Azure File CSI Driver for Kubernetes

June 16, 2026 · View on GitHub

About

This driver allows Kubernetes to access Azure File volumes using SMB and NFS protocols.

CSI plugin name: file.csi.azure.com
Project status: GA

Note

Deploying this driver manually is not an officially supported Microsoft product. For a fully managed and supported experience on Kubernetes, use AKS with the managed Azure File CSI driver.

Container Images & Kubernetes Compatibility

Driver Version	Image	Supported K8s Version
master branch	`mcr.microsoft.com/k8s/csi/azurefile-csi:latest`	1.21+
v1.35.4	`mcr.microsoft.com/oss/v2/kubernetes-csi/azurefile-csi:v1.35.4`	1.21+
v1.34.6	`mcr.microsoft.com/oss/v2/kubernetes-csi/azurefile-csi:v1.34.6`	1.21+
v1.33.10	`mcr.microsoft.com/oss/v2/kubernetes-csi/azurefile-csi:v1.33.10`	1.21+

Driver Parameters

Please refer to driver parameters.

Prerequisites

Option 1: Provide cloud provider config with Azure credentials

This option depends on a cloud provider config file (config example). Config file paths on different clusters:

Platform	Config Path
AKS, CAPZ, aks-engine	`/etc/kubernetes/azure.json`
Azure Red Hat OpenShift	`/etc/kubernetes/cloud.conf`

Specify a different config file path via ConfigMap

Create the ConfigMap azure-cred-file before the driver starts up:

kubectl create configmap azure-cred-file \
  --from-literal=path="/etc/kubernetes/cloud.conf" \
  --from-literal=path-windows="C:\\k\\cloud.conf" \
  -n kube-system

Cloud provider config can also be specified via a Kubernetes Secret — see details.
Ensure the identity used by the driver has the Contributor role on the node resource group and virtual network resource group.

Option 2: Bring your own storage account (SMB only)

This option does not depend on the cloud provider config file and supports cross-subscription and on-premise cluster scenarios. Refer to detailed steps.

Installation

Install the driver on a Kubernetes cluster:

Install by Helm charts
Install by kubectl

Install Open source CSI driver:

Platform	Guide
AKS	Install on AKS
Azure Red Hat OpenShift	Install on ARO

Install Managed CSI driver:

Platform	Guide
AKS	AKS CSI storage drivers
Azure Red Hat OpenShift	ARO CSI Azure File

Examples

Basic usage

Features

Troubleshooting

CSI driver troubleshooting guide

Support

Please see our support policy.

Development

Please refer to the development guide.

CI Results

Check the TestGrid provider-azure-azurefile-csi-driver dashboard.