Unified Stage Control

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The --stages flag provides granular control over scan stages:

# Enable specific stages (replaces defaults)
azqr scan --stages cost,policy,arc

# Disable specific stages (keeps other defaults enabled)
azqr scan --stages -diagnostics

# Enable all stages
azqr scan --stages advisor,defender-recommendations,arc,policy,cost

Available stages:

Default Behavior Changes

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Enabled by Default (v3.0.0)

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• diagnostics - Diagnostic settings and azqr recommendations
• advisor - Azure Advisor recommendations
• defender - Microsoft Defender status

Disabled by Default (v3.0.0)

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The following stages must be explicitly enabled:

• cost - Cost analysis (was enabled by default in v2.16.1)
• policy - Azure Policy compliance
• arc - Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server
• defender-recommendations - Defender recommendations

Migration example:

# v2.16.1 (cost enabled by default)
azqr scan

# v3.0.0 (cost must be enabled explicitly)
azqr scan --stages cost

Excel Report Changes

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The Excel output now organizes sheets based on enabled stages:

Core Sheets (always generated):

• Recommendations
• ImpactedResources
• ResourceTypes
• Inventory
• OutOfScope

Optional Sheets (enabled by default):

• Advisor
• Defender

Optional Sheets (disabled by default):

• DefenderRecommendations
• Azure Policy
• Arc SQL
• Costs

Migration Examples

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Full Scan with All Features

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# v2.16.1
azqr scan --subscription-id <sub-id> --defender=true --advisor=true --costs=true --policy=true

# v3.0.0
azqr scan --subscription-id <sub-id> --stages advisor,defender,cost,policy

Minimal Scan (No Optional Features)

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# v2.16.1
azqr scan --subscription-id <sub-id> --defender=false --advisor=false --costs=false

# v3.0.0
azqr scan --subscription-id <sub-id> --stages -advisor,-defender,

Migration Checklist

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Use this checklist to update your scripts and automation:

• Replace --defender=false with --stages -defender
• Replace --advisor=false with --stages -advisor
• Replace --costs=false with --stages -cost (or remove if you want cost disabled)
• Replace --policy=true with --stages policy
• Replace --arc=false with --stages -arc
• Add --stages cost if you need cost analysis (now disabled by default)
• Test your scripts with the new default behavior
• Update CI/CD pipelines and automation scripts

Hope it helps!

References:

• Azure Quick Review (azqr) on GitHub
• Azure Quick Review Documentation
• Full Changelog v2.16.1 to v3.0.0