Distribute CLI components for install with `az extension add`

[damienpontifex]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. The releases now contain a package for use with the az CLI, but packaged with an MSI for windows and also has the python source as a zip inside the release artifacts. This makes it different than how other CLI beta usages are distributed e.g. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/azure-cli-extensions-list where I've used the aks-preview before to get new preview features into the CLI in a consistent way

Describe the solution you'd like The CLI components be distributed as an az CLI extension. Looking at az cli extension add -h this could be a python wheel if not wanting to and publish it on the official microsoft extensions list yet. But if distributed this way, then a consistent cross platform approach could be used to add it to the az CLI.

Describe alternatives you've considered

• Publish extension to official Microsoft page
• Publish wheel in GitHub release artifacts so the az CLI can install extension that way

Additional context nil

[bmoore-msft]

I think this is going to be a "point in time" issue for us... we want to be in the base cli (not out of band as an extension) as it's a simpler install experience once we get there - at that point we'll be consistent across platforms, though I might poke on unifying the install experience prior to then. I don't think we're going to have many releases between now and when we get in the base cli.

Can you expand on this?

Publish wheel in GitHub release artifacts so the az CLI can install extension that way

That doesn't sound familiar to me...

[damienpontifex]

All good, thanks